American college football season
The1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented theUniversity of Arkansas as a member of the Western Division of theSoutheastern Conference during the1998 NCAA Division I-A football season . Led by first-year head coachHouston 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 withMississippi State . By virtue of a head-to-head loss to the Bulldogs, Arkansas was left out of theSEC Championship Game . The Razorbacks were invited to theFlorida Citrus Bowl , where they lost toMichigan . The team played home games atRazorback Stadium inFayetteville, Arkansas andWar Memorial Stadium inLittle Rock, Arkansas .
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 futurenational champion , No. 1Tennessee inKnoxville , 28–24, due in large part to a fumble late in the game by Arkansas quarterbackClint 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. BeatingLSU in the regular season finale secured Arkansas a share of the division title and sent the 9–2 Razorbacks to the Florida Citrus Bowl inOrlando on New Year's Day to play the Michigan Wolverines. In the first meeting ever between the two schools, theTom Brady -led Wolverines won, 45–31, and Arkansas finished the season 9–3 and ranked No. 16 in the finalAP poll .
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 5 6:00 pm Southwestern Louisiana * W 38–1747,562 [ 1] September 19 6:00 pm SMU * W 44–1755,544 [ 2] September 26 5:00 pm No. 22Alabama Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR ESPN2 W 42–651,763 [ 3] October 3 5:00 pm Kentucky No. 22 War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR ESPN2 W 27–2055,782 [ 4] October 10 2:30 pm atMemphis * No. 20 ESPN2 W 23–942,766 [ 5] October 17 12:00 pm atSouth Carolina No. 17 PPV W 41–2867,930 [ 6] October 31 1:00 pm atAuburn No. 14 PPV W 24–2178,439 [ 7] November 7 11:30 am Ole Miss No. 11 Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR (rivalry ) JPS W 34–049,115 [ 8] November 14 2:30 pm at No. 1Tennessee No. 10 CBS L 24–28106,365 [ 9] November 21 11:30 am atMississippi State No. 9 JPS L 21–2236,656 [ 10] November 27 1:30 pm LSU No. 13 War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR (rivalry ) CBS W 41–1455,831 [ 11] January 1 1:00 pm vs. No. 15Michigan * No. 11 ABC L 31–4563,584 [ 12] *Non-conference game Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game All times are inCentral time
[ 13]
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP — — RV RV 22 20 17 15 14 11 10 9 13 11 11 16 Coaches — RV RV RV 24 19 16 12 12 10 9 9 13 11 11 17 BCS Not released 12 11 7 9 13 13 13 Not released
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 VaughnQuincy 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
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.[ 14]
[ edit ] Arkansas vs. Michigan
Team 1 2 3 4 Total No. 11 Arkansas 0 10 14 7 31 •No. 15 Michigan 3 21 0 21 45
Scoring summary 1 10:37 MICH Jay Feely 43-yard field goalMICH 3–0 2 10:37 ARK Michael Williams 35-yard pass fromClint 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
[ 15] On January 1, 1999, No. 15 Michigan defeated No. 11 Arkansas, 45–31, before a crowd of 63,584 in the1999 Florida Citrus Bowl inOrlando, 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
1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 8 Chris Akin K 10 Todd Latourette Sr
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) IneligibleRoster
^ "Arkansas wins first under Nutt" .The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . September 6, 1998. RetrievedOctober 16, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Arkansas romps past SMU" .The Sun . September 20, 1998. RetrievedOctober 16, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Tide hog-tied, 42–6" .The Anniston Star . September 27, 1998. RetrievedFebruary 20, 2021 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Aw, Nutts! Hogs overtake 'Cats" .The Paducah Sun . October 4, 1998. RetrievedOctober 16, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Hogs still unbeaten after Memphis rout" .Paragould Daily Press . October 11, 1998. RetrievedOctober 16, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Carolina falls apart in third quarter of 41–28 loss to Hogs" .The Item . October 18, 1998. RetrievedOctober 16, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Arkansas overcomes turnovers to beat Auburn" .The Marshall News Messenger . November 1, 1998. RetrievedOctober 16, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Arkansas throws shutout at Rebels" .The Montgomery Advertiser . November 8, 1998. RetrievedJuly 28, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Friendly fumble; Late turnover brings UT back from brink" .The Leaf-Chronicle . November 15, 1998. RetrievedOctober 16, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Bulldogs take Hogs to wire" .The Shreveport Times . November 22, 1998. RetrievedOctober 16, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "LSU ends season with a thud" .Alexandria Daily Town Talk . November 28, 1998. RetrievedJuly 28, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Michigan strikes late, tops Arkansas" .The Miami Herald . January 2, 1999. RetrievedOctober 16, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "1998 Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results" .College Football at Sports-Reference.com . RetrievedApril 11, 2025 .^ Broussard, Chris (November 15, 1998)."College Football; Tennessee's Title Drive Stays Alive, Just Barely" .The New York Times . RetrievedSeptember 28, 2025 . ^ "U-M Summary" .Detroit Free Press . January 2, 1999. p. 8B – viaNewspapers.com .
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