1998 Texas Longhorns football
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
DivisionSouth Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 15
Record9–3 (6–2 Big 12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGreg Davis (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorCarl Reese (1st season)
Home stadiumDarrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 79,471)
Seasons
← 1997
1999 →
1998 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North 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  
South 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

The 1998 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were represented in the Big 12 Conference in the South Division. They played their home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. The team was coached by head coach Mack Brown.

The Longhorns finished the regular season with an 8–3 record and defeated No. 25 Mississippi State in the Cotton Bowl Classic, 38–11.

Ricky Williams had a sensational senior season, highlighted by rushing for nine touchdowns and 385 yards in the season's first two games; rushing for 318 yards and six touchdowns against Rice; rushing for 350 yards and five touchdowns against Iowa State; and rushing for 150 yards against Nebraska's legendary Blackshirts defense. He also helped beat longtime rival Oklahoma rushing for 166 rushing yards and two scores.

Williams broke the career rushing record during the annual rivalry game held the day after Thanksgiving (this particular year fell on November 27, 1998) between Texas and Texas A&M. Needing only 63 yards to break Tony Dorsett's 22-year-old NCAA Division I-A all-time rushing record (6,082), Ricky Williams approached the line of scrimmage with 1:45 seconds left in the first quarter having already rushed for 54 yards. At first and ten on the Texas forty yard line, quarterback Major Applewhite handed off to Williams who broke two tackles, sprinted into open field and received a down field block from receiver Wane McGarity for a 60-yard touchdown run and the record. Williams' record-breaking run gave Texas a 10–0 lead in its eventual 26–24 upset of sixth-ranked Texas A&M. He finished the game racking up 295 yards. He also broke the NCAA Division I-A career rushing touchdowns and career scoring records in 1998 with 73 and 452 respectively (topped one year later by Miami University's Travis Prentice), and rushed for 200 or more yards in twelve different games (an NCAA record he shares with Dayne and USC's Marcus Allen). Williams won the 64th Heisman Trophy, becoming the second Texas Longhorn to win this honor, joining Earl Campbell. Williams was sometimes known as the "Texas Tornado."[1]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 56:00 p.m.New Mexico State*
PPVW 66–3675,914
September 122:30 p.m.at No. 6 UCLA*No. 23
ABCL 31–4973,070
September 192:30 p.m.at No. 5 Kansas State
ABCL 7–4843,714
September 266:00 p.m.Rice*
  • Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
  • Austin, TX (rivalry)
FSNW 59–2171,486
October 36:00 p.m.Iowa State
  • Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
  • Austin, TX
PPVW 54–3370,681
October 1011:30 a.m.vs. Oklahoma
FSNW 34–375,587
October 246:00 p.m.Baylordagger
  • Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
  • Austin, TX
FXW 30–2081,437
October 312:30 p.m.at No. 7 Nebraska
ABCW 20–1676,434
November 72:30 p.m.Oklahoma StateNo. 20
  • Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
  • Austin, TX
ABCW 37–3481,437
November 146:00 p.m.at Texas TechNo. 18
FSNL 35–4250,647
November 2710:00 a.m.No. 6 Texas A&M
  • Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
  • Austin, TX (rivalry)
ABCW 26–2483,687
January 1, 199910:00 a.m.vs. No. 25 Mississippi State*No. 20
FOXW 38–1172,611
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[2]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APRV23RV——————201825—202015
Coaches PollRV23RV——————2321——232216
BCSNot released—141523———Not released

1998 team players in the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Ricky Williams Running back 1 5 New Orleans Saints
Wane McGarity Wide receiver 4 118 Dallas Cowboys
Jay Humphrey Tackle 4 125 Minnesota Vikings

[3]

Game summaries

At #5 Kansas State

Texas at #5 Kansas State
1 234Total
Longhorns 0 007 7
• Wildcats 7 28013 48

Kansas State welcomed Texas for their first Big 12 Conference matchup, and first meeting since 1942, and Texas' first trip to Manhattan since 1926. 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams was held to just 43 yards on 25 carries for an average of just 1.7 yards per carry. He did not score in the game. Williams averaged 202 rushing yards per game in 1998 and was held to a season low 43 years, his next lowest yardage output was 90 yards against Oklahoma State. K-State racked up 223 yards on the ground on 51 carries and the Wildcats won handily, 48–7.

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ Richard, Dave (December 9, 2002). "Q & A: Williams makes it look easy". Miami Dolphins. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved January 26, 2007.
  2. ^ "MackBrown-TexasFootball.com - Official website of the Texas Longhorns - Texas Football". Archived from the original on November 1, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  3. ^ "1964 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2007.
  4. ^ "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
  5. ^ Hyland, Tim. "The Walter Camp Award". football.about.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Alder, James. "Maxwell Award Winners". football.about.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  7. ^ "2010 NCAA Football Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletics Association.
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