1998 Texas Longhorns football team
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.
| 1998 Texas Longhorns football | |
|---|---|
 | |
Cotton Bowl Classic champion | |
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 38–11 vs. Mississippi State | |
| Conference | Big 12 Conference |
| South Division | |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 16 |
| AP | No. 15 |
| 1998 record | 9–3 (6–2 Big 12) |
| Head coach | Mack Brown (1st season) |
| Offensive coordinator | Greg Davis (1st season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Carl Reese (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 79,471) |
| 1998 Big 12 Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Regular season
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
The Longhorns finished the regular season with an 8–3 record and defeated #25 Mississippi State in the 1999 Cotton Bowl Classic, 38–11.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 5 | 6:00 p.m. | New Mexico State* | PPV | W 66–36 | 75,914 | ||
| September 12 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 6 UCLA* | No. 23 | ABC | L 31–49 | 73,070 | |
| September 19 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 5 Kansas State |
| ABC | L 7–48 | 43,714 | |
| September 26 | 6:00 p.m. | Rice* |
| FSN | W 59–21 | 71,486 | |
| October 3 | 6:00 p.m. | Iowa State |
| PPV | W 54–33 | 70,681 | |
| October 10 | 11:30 a.m. | vs. Oklahoma |
| FSN | W 34–3 | 75,587 | |
| October 24 | 6:00 p.m. | Baylor |
| FX | W 30–20 | 81,437 | |
| October 31 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 7 Nebraska |
| ABC | W 20–16 | 76,434 | |
| November 7 | 2:30 p.m. | Oklahoma State | No. 20 |
| ABC | W 37–34 | 81,437 |
| November 14 | 6:00 p.m. | at Texas Tech | No. 18 |
| FSN | L 35–42 | 50,647 |
| November 27 | 10:00 a.m. | No. 6 Texas A&M |
| ABC | W 26–24 | 83,687 | |
| January 1, 1999 | 10:00 a.m. | vs. No. 25 Mississippi State* | No. 20 |
| FOX | W 38–11 | 72,611 |
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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 |
Awards and honors
- Ricky Williams, Heisman Trophy[4]
- Ricky Williams, Walter Camp Award[5]
- Ricky Williams, Maxwell Award[6]
- Ricky Williams, Doak Walker Award
- Ricky Williams, Consensus All-American[7]
References
- 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.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-01. Retrieved 2012-03-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1964.htm
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2007-04-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- http://collegefootball.about.com/od/collegefootballawards/a/award-camp.htm
- http://football.about.com/cs/history/a/maxwellaward.htm
- http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/DI/2010/Awards.pdf