American college football season
The1998 USC Trojans football team represented theUniversity of Southern California (USC) as a member ofPacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the1998 NCAA Division I-A football season . In their first year under head coachPaul Hackett , the Trojans compiled an overall record of 8-5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the Pac-10, and outscored opponents 346 to 241. USC was invited to theSun Bowl , where the Trojans lost toTCU . The team played home games atLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum inLos Angeles . It was the Trojans' 75th anniversary playing at the Coliseum.
This was Hackett's only winning season and bowl appearance at USC. After three wins, including an opener againstPurdue in thePigskin Classic , USC was ranked as high as No. 18 in theAP poll , but lost two of its next three and dropped out of the rankings for the rest of the season. During halftime of the game againstUCLA , 91-year-old USC "Super Fan"Giles Pellerin died while watching his 797th consecutive USC football game.[ 1]
QuarterbackCarson Palmer led the team in passing, completing 130 of 235 passes for 1,755 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions.Chad Morton led the team in rushing with 199 carries for 985 yards and six touchdowns.R. Jay Soward led the team in receiving yards with 44 catches for 679 yards and six touchdowns; Billy Miller also had 49 catches for 623 yards and six touchdowns.[ 2]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source August 30 11:30 a.m. Purdue * ABC W 27–1756,623 September 12 7:30 p.m. San Diego State * No. 22 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA FSNW2 W 35–649,927 September 19 7:00 p.m. Oregon State No. 18 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA FSNW2 W 40–2045,629 September 26 12:30 p.m. at No. 10Florida State * No. 18 ABC L 10–3079,815 [ 3] October 3 4:00 p.m. Arizona State No. 21 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA ABC W 35–2456,093 October 10 3:30 p.m. California No. 19 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA FSN L 31–3265,678 October 17 7:15 p.m. atWashington State FSN W 42–1431,178 October 24 3:30 p.m. at No. 12Oregon FSN L 13–1745,807 October 31 12:30 p.m. Washington Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA ABC W 33–1062,276 November 7 3:30 p.m. atStanford FSN W 34–943,250 November 21 12:30 p.m. at No. 3UCLA ABC L 17–3488,080 November 28 5:00 p.m. No. 9Notre Dame * Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry ) ABC W 10–090,069 December 31 11:00 a.m. vs.TCU * CBS L 19–2846,612 *Non-conference game Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game All times are inPacific time
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 22 18 18 21 19 — — — — — RV — — — RV Coaches Poll RV 23 16 17 22 20 — — — — — RV — — RV — BCS Not released — — — 20 — — — Not released
1 2 3 4 Total Boilermakers 14 3 0 0 17 Trojans 7 3 7 10 27
1 2 3 4 Total Aztecs 0 6 0 0 6 No. 22 Trojans 7 14 0 14 35
1 2 3 4 Total Beavers 7 3 7 3 20 No. 18 Trojans 7 10 3 20 40
at No. 10 Florida State [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total No. 18 Trojans 3 0 7 0 10 No. 10 Seminoles 3 10 7 10 30
1 2 3 4 Total Sun Devils 7 10 7 0 24 No. 21 Trojans 0 7 6 22 35
1 2 3 4 Total Golden Bears 7 3 8 14 32 No. 19 Trojans 7 17 7 0 31
at Washington State [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Trojans 7 14 14 7 42 Cougars 7 7 0 0 14
1 2 3 4 Total Trojans 0 10 0 3 13 No. 12 Ducks 0 3 7 7 17
1 2 3 4 Total Huskies 0 0 10 0 10 Trojans 7 7 0 19 33
1 2 3 4 Total Trojans 10 7 3 14 34 Cardinal 7 0 0 2 9
1 2 3 4 Total Trojans 3 7 7 0 17 No. 3 Bruins 14 13 0 7 34
vs No. 9 Notre Dame [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total No. 9 Fighting Irish 0 0 0 0 0 Trojans 0 0 10 0 10
1 2 3 4 Total Trojans 0 3 13 3 19 Horned Frogs 14 7 7 0 28
1998 USC Trojans coaching staff Name Position Year at USC Alma mater (year) Paul Hackett Head coach 1st UC Davis (1969) Steve Greatwood Offensive line 1st Oregon (1981) Hue Jackson Offensive coordinator/running backs 2nd Pacific (1987) Ken O'Brien Quarterbacks 1st UC Davis (1983) Ed Orgeron Defensive line 1st Northwestern State (1984) Larry Petroff Tight ends/recruiting coordinator 1st Ashland College (1973) Shawn Slocum Linebackers 1st Texas A&M (1987) Dennis Thurman Secondary 6th USC (1978) Mike Wilson Wide receivers 2nd Washington State (1981) Bill Young Defensive coordinator 1st Oklahoma State (1967)
1998 USC Trojans football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Special teams Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) IneligibleRoster
Venues Bowls and rivalries Culture and lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
