1998 Tulane Green Wave football team

1998 Tulane Green Wave football
C-USA champion
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 41–27 vs. BYU
ConferenceConference USA
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 7
Record12–0 (6–0 C-USA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRich Rodriguez (2nd season)
Offensive schemeSpread option
Defensive coordinatorRick Smith (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumLouisiana Superdome
Seasons
← 1997
1999 →
1998 Conference USA football standings
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

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.

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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 56:00 pmat Cincinnati
W 52–3420,721
September 127:00 pmat SMU*
W 31–2112,316
September 262:30 pmNavy*
W 42–2419,371
October 32:30 pmSouthern MissNo. 25
  • Louisiana Superdome
  • New Orleans, LA (rivalry)
W 21–732,527
October 172:30 pmLouisvilledaggerNo. 24
  • Louisiana Superdome
  • New Orleans, LA
FSNW 28–2226,217
October 2411:00 amat Rutgers*No. 22
W 52–2420,714
October 312:30 pmSouthwestern Louisiana*No. 19
  • Louisiana Superdome
  • New Orleans, LA
W 72–2025,177
November 71:00 pmat MemphisNo. 15
W 41–3118,192
November 1412:00 pmat ArmyNo. 14
W 49–3539,083
November 212:30 pmHoustonNo. 12
  • Louisiana Superdome
  • New Orleans, LA
FSNW 48–2026,978
November 267:00 pmLouisiana Tech*No. 11
  • Louisiana Superdome
  • New Orleans, LA
W 63–3037,391[2]
December 3112:30 pmvs. BYU*No. 10
ESPNW 41–2752,197
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • 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
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP——RVRV252524221916T1412119107
Coaches Poll——RVRV2525242318161413119107
BCSNot released19161616111010Not released

Game summaries

At Cincinnati

See also: 1998 Cincinnati Bearcats football team
Tulane at Cincinnati
1 2Total
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 2Total
Green Wave 0
Mustangs 0
  • Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX
  • Game start: 7:00 PM
  • Game attendance: 12,316
See also: 1998 Navy Midshipmen football team
Navy at Tulane
1 2Total
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 2Total
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 2Total
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 2Total
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 2Total
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 2Total
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 2Total
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 2Total
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 2Total
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 2Total
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.


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