1998 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1998 and culminated with the major bowl games in early January 1999. It was the first season of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which saw the Tennessee Volunteers win the national championship, one year after star quarterback Peyton Manning left for the National Football League (NFL). Tennessee defeated the Florida State Seminoles, 23–16, in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, to secure the inaugural BCS National Championship.

1998 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams112
Preseason AP No. 1Ohio State
Post-season
DurationDecember 19, 1998 –
January 4, 1999
Bowl games22
Heisman TrophyRicky Williams (running back, Texas)
Bowl Championship Series
1999 Fiesta Bowl
SiteSun Devil Stadium,
Tempe, Arizona
Champion(s)Tennessee
Division I-A football seasons
← 1997
1999 →

The BCS combined elements of the old Bowl Coalition and the Bowl Alliance it replaced. The agreement existed between the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange bowl games, with the Cotton Bowl Classic diminishing in status since the breakup of the Southwest Conference. Like the Bowl Alliance, a national championship game would rotate between the four bowls, with the top two teams facing each other. These teams were chosen based upon a BCS poll, combining the AP Poll, the Coaches Poll, and a computer component. The computer factored in things such as strength of schedule, margin of victory, and quality wins without taking into account time (in other words, a loss early in the season and a loss late in the season were on equal footing). Like the Bowl Coalition, the BCS bowls not hosting the national championship game would retain their traditional conference tie-ins.

The first run of the Bowl Championship Series was not without controversy as Kansas State finished third in the final BCS standings, but was not invited to a BCS bowl game. Ohio State (ranked 4th) and two-loss Florida (8th) received the at-large bids instead. Also, Tulane went undefeated, but finished 10th in the BCS standings and was not invited to a BCS bowl because of their low strength of schedule.

Rule changes

The following rule changes were adopted by the NCAA Rules Committee during their 1998 meeting:[1]

  • Defensive players are allowed to recover and advance backward passes. Previously the defense was only allowed to recover but not advance backward passes.
  • Illegal touching of a forward pass by an ineligible receiver is a five-yard penalty from the previous spot but no loss-of-down.
  • Defensive players may not rough an offensive player in position to receive a backward pass (i.e. trail man on option play).
  • Standardized uniform recognition regarding memorializing of deceased or severely ill teammates/coaches.
  • Eyeshields must be clear.
  • The titles of side judge and field judge were swapped, with the field judge now working on the same side of the field as the line judge (and ruling on placements with the back judge), and the side judge on the same side as the head linesman. Coincidentally, the NFL swapped the titles of back judge and field judge to match the NCAA prior to its 1998 season.

Conference and program changes

With no teams upgrading from Division I-AA, the number of Division I-A schools was fixed at 112.

  • Army broke away from almost one hundred years of tradition as an independent, joining Conference USA.
School1997 Conference1998 Conference
Army CadetsI-A IndependentConference USA

