1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football
SEC Western Division co-champion
Florida Citrus Bowl, L 31–45 vs. Michigan
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
AP	No. 16
Record	9–3 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Houston Nutt (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Houston Nutt (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinators	Bobby Allen (1st season) Keith Burns (1st season)
Home stadium	Razorback Stadium War Memorial Stadium

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
No. 16 Arkansas x		6	–	2					9	–	3
Mississippi State xy		6	–	2					8	–	5
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
# – 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

The 1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas as a member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Houston Nutt, the Razorbacks compiled an overall record 9–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, sharing the SEC's Western Division title with Mississippi State. By virtue of a head-to-head loss to the Bulldogs, Arkansas was left out of the SEC Championship Game. The Razorbacks were invited to the Florida Citrus Bowl, where they lost to Michigan. The team played home games at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas and War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Nutt became the first Arkansas head coach to win his first eight games. In the ninth game of the season, undefeated, No. 10 Arkansas lost to the national champion, No. 1 Tennessee in Knoxville, 28–24, due in large part to a fumble late in the game by Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner. Tennessee recovered the fumble and then drove the short field for the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute to play. It is considered one of the most devastating losses in Razorback football history. The emotional hangover from that loss adversely affected Arkansas the following week, leading to an upset loss at Mississippi State, 22–21. Beating LSU in the regular season finale secured Arkansas a share of the division title and sent the 9–2 Razorbacks to the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando on New Year's Day to play the Michigan Wolverines. In the first meeting ever between the two schools, the Tom Brady-led Wolverines won, 45–31, and Arkansas finished the season 9–3 and ranked No. 16 in the final AP poll.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	6:00 pm	Southwestern Louisiana*		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR		W 38–17	47,562
September 19	6:00 pm	SMU*		War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 44–17	55,544
September 26	5:00 pm	No. 22 Alabama		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	ESPN2	W 42–6	51,763
October 3	5:00 pm	Kentucky	No. 22	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	ESPN2	W 27–20	55,782
October 10	2:30 pm	at Memphis*	No. 20	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPN2	W 23–9	42,766
October 17	12:00 pm	at South Carolina	No. 17	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	PPV	W 41–28	67,930
October 31	1:00 pm	at Auburn	No. 14	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	PPV	W 24–21	78,439
November 7	11:30 am	Ole Miss	No. 11	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)	JPS	W 34–0	49,115
November 14	2:30 pm	at No. 1 Tennessee	No. 10	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	CBS	L 24–28	106,365
November 21	11:30 am	at Mississippi State	No. 9	Scott Field Starkville, MS	JPS	L 21–22	36,656
November 27	1:30 pm	LSU	No. 13	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR (rivalry)	CBS	W 41–14	55,831
January 1	1:00 pm	vs. No. 15 Michigan*	No. 11	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL (Florida Citrus Bowl)	ABC	L 31–45	63,584
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

See also: 1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	—	RV	RV	22	20	17	15	14	11	10	9	13	11	11	16
Coaches	—	RV	RV	RV	24	19	16	12	12	10	9	9	13	11	11	17
BCS	Not released								12	11	7	9	13	13	13	Not released

Roster

1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 14 Clint Stoerner Jr RB 34 Madre Hill Sr OT 69 Bobbie Williams Jr OT 72 Chad Abernathy Sr G 77 Brandon Burlsworth Sr SE 80 Anthony Lucas Jr TE 85 Joe Dean Davenport Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 18 David Barrett Jr FS 29 Kenoy Kennedy Jr LB 53 Quenton Caver So NG 96 Ryan Hale Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Houston Nutt Coordinators/assistant coaches Keith Burns – Defensive coordinator Mike Markuson – Offensive line Barry Lunney Jr. – Graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster