1998 Tulane Green Wave football team
American college football season
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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.
| 1998 Tulane Green Wave football | |
|---|---|
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C-USA champion Liberty Bowl champion | |
Liberty Bowl, W 41–27 vs. BYU | |
| Conference | Conference USA |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 7 |
| AP | No. 7 |
| Record | 12–0 (6–0 C-USA) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Rich Rodriguez (2nd season) |
| Offensive scheme | Spread option |
| Defensive coordinator | Rick Smith (2nd season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Home stadium | Louisiana Superdome |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 5 | 6:00 pm | at Cincinnati | W 52–34 | 20,721 | ||||
| September 12 | 7:00 pm | at SMU* | W 31–21 | 12,316 | ||||
| September 26 | 2:30 pm | Navy* | FSN | W 42–24 | 19,371 | |||
| October 3 | 2:30 pm | Southern Miss |
| FSN | W 21–7 | 32,527 | ||
| October 17 | 2:30 pm | Louisville | No. 24 |
| FSN | W 28–22 | 26,217 | |
| October 24 | 11:00 am | at Rutgers* | No. 22 | W 52–24 | 20,714 | |||
| October 31 | 2:30 pm | Southwestern Louisiana* | No. 19 |
| W 72–20 | 25,177 | ||
| November 7 | 1:00 pm | at Memphis | No. 15 | W 41–31 | 18,192 | |||
| November 14 | 12:00 pm | at Army | No. 14 | FSN | W 49–35 | 39,083 | ||
| November 21 | 2:30 pm | Houston | No. 12 |
| FSN | W 48–20 | 26,978 | |
| November 26 | 7:00 pm | Louisiana Tech* | No. 11 |
| W 63–30 | 37,391 | [2] | |
| December 31 | 12:30 pm | vs. BYU* | No. 10 |
| ESPN | W 41–27 | 52,197 | |
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Rankings
| Week | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | — | RV | RV | 25 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 19 | 16T | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| Coaches Poll | — | — | RV | RV | 25 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| BCS | Not released | 19 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 10 | Not released | |||||||
Roster
| 1998 Tulane Green Wave 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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Game summaries
At Cincinnati
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Green Wave | 17 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 52 |
| Bearcats | 0 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 34 |
- Location: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
- Game start: 6:00 PM
- Game attendance: 20,721
At SMU
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Green Wave | 14 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Mustangs | 0 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 21 |
- Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX
- Game start: 7:00 PM
- Game attendance: 12,316
Navy
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midshipmen | 10 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 24 |
| • Green Wave | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 19,371
Southern Miss
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Eagles | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| • No. 25 Green Wave | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 32,527
Louisville
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 7 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 22 |
| • No. 24 Green Wave | 0 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 26,217
- TV announcers (FSN): Paul Kennedy and Trevor Matich
At Rutgers
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • No. 22 Green Wave | 10 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 52 |
| Scarlet Knights | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
- Location: Rutgers Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey
- Game start: 11:00 AM
- Game attendance: 20,714
Southwestern Louisiana
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ragin' Cajuns | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
| • No. 19 Green Wave | 16 | 28 | 7 | 21 | 72 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 25,177
At Memphis
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • No. 15 Green Wave | 21 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 41 |
| Tigers | 7 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 31 |
- Location: Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tennessee
- Game start: 1:00 PM
- Game attendance: 18,192
At Army
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • No. 14 Green Wave | 14 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 49 |
| Cadets | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
- Location: Michie Stadium, West Point, New York
- Game start: 12:00 PM
- Game attendance: 39,083
Houston
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cougars | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| • No. 12 Green Wave | 3 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 48 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 26,978
- Television network: FSN
Louisiana Tech
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulldogs | 10 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 30 |
| • No. 11 Green Wave | 14 | 21 | 21 | 7 | 63 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 37,391
Vs. BYU
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BYU | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 27 |
| • No. 10 Tulane | 10 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 41 |
- 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] |
