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.
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 |
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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 | | - Louisiana Superdome
- New Orleans, LA (rivalry)
| FSN | W 21–7 | 32,527 | |
October 17 | 2:30 pm | Louisville | No. 24 | - Louisiana Superdome
- New Orleans, LA
| 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 | - Louisiana Superdome
- New Orleans, LA
| | 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 | - Louisiana Superdome
- New Orleans, LA
| FSN | W 48–20 | 26,978 | |
| 7:00 pm | Louisiana Tech* | No. 11 | - Louisiana Superdome
- New Orleans, LA
| | W 63–30 | 37,391 | [2] |
December 31 | 12:30 pm | vs. BYU* | No. 10 | | ESPN | W 41–27 | 52,197 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Central time
|
[3]
Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below | Week |
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
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AP | — | — | RV | RV | 25 | 25 | 24 | 22 | 19 | 16T | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
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Coaches Poll | — | — | RV | RV | 25 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
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BCS | Not released | 19 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 10 | Not released |
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Game summaries
At Cincinnati
Tulane at Cincinnati
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
Green Wave |
|
|
0 |
Bearcats |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
- Game start: 6:00 PM
- Game attendance: 20,721
At SMU
Tulane at SMU
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
Green Wave |
|
|
0 |
Mustangs |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX
- Game start: 7:00 PM
- Game attendance: 12,316
Navy
Navy at Tulane
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
Midshipmen |
|
|
0 |
Green Wave |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 19,371
Southern Miss
Southern Miss at No. 25 Tulane
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
Golden Eagles |
|
|
0 |
No. 25 Green Wave |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 32,527
Louisville
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
Cardinals |
|
|
0 |
No. 24 Green Wave |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 26,217
- Television network: FSN
At Rutgers
No. 22 Tulane at Rutgers
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
No. 22 Green Wave |
|
|
0 |
Scarlet Knights |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Rutgers Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey
- Game start: 11:00 AM
- Game attendance: 20,714
Southwestern Louisiana
SW Louisiana at No. 19 Tulane
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
Ragin' Cajuns |
|
|
0 |
No. 19 Green Wave |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 25,177
At Memphis
No. 15 Tulane at Memphis
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
No. 15 Green Wave |
|
|
0 |
Tigers |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tennessee
- Game start: 1:00 PM
- Game attendance: 18,192
At Army
No. 14 Tulane at Army
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
No. 14 Green Wave |
|
|
0 |
Cadets |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Michie Stadium, West Point, New York
- Game start: 12:00 PM
- Game attendance: 39,083
Houston
Houston at No. 12 Tulane
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
Cougars |
|
|
0 |
No. 12 Green Wave |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 26,978
- Television network: FSN
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech at No. 11 Tulane
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
Bulldogs |
|
|
0 |
No. 11 Green Wave |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
- Game start: 2:30 PM
- Game attendance: 37,391
Vs. BYU
BYU vs No. 10 Tulane
Team |
1 |
2 | Total |
BYU |
|
|
0 |
No. 10 Tulane |
|
|
0 |
- Location: Liberty Bowl, Memphis, Tennessee
- Game start: 12:30 PM
- Game attendance: 52,197
- Television network: ESPN
Team players in the NFL
[5]
References
- ^ Notre Dame has been treated well during the BCS era, ESPN, March 22, 2008.
- ^ "Tulane ends regular season unbeaten". Hattiesburg American. November 27, 1998. Retrieved July 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1998 Season in Review". Tulane University Department of Athletics. July 29, 1999. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- ^ "Dennis O'Sullivan: Career Stats at NFL.com". www.nfl.com. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- ^ "1999 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
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