1998 Wisconsin Badgers football team

1998 Wisconsin Badgers football
1998 Wisconsin Badgers football
Big Ten co-champion; Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 38–31 vs. UCLA
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 6
Record	11–1 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Barry Alvarez (9th season);
Offensive coordinator	Brad Childress (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Smashmouth
Defensive coordinator	Kevin Cosgrove (4th season)
Base defense	4–3
MVPs	Bob Adamov; Tom Burke; Matt Davenport; Aaron Gibson; Eric Grams; Cecil Martin; Mike Samuel; Mike Schneck; Leonard Taylor;
Captains	Bob Adamov; Cecil Martin; Chris McIntosh; Donnel Thompson;
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium

1998 Big Ten Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 $+	7	–	1	11	–	1
No. 2 Ohio State %+	7	–	1	11	–	1
No. 12 Michigan +	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 24 Purdue	6	–	2	9	–	4
No. 17 Penn State	5	–	3	9	–	3
Michigan State	4	–	4	6	–	6
Indiana	2	–	6	4	–	7
Minnesota	2	–	6	5	–	6
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

The 1998 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their ninth year under head coach Barry Alvarez, the Badgers compiled a 11–1 record (7–1 in conference games), finished in a three-way tie for the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 344 to 112.^[1]^[2] They were awarded the Big Ten's berth in the 1999 Rose Bowl under Big Ten tie-breaking rules. Wisconsin went on to defeat No. 6 UCLA, 38–31, in the Rose Bowl.^[3]^[4]

Running back Ron Dayne led the Big Ten with 1,279 rushing yards on 268 carries for an average of 4.8 yards per carry.^[5] He received first-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Offensive tackle Aaron Gibson and defensive end Tom Burke were consensus first-team All-Americans.^[6]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	8:00 p.m.	at San Diego State*	No. 20	Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA		W 26–14	37,47	^[7]
September 12	11:30 a.m.	Ohio*	No. 17	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	MSC	W 45–0	74,676	^[8]
September 19	1:00 p.m.	UNLV*	No. 14	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 52–7	75,044	^[9]
September 26	11:00 a.m.	Northwestern	No. 14	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN	W 38–7	78,337	^[10]
October 3	11:00 a.m.	at Indiana	No. 13	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ESPN2	W 24–20	32,328	^[11]
October 10	7:30 p.m.	Purdue	No. 12	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN2	W 31–24	78,782	^[12]
October 17	11:00 a.m.	at Illinois	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN2	W 37–3	40,627	^[13]
October 24	2:30 p.m.	at Iowa	No. 9	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	ABC	W 31–0	70,397	^[14]
November 7	11:00 a.m.	Minnesota	No. 8	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	ESPN	W 26–7	78,767	^[15]
November 14	11:00 a.m.	at No. 15 Michigan	No. 8	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	ESPN	L 10–27	111,217	^[16]
November 21	2:00 p.m.	No. 14 Penn State	No. 13	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN	W 24–3	78,964	^[17]
January 1, 1999	3:30 p.m.	vs. No. 6 UCLA*	No. 9	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	ABC	W 38–31	93,872	^[18]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ 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	20	17	14	14	13	12	9	9	9	8	8	13	10	8	9	6
Coaches Poll	20	17	14	14	13	10	9	8	8	7	6	12	9	8	8	5
BCS	Not released								9	8	9	13	10	9	9	Not released

Game summaries

UCLA (Rose Bowl)

Wisconsin vs. UCLA
(Rose Bowl)

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• #9 Badgers	7	17	7	7	38
#6 UCLA	7	14	7	3	31

Date: January 1, 1999
Location: Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
Game start: 12:30 PST
Game attendance: 93,872
Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C), Sunny
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Bob Griese

