1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team
American college football season
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The 1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas as a member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Houston Nutt, the Razorbacks compiled an overall record 9–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, sharing the SEC's Western Division title with Mississippi State. By virtue of a head-to-head loss to the Bulldogs, Arkansas was left out of the SEC Championship Game. The Razorbacks were invited to the Florida Citrus Bowl, where they lost to Michigan. The team played home games at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas and War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas.
| 1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football | |
|---|---|
SEC Western Division co-champion | |
Florida Citrus Bowl, L 31–45 vs. Michigan | |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Western Division | |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 17 |
| AP | No. 16 |
| Record | 9–3 (6–2 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive scheme | Multiple[1] |
| Co-defensive coordinators |
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| Base defense | 4–4[1] |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Razorback Stadium War Memorial Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nutt became the first Arkansas head coach to win his first eight games. In the ninth game of the season, undefeated, No. 10 Arkansas lost to the future national champion, No. 1 Tennessee in Knoxville, 28–24, due in large part to a fumble late in the game by Arkansas quarterback 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, 22–21. Beating LSU in the regular season finale secured Arkansas a share of the division title and sent the 9–2 Razorbacks to the 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, 45–31, and Arkansas finished the season 9–3 and ranked No. 16 in the final AP poll.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 5 | 6:00 pm | Southwestern Louisiana* | W 38–17 | 47,562 | [2] | |||
| September 19 | 6:00 pm | SMU* | W 44–17 | 55,544 | [3] | |||
| September 26 | 5:00 pm | No. 22 Alabama |
| ESPN2 | W 42–6 | 51,763 | [4] | |
| October 3 | 5:00 pm | Kentucky | No. 22 |
| ESPN2 | W 27–20 | 55,782 | [5] |
| October 10 | 2:30 pm | at Memphis* | No. 20 | FX | W 23–9 | 42,766 | [6] | |
| October 17 | 12:00 pm | at South Carolina | No. 17 | PPV | W 41–28 | 67,930 | [7] | |
| October 31 | 1:00 pm | at Auburn | No. 14 | PPV | W 24–21 | 78,439 | [8] | |
| November 7 | 11:30 am | Ole Miss | No. 11 |
| JPS | W 34–0 | 49,115 | [9] |
| November 14 | 2:30 pm | at No. 1 Tennessee | No. 10 | CBS | L 24–28 | 106,365 | [10] | |
| November 21 | 11:30 am | at Mississippi State | No. 9 | JPS | L 21–22 | 36,656 | [11] | |
| November 27 | 1:30 pm | LSU | No. 13 |
| CBS | W 41–14 | 55,831 | [12] |
| January 1 | 1:00 pm | vs. No. 15 Michigan* | No. 11 | ABC | L 31–45 | 63,584 | [13] | |
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Rankings
Game summaries
vs No. 22 Alabama
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 22 Crimson Tide | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Razorbacks | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 | 42 |
After leading by eight at halftime, Arkansas shut out Alabama in the second half to earn a dominant 36-point win.
| Statistics | Alabama | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 7 | 26 |
| Total yards | 152 | 445 |
| Rushing yards | 104 | 206 |
| Passing yards | 48 | 239 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 31:09 | 28:51 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Passing | John David Phillips | 9–21, 48 yards, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Shaun Alexander | 21 carries, 48 yards | |
| Receiving | Michael Vaughn Quincy Jackson | 2 receptions, 13 yards | |
| Arkansas | Passing | Clint Stoerner | 13–29, 239 yards, 3 TD's |
| Rushing | Madre Hill | 20 carries, 120 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Michael Snowden | 3 receptions, 69 yards, 2 TD's |
at No. 1 Tennessee
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 10 Razorbacks | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
| No. 1 Volunteers | 0 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 28 |
Arkansas led 21–3 in the first half, but couldn't survive a season-saving comeback by the Volunteers. A late turnover by the Hogs gave Tennessee an opportunity to drive for the game-winning touchdown.[15] Tennessee would go on to win the national championship.
Florida Citrus Bowl (vs No. 15 Michigan)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 11 Arkansas | 0 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
| • No. 15 Michigan | 3 | 21 | 0 | 21 | 45 |
- Date: January 1, 1999
- Location: Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL
- Game start: 12:00 p.m.
- Game attendance: 63,584
| 1 | 10:37 | MICH | Jay Feely 43-yard field goal | MICH 3–0 |
| 2 | 10:37 | ARK | Michael Williams 35-yard pass from Clint Stoerner (Todd Latourette kick) | ARK 7–3 |
| 7:40 | MICH | Anthony Thomas 2-yard run (Feely kick) | MICH 10–7 | |
| 5:39 | MICH | Ian Gold 46-yard interception return (Feely kick) | MICH 17–7 | |
| 2:12 | ARK | Latourette 42-yard field goal | MICH 17–10 | |
| 0:34 | MICH | Thomas 5-yard run (Feely kick) | MICH 24–10 | |
| 3 | 9:10 | ARK | Chrys Chukwuma 2-yard run (Latourette kick) | MICH 24–17 |
| 5:48 | ARK | Chukwuma 1-yard run (Latourette kick) | TIE 24–24 | |
| 4 | 12:18 | ARK | Joe Dean Davenport 9-yard pass from Stoerner (Latourette kick) | ARK 31–24 |
| 5:49 | MICH | Thomas 1-yard run (Feely kick) | TIE 31–31 | |
| 2:25 | MICH | DiAllo Johnson 21-yard pass from Brady (Feely kick) | MICH 38–31 | |
| 3:48 | MICH | James Whitley 26-yard interception return (Feely kick) | MICH 45–31 | |
On January 1, 1999, No. 15 Michigan defeated No. 11 Arkansas, 45–31, before a crowd of 63,584 in the 1999 Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
| Statistics | Arkansas | Michigan |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 20 | 21 |
| Plays–yards | 82–348 | 76–434 |
| Rushes–yards | 40–116 | 46–204 |
| Passing yards | 232 | 230 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 17-42-2 | 16–30–2 |
| Time of possession | 28:43 | 31:17 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Passing | Clint Stoerner | 17/42, 232 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Chrys Chukwuma | 17 carries, 56 yards, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Michael Williams | 7 receptions, 90 yards, 1 TD | |
| Michigan | Passing | Tom Brady | 14/27, 209 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Anthony Thomas | 21 carries, 132 yards, 3 TD | |
| Receiving | Tai Streets | 7 receptions, 129 yards |
Roster
| 1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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