1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

The 1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season.^[1] Houston Nutt became the first Arkansas head coach to win his first eight games, and the Razorbacks won a share of the 1998 SEC Western Division championship.

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
Co-defensive coordinator	Bobby Allen (1st season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Keith Burns (1st season)
Home stadium	Razorback Stadium (Capacity: 50,019) War Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 53,727)
Seasons ← 1997 1999 →

1998 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	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
# – 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

In the 9th game of the season, undefeated #10 Arkansas lost to eventual national champion #1 Tennessee in Knoxville, 24-28, due in large part to a fumble late in the game by Arkansas QB 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, 21-22. Beating LSU in the season finale secured Arkansas a share of the division title and sent the 9-2 Razorbacks to the 1999 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, 31-45, and Arkansas finished the season 9-3 and ranked #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	[2]
September 19	6:00 pm	SMU*		War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 44–17	55,544	[3]
September 26	5:00 pm	No. 22 Alabama		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	ESPN2	W 42–6	51,763	[4]
October 3	5:00 pm	Kentucky	No. 22	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	ESPN2	W 27–20	55,782	[5]
October 10	2:30 pm	at Memphis*	No. 20	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPN2	W 23–9	42,766	[6]
October 17	12:00 pm	at South Carolina	No. 17	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	PPV	W 41–28	67,930	[7]
October 31	1:00 pm	at Auburn	No. 14	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	PPV	W 24–21	78,439	[8]
November 7	11:30 am	Ole Miss	No. 11	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)	JPS	W 34–0	49,115	[9]
November 14	2:30 pm	at No. 1 Tennessee	No. 10	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	CBS	L 24–28	106,365	[10]
November 21	11:30 am	at Mississippi State	No. 9	Scott Field Starkville, MS	JPS	L 21–22	36,656	[11]
November 27	1:30 pm	LSU	No. 13	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR (rivalry)	CBS	W 41–14	55,831	[12]
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	[13]
*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 Poll	—	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

Michael Snowden

References

1. "1998 Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results".
2. "Arkansas wins first under Nutt". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. September 6, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Arkansas romps past SMU". The Sun. September 20, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tide hog-tied, 42–6". The Anniston Star. September 27, 1998. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Aw, Nutts! Hogs overtake 'Cats". The Paducah Sun. October 4, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Hogs still unbeaten after Memphis rout". Paragould Daily Press. October 11, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Carolina falls apart in third quarter of 41–28 loss to Hogs". The Item. October 18, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Arkansas overcomes turnovers to beat Auburn". The Marshall News Messenger. November 1, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Arkansas throws shutout at Rebels". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 8, 1998. Retrieved July 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Friendly fumble; Late turnover brings UT back from brink". The Leaf-Chronicle. November 15, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Bulldogs take Hogs to wire". The Shreveport Times. November 22, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "LSU ends season with a thud". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. November 28, 1998. Retrieved July 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Michigan strikes late, tops Arkansas". The Miami Herald. January 2, 1999. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.