1998 Texas Longhorns football team

1998 Texas Longhorns football
Cotton Bowl Classic Champions
Conference Big 12 Conference
Division South Division
Ranking
Coaches No. 16
AP No. 15
1998 record 9–3 (6–2 Big 12)
Head coach Mack Brown
Offensive coordinator Greg Davis
Defensive coordinator Carl Reese
Home stadium Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 79,471)
1998 Big 12 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Northern Division
#10 Kansas State x   8 0         11 2  
#19 Nebraska   5 3         9 4  
#21 Missouri   5 3         8 4  
Colorado   4 4         8 4  
Kansas   1 7         4 7  
Iowa State   1 7         3 8  
Southern Division
#11 Texas A&M x$   7 1         11 3  
#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 
  • $ BCS representative as conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

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 Black Shirt 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 1-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 PM New Mexico State* Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX PPV W 66–36   75,914
September 12 2:30 PM at No. 6 UCLA* No. 23 Rose BowlPasadena, CA ABC L 31–49   73,070
September 19 2:30 PM at No. 5 Kansas State KSU StadiumManhattan, KS ABC L 7–48   43,714
September 26 6:00 PM Rice* Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX FSN W 59–21   71,486
October 3 6:00 PM Iowa State Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX PPV W 54–33   70,681
October 10 11:30 AM vs. Oklahoma Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Red River Shootout) FSN W 34–3   75,587
October 24 6:00 PM Baylordagger Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX FX W 30–20   81,437
October 31 2:30 PM at No. 7 Nebraska Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE ABC W 20–16   76,434
November 7 2:30 PM Oklahoma State No. 20 Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX ABC W 37–34   81,437
November 14 6:00 PM at Texas Tech No. 18 Jones StadiumLubbock, TX (Battle for the Chancellor's Spurs) FSN L 35–42   50,647
November 27 10:00 AM No. 6 Texas A&M Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX (Rivalry) ABC W 26–24   83,687
January 1 10:00 AM vs. No. 25 Mississippi State* No. 20 Cotton Bowl • Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic) FOX W 38–11   72,611
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

[2]

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

[3]

Awards and honors

References

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