1998 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

The 1998 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team represented Eastern Michigan University in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach Rick Rasnick, the Eagles compiled a 3–8 record (3–6 against conference opponents), finished in fourth place in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference, and were outscored by their opponents, 309 to 216.^[1][2] The team's statistical leaders included Walter Church with 2,650 passing yards, Eric Powell with 473 rushing yards, and Jermaine Sheffield with 953 receiving yards.^[3] L. J. Shelton received the team's most valuable player award.^[4]

1998 Eastern Michigan Eagles football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West
Record	3–8 (3–6 MAC)
Head coach	Rick Rasnick (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Todd Monken (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Sam Gruneisen (4th season)
MVP	L.J. Shelton
Captain	L.J. Shelton, Justin Ventura, Derek Vitatoe
Home stadium	Rynearson Stadium
Seasons ← 1997 1999 →

1998 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall xy$		7	–	1					12	–	1
Miami (OH) x		7	–	1					10	–	1
Bowling Green		5	–	3					5	–	6
Ohio		5	–	3					5	–	6
Akron		3	–	6					4	–	7
Kent State		0	–	8					0	–	11
West Division
Toledo x		6	–	2					7	–	5
Western Michigan		5	–	3					7	–	4
Central Michigan		5	–	3					6	–	5
Eastern Michigan		3	–	6					3	–	8
Northern Illinois		2	–	6					2	–	9
Ball State		1	–	7					1	–	10
Championship: Marshall 23, Toledo 17
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	6:00 p.m.	No. 5 Northern Iowa*	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI		L 10–13	12,305
September 12		at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN		W 13–7
September 19	12:00 p.m.	at Michigan*	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ESPN Plus	L 20–59	110,438
September 26		Marshall	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI		L 23–26	13,611
October 3		at Kent State	Dix Stadium Kent, OH		W 26–17
October 10		Central Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI (rivalry)		L 23–36 OT	17,423	[5]
October 17		at Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI		L 35–45
October 24	6:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI		L 14–26	8,423
November 7		at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH		L 21–49
November 14		at Akron	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH		L 21–24
November 21		Toledo	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI		W 10–7
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

After the season

The following Eagle was selected in the 1999 NFL draft after the season.^[6]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
1	21	L. J. Shelton	Tackle	Arizona Cardinals