Conference standings
1998 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 3 Florida State $+  7 –1     11 –2  
No. 9 Georgia Tech +  7 –1     10 –2  
No. 18 Virginia  6 –2     9 –3  
North Carolina  5 –3     7 –5  
NC State  5 –3     7 –5  
Duke  2 –6     4 –7  
Wake Forest  2 –6     3 –8  
Clemson  1 –7     3 –8  
Maryland  1 –7     3 –8  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1998 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Northern Division
No. 10 Kansas State x  8 –0     11 –2  
No. 19 Nebraska  5 –3     9 –4  
No. 21 Missouri  5 –3     8 –4  
Colorado  4 –4     8 –4  
Kansas  1 –7     4 –7  
Iowa State  1 –7     3 –8  
Southern Division
No. 11 Texas A&M x$  7 –1     11 –3  
No. 15 Texas  6 –2     9 –3  
Texas Tech  4 –4     7 –5  
Oklahoma State  3 –5     5 –6  
Oklahoma  3 –5     5 –6  
Baylor  1 –7     2 –9  
Championship: Texas A&M 36, Kansas State 33 
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1998 Big East Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 25 Syracuse $  6 –1     8 –4  
No. 20 Miami (FL)  5 –2     9 –3  
No. 23 Virginia Tech  5 –2     9 –3  
West Virginia  5 –2     8 –4  
Boston College  3 –4     4 –7  
Rutgers  2 –5     5 –6  
Temple  2 –5     2 –9  
Pittsburgh  0 –7     2 –9  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1998 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 2 Ohio State %+  7 –1     11 –1  
No. 6 Wisconsin $+  7 –1     11 –1  
No. 12 Michigan +  7 –1     10 –3  
No. 24 Purdue  6 –2     9 –4  
No. 17 Penn State  5 –3     9 –3  
Michigan State  4 –4     6 –6  
Minnesota  2 –6     5 –6  
Indiana  2 –6     4 –7  
Illinois  2 –6     3 –8  
Iowa  2 –6     3 –8  
Northwestern  0 –8     3 –9  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1998 Big West Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Idaho $  4 –1     9 –3  
Nevada  3 –2     6 –5  
North Texas  3 –2     3 –8  
Boise State  2 –3     6 –5  
Utah State  2 –3     3 –8  
New Mexico State  1 –4     3 –8  
  • $ – Conference champion
1998 Conference USA football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 7 Tulane $  6 –0     12 –0  
Southern Miss  5 –1     7 –5  
Louisville  4 –2     7 –5  
East Carolina  3 –3     6 –5  
Army  2 –4     3 –8  
Houston  2 –4     3 –8  
Cincinnati  1 –5     2 –9  
Memphis  1 –5     2 –9  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1998 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
Marshall xy$  7 –1     12 –1  
Miami x  7 –1     10 –1  
Bowling Green  5 –3     5 –6  
Ohio  5 –3     5 –6  
Akron  3 –6     4 –7  
Kent State  0 –8     0 –11  
West Division
Toledo x  6 –2     7 –5  
Western Michigan  5 –3     7 –4  
Central Michigan  5 –3     6 –5  
Eastern Michigan  3 –6     3 –8  
Northern Illinois  2 –6     2 –9  
Ball State  1 –7     1 –10  
Championship: Marshall 23, Toledo 17
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
1998 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 8 UCLA $  8 –0     10 –2  
No. 4 Arizona  7 –1     12 –1  
Oregon  5 –3     8 –4  
USC  5 –3     8 –5  
Washington  4 –4     6 –6  
Arizona State  4 –4     5 –6  
California  3 –5     5 –6  
Oregon State  2 –6     5 –6  
Stanford  2 –6     3 –8  
Washington State  0 –8     3 –8  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1998 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Eastern Division
No. 1 Tennessee x$#  8 –0     13 –0  
No. 5 Florida %  7 –1     10 –2  
No. 14 Georgia  6 –2     9 –3  
Kentucky  4 –4     7 –5  
Vanderbilt  1 –7     2 –9  
South Carolina  0 –8     1 –10  
Western Division
Mississippi State xy  6 –2     8 –5  
No. 16 Arkansas x  6 –2     9 –3  
Alabama  4 –4     7 –5  
Ole Miss  3 –5     7 –5  
LSU  2 –6     4 –7  
Auburn  1 –7     3 –8  
Championship: Tennessee 24, Mississippi State 14
    1. – BCS National Champion
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
1998 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Mountain Division
No. 13 Air Force x$  7 –1     12 –1  
Wyoming  6 –2     8 –3  
Colorado State  5 –3     8 –4  
Rice  5 –3     5 –6  
TCU  4 –4     7 –5  
Tulsa  2 –6     4 –7  
SMU  1 –1     0 –1  
UNLV  0 –8     0 –11  
Pacific Division
BYU xy  7 –1     9 –5  
San Diego State x  7 –1     7 –5  
Utah  5 –3     7 –4  
Fresno State  5 –3     5 –6  
San Jose State  3 –5     4 –8  
UTEP  3 –5     3 –8  
New Mexico  1 –7     3 –9  
Hawaii  0 –8     0 –12  
Championship: Air Force 20, BYU 13
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
1998 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
UCF   –     9 –2  
No. 22 Notre Dame   –     9 –3  
Louisiana Tech   –     6 –6  
Northeast Louisiana   –     5 –6  
UAB   –     4 –7  
Arkansas State   –     4 –8  
Navy   –     3 –8  
Southwestern Louisiana   –     2 –9  
Rankings from AP Poll

Bowl games
Main article: 1998–99 NCAA football bowl games
Bowl Site
Fiesta Bowl No. 1 Tennessee 23 No. 2 Florida State 16 Tempe, AZ
Sugar Bowl No. 4 Ohio State 24 No. 8 Texas A&M 14 New Orleans, LA
Orange Bowl No. 7 Florida 31 No. 18 Syracuse 10 Miami, FL
Rose Bowl No. 9 Wisconsin 38 No. 6 UCLA 31 Pasadena, CA
Cotton Bowl Classic No. 20 Texas 38 No. 25 Mississippi State 11 Dallas, TX
Peach Bowl No. 19 Georgia 35 No. 13 Virginia 33 Atlanta, GA
Florida Citrus Bowl No. 15 Michigan 45 No. 11 Arkansas 31 Orlando, FL
Outback Bowl No. 22 Penn State 26 Kentucky 15 Tampa, FL
Gator Bowl No. 12 Georgia Tech 35 No. 17 Notre Dame 28 Jacksonville, FL
MicronPC Bowl No. 24 Miami (FL) 46 NC State 23 Miami, FL
Sun Bowl TCU 28 USC 19 El Paso, TX
Alamo Bowl Purdue 37 No. 3 Kansas State 34 San Antonio, TX
Insight.com Bowl No. 23 Missouri 34 West Virginia 31 Tempe, AZ
Holiday Bowl No. 5 Arizona 23 No. 14 Nebraska 20 San Diego, CA
Liberty Bowl No. 10 Tulane 41 BYU 27 Memphis, TN
Aloha Bowl Colorado 51 No. 21 Oregon 43 Honolulu, HI
Oahu Bowl No. 16 Air Force 45 Washington 25 Honolulu, HI
Independence Bowl Mississippi 35 Texas Tech 18 Shreveport, LA
Music City Bowl Virginia Tech 38 Alabama 7 Nashville, TN
Las Vegas Bowl North Carolina 20 San Diego State 13 Las Vegas, NV
Motor City Bowl Marshall 48 Louisville 29 Detroit, MI
Humanitarian Bowl Idaho 42 Southern Mississippi 35 Boise, ID

Rankings are from the AP Poll.

Final polls
Main article: 1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the

Most Outstanding Player of the year
 Winner: Ricky Williams, Texas, Running Back (2335 points)

Other major awards

References
  1. "NCAA Rules Changes 1998".
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