1998 Tulane Green Wave football team

The 1998 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Green Wave finished with a record of 12 wins and no losses, one of only two NCAA Division I-A teams to complete the season undefeated, the other being the BCS champion Tennessee Volunteers. It was the third undefeated and untied season in school history.

1998 Tulane Green Wave football
C-USA champion Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 41–27 vs. BYU
Conference	Conference USA
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 7
Record	12–0 (6–0 C-USA)
Head coach	Tommy Bowden (2nd season; regular season) Chris Scelfo (interim; bowl game)
Offensive coordinator	Rich Rodriguez (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread option
Defensive coordinator	Rick Smith (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Seasons ← 1997 1999 →

1998 Conference USA football standings

v t e	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
Memphis		1	–	5					2	–	9
Cincinnati		1	–	5					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Despite finishing undefeated, the Green Wave were not considered for a BCS game, let alone a berth in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl—that year's national title game—because it was felt their strength of schedule was too weak to justify a berth in a higher-tier bowl. They did not play a single ranked team all season, and the only Automatic Qualifying conference member on their schedule was a Rutgers team that finished tied for sixth in the Big East. Moreover, they were the only team in Conference USA with fewer than five overall losses.

Prior to defeating Brigham Young in the Liberty Bowl, Tulane won the CUSA championship. The Green Wave finished the season ranked seventh in the nation in both the AP Poll and Coaches' Poll—in both cases, its highest rankings in school history since the 1939 Tulane football season when they were ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll.

The Green Wave won all of their games by six points or more. The combined 538 points set a single-season school record.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	6:00 pm	at Cincinnati		Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH		W 52–34	20,721
September 12	7:00 pm	at SMU*		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX		W 31–21	12,316
September 26	2:30 pm	Navy*		Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 42–24	19,371
October 3	2:30 pm	Southern Miss	No. 25	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (rivalry)		W 21–7	32,527
October 17	2:30 pm	Louisville	No. 24	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA	FSN	W 28–22	26,217
October 24	11:00 am	at Rutgers*	No. 22	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ		W 52–24	20,714
October 31	2:30 pm	Southwestern Louisiana*	No. 19	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 72–20	25,177
November 7	1:00 pm	at Memphis	No. 15	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN		W 41–31	18,192
November 14	12:00 pm	at Army	No. 14	Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 49–35	39,083
November 21	2:30 pm	Houston	No. 12	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA	FSN	W 48–20	26,978
November 26	7:00 pm	Louisiana Tech*	No. 11	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 63–30	37,391	[2]
December 31	12:30 pm	vs. BYU*	No. 10	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ESPN	W 41–27	52,197
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

=^[3]

Rankings

See also: 1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	—	RV	RV	25	25	24	22	19	16T	14	12	11	9	10	7
Coaches Poll	—	—	RV	RV	25	25	24	23	18	16	14	13	11	9	10	7
BCS	Not released								19	16	16	16	11	10	10	Not released

Game summaries

At Cincinnati

See also: 1998 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

Tulane at Cincinnati

1 2 Total Green Wave 0 Bearcats 0 Location: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OH Game start: 6:00 PM Game attendance: 20,721

At SMU

See also: 1998 SMU Mustangs football team

Tulane at SMU

1 2 Total Green Wave 0 Mustangs 0 Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX Game start: 7:00 PM Game attendance: 12,316

Navy

See also: 1998 Navy Midshipmen football team

Navy at Tulane

1 2 Total Midshipmen 0 Green Wave 0 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA Game start: 2:30 PM Game attendance: 19,371

Southern Miss

See also: 1998 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team and Battle for the Bell (Southern Miss–Tulane)

Southern Miss at No. 25 Tulane

1 2 Total Golden Eagles 0 No. 25 Green Wave 0 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA Game start: 2:30 PM Game attendance: 32,527

Louisville

See also: 1998 Louisville Cardinals football team

Louisville at No. 24 Tulane (Homecoming Game)

1 2 Total Cardinals 0 No. 24 Green Wave 0 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA Game start: 2:30 PM Game attendance: 26,217 Television network: FSN

At Rutgers

See also: 1998 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

No. 22 Tulane at Rutgers

1 2 Total No. 22 Green Wave 0 Scarlet Knights 0 Location: Rutgers Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey Game start: 11:00 AM Game attendance: 20,714

Southwestern Louisiana

See also: 1998 Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team

SW Louisiana at No. 19 Tulane

1 2 Total Ragin' Cajuns 0 No. 19 Green Wave 0 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA Game start: 2:30 PM Game attendance: 25,177

At Memphis

See also: 1998 Memphis Tigers football team

No. 15 Tulane at Memphis

1 2 Total No. 15 Green Wave 0 Tigers 0 Location: Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tennessee Game start: 1:00 PM Game attendance: 18,192

At Army

See also: 1998 Army Cadets football team

No. 14 Tulane at Army

1 2 Total No. 14 Green Wave 0 Cadets 0 Location: Michie Stadium, West Point, New York Game start: 12:00 PM Game attendance: 39,083

Houston

See also: 1998 Houston Cougars football team

Houston at No. 12 Tulane

1 2 Total Cougars 0 No. 12 Green Wave 0 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA Game start: 2:30 PM Game attendance: 26,978 Television network: FSN

Louisiana Tech

See also: 1998 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

Louisiana Tech at No. 11 Tulane

1 2 Total Bulldogs 0 No. 11 Green Wave 0 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA Game start: 2:30 PM Game attendance: 37,391

Vs. BYU

See also: 1998 BYU Cougars football team and 1998 Liberty Bowl

BYU vs No. 10 Tulane

1 2 Total BYU 0 No. 10 Tulane 0 Location: Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tennessee Game start: 12:30 PM Game attendance: 52,197 Television network: ESPN

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Team
Shaun King	Quarterback	2	50	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Dennis O'Sullivan	Long Snapper	-	-	New York Jets / Houston Texans[4]

^[5]

References

1. Notre Dame has been treated well during the BCS era, ESPN, March 22, 2008.
2. "Tulane ends regular season unbeaten". Hattiesburg American. November 27, 1998. Retrieved July 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "1998 Season in Review". Tulane University Department of Athletics. July 29, 1999. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
4. "Dennis O'Sullivan: Career Stats at NFL.com". www.nfl.com. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
5. "1999 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.