1998 Division 1A Football Season

1998 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams	112
Preseason AP #1	Ohio State Buckeyes
Post-season
Duration	December 19, 1998 – January 4, 1999
Bowl games	22
Heisman Trophy	Ricky Williams, Texas
Bowl Championship Series
1999 Fiesta Bowl
Site	Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Winner	Tennessee Volunteers
Division I-A football seasons
← 1997 1999 →

1998 ACC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#3 Florida State $+		7	–	1					11	–	2
#9 Georgia Tech +		7	–	1					10	–	2
#18 Virginia		6	–	2					9	–	3
North Carolina		5	–	3					7	–	5
NC State		5	–	3					7	–	5
Duke		2	–	6					4	–	7
Wake Forest		2	–	6					3	–	8
Clemson		1	–	7					3	–	8
Maryland		1	–	7					3	–	8
$ – BCS representative as conference champion + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1998 Big East football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#25 Syracuse $		6	–	1					8	–	4
#20 Miami (FL)		5	–	2					9	–	3
#23 Virginia Tech		5	–	2					9	–	3
West Virginia		5	–	2					8	–	4
Boston College		3	–	4					4	–	7
Rutgers		2	–	5					5	–	6
Temple		2	–	5					2	–	9
Pittsburgh		0	–	7					2	–	9
$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1998 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#2 Ohio State %+		7	–	1					11	–	1
#6 Wisconsin $+		7	–	1					11	–	1
#12 Michigan +		7	–	1					10	–	3
#24 Purdue		6	–	2					9	–	4
#17 Penn State		5	–	3					9	–	3
Michigan State		4	–	4					6	–	6
Minnesota		2	–	6					5	–	6
Indiana		2	–	6					4	–	7
Illinois		2	–	6					3	–	8
Iowa		2	–	6					3	–	8
Northwestern		0	–	8					3	–	9
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

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

1998 Big West Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Idaho $		4	–	1					9	–	3
Nevada		3	–	2					6	–	5
North Texas		3	–	2					3	–	8
Boise State		2	–	3					6	–	5
Utah State		2	–	3					3	–	8
New Mexico State		1	–	4					3	–	8
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1998 Conference USA football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#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
Cincinnati		1	–	5					2	–	9
Memphis		1	–	5					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1998 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Marshall xy$		7	–	1					12	–	1
Miami 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 Rankings from AP Poll

1998 Pacific-10 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#8 UCLA $		8	–	0					10	–	2
#4 Arizona		7	–	1					12	–	1
Oregon		5	–	3					8	–	4
USC		5	–	3					8	–	5
Washington		4	–	4					6	–	6
Arizona State		4	–	4					5	–	6
California		3	–	5					5	–	6
Oregon State		2	–	6					5	–	6
Stanford		2	–	6					3	–	8
Washington State		0	–	8					3	–	8
$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1998 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
#1 Tennessee x$#		8	–	0					13	–	0
#5 Florida  %		7	–	1					10	–	2
#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
#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
# – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first of the Bowl Championship Series, which saw Tennessee win the national championship, one year after star quarterback Peyton Manning left for the NFL. The Volunteers defeated the Florida State Seminoles 23-16 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona to secure the inaugural BCS National Championship.

The BCS combined elements of the old Bowl Coalition and the Bowl Alliance it replaced. The agreement existed between the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, and Orange Bowls, the Cotton Bowl Classic diminishing in status since the breakup of the Southwest Conference. Like the Bowl Alliance, a national championship game would rotate between the four bowls, with the top two teams facing each other. These teams were chosen based upon a BCS poll, combining the AP poll, the Coaches poll, and a third computer component. The computer factored in things such as strength of schedule, margin of victory, and quality wins without taking into account time (in other words a loss in October and a loss in November were on equal footing).

However, like the Bowl Coalition, the bowls not hosting the national championship would retain their traditional tie-ins.

The first run of the Bowl Championship Series was not without controversy as Kansas State finished third in the final BCS standings but was not invited to a BCS bowl game. Ohio State (ranked 4th) and two-loss Florida (8th) received the at-large bids instead. Also, Tulane went undefeated but finished 10th in the BCS standings and was not invited to a BCS bowl because of their strength of schedule.

The following rule changes were adopted by the NCAA Rules Committee during their 1998 meeting:

With no teams upgrading from Division I-AA, the number of Division I-A schools was fixed at 112.

Rankings are from the AP Poll.

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the

Most Outstanding Player of the year
Winner: Ricky Williams, Texas, Running Back (2335 points)

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