Personnel

Roster

1998 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
TE	`81`	Mark Anelli	Fr
WR	`7`	Willie Austin	Jr
RB	`29`	Michael Bennett	Fr
QB	`5`	Brooks Bollinger	Fr
WR	`17`	Demetrius Brown	Jr
FB	`25`	Marcus Carpenter	Jr
WR	`88`	Chris Chambers	So
G	`54`	Dave Costa	So
OT	`66`	Pat Daley	Jr
RB	`39`	Carlos Daniels	Fr
WR	`3`	Nick Davis	Fr
RB	`33`	Ron Dayne	Jr
OL	`55`	Jason Eck	Jr
RB	`4`	Eddie Faulkner	So
G	`60`	Bill Ferrario	So
OT	`79`	Aaron Gibson	Sr
WR	`18`	Rasheed Golden	So
TE	`89`	Eric Grams	Sr
G	`78`	Kevin Kampmann	Jr
QB	`12`	Scott Kavanagh	Jr
FB	`41`	Chad Kuhns	Fr
FB	`37`	Cecil Martin (C)	Sr
OT	`75`	Chris McIntosh (C)	Jr
WR	`1`	Ahmad Merritt	Jr
C	`70`	Casey Rabach	So
TE	`87`	Dague Retzlaff	So
C, G	`53`	Rob Roell	Jr
QB	`10`	Mike Samuel	Sr
TE	`85`	John Sigmund	So
TE	`86`	Mike Solwold	So
OT	`68`	Mark Tauscher	Jr
FB	`38`	Matt Unertl	So
RB	`13`	Tony Williams	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`29`	Bob Adamov	Sr
S	`6`	Joey Boese	Fr
DT	`77`	Wendell Bryant	Fr
DE	`74`	Tom Burke	Sr
DB	`31`	Carlease Clark	Fr
S	`8`	Jason Doering	So
CB	`36`	Mike Echols	Fr
DE	`50`	Donny Eicher	Jr
DE	`96`	John Favret	So
CB	`2`	Jamar Fletcher	Fr
LB	`16`	Chris Ghidorzi	Jr
LB	`38`	Pat Gill	Jr
LB	`49`	Nick Greisen	Fr
LB	`42`	Ben Herbert	Fr
NT	`58`	Chris Janek	Jr
CB	`24`	Donte King	So
LB	`19`	Roger Knight	So
DT	`78`	Ross Kolodziej	So
LB	`45`	Dan Lisowski	Fr
NT	`98`	Eric Mahlik	So
S	`30`	Ryan Marks	So
LB	`43`	Delante McGrew	Fr
DE	`9`	Sam Mueller	So
S	`26`	Bobby Myers	Jr
DT	`94`	George Pratt	Fr
S	`15`	Tim Rosga	Jr
DE	`99`	Jake Sprague	Fr
S	`34`	Leonard Taylor	Sr
LB	`32`	Bryson Thompson	Fr
LB	`44`	Donnel Thompson (C)	Jr
DT	`95`	Erik Waisanen	Jr
DT	`92`	Brandon Williams	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`28`	Matt Davenport	Sr
K	`20`	Vitaly Pisetsky	Jr
LS	`46`	Mike Schneck	Sr
P	`23`	Eric Skrzypchak	Jr
P	`14`	Kevin Stemke	So

Head coach

Barry Alvarez

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Brad Childress – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Kevin Cosgrove – Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers
Tim Davis – Tight Ends
Phil Elmassian – Defensive Backs
Jay Hayes – Outside Linebackers/Special Teams
Jim Hueber – Offensive Line
Henry Mason – Wide Receivers
John Palermo – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line
Brian White – Running Backs
Bernie Wyatt – Director of Football Operations

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Regular starters

Position	Player
Quarterback	Mike Samuel
Running back	Ron Dayne
Fullback	Cecil Martin
Wide receiver	Chris Chambers
Wide receiver	Ahmad Merritt
Tight end	Dague Retzlaff/Eric Grams
Left tackle	Chris McIntosh
Left guard	Bill Ferrario
Center	Casey Rabach
Right guard	Dave Costa
Right tackle	Aaron Gibson

Position	Player
Defensive end	Tom Burke
Defensive tackle	Ross Kolodziej
Nose Guard	Eric Mahlik
Defensive end	John Favret
Outside linebacker	Bob Adamov
Inside linebacker	Donnel Thompson
Outside linebacker	Chris Ghidorzi
Cornerback	Mike Echols
Free safety	Jason Doering
Strong safety	Leonard Taylor
Cornerback	Jamar Fletcher

Statistical achievements

The Badgers gained an average of 100.8 passing yards and 187.3 rushing yards per game. On defense, they gave up an average of 165.6 passing yards and 82.2 rushing yards per game.

Running back Ron Dayne led the Big Ten with 1,279 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 268 carries (4.8 yards per carry).^[5]

Quarterback Mike Samuel completed 81 of 155 passes (52.3%) for 1,021 yards, six touchdowns, four interceptions, and a 115.2 passer rating. Samuel also tallied 317 rushing yards.^[5]

Kicker Matt Davenport led the team in scoring with 99 points, converting 37 of 39 extra point kicks and 18 of 20 field goal attempts.^[5]

Wide receiver Chris Chambers was the team's leading receiver with 26 catches for 537 yards. His average of 20.7 yards per receptions was the highest in the Big Ten.^[5]

Awards and honors

Tom Burke: All-America (unanimous consensus), Bill Willis Trophy, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media)
Aaron Gibson: All-America (consensus), All-Big Ten (First Team, media; Second Team, coaches)
Ron Dayne: All-America (WCFF), 1999 Rose Bowl player of the Game, All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media)

Eight Wisconsin players received first- or second-team honors on the 1998 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Dayne (Coaches-1, Media-1); Davenport (Coaches-1, Media-1); Burke (Coaches-1, Media-1); Gibson (Coaches-2, Media-1); punter Kevin Stemke (Coaches-1, Media-1); defensive back Jamar Fletcher (Coaches-2, Media-1); center Casey Rabach (Coaches-2, Media-2); and offensive tackle Chris McIntosh (Coaches-2).^[19]

Barry Alvarez received the Big Ten Coach of the Year award.

1999 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Aaron Gibson	Tackle	1	27	Detroit Lions
Tom Burke	Linebacker	3	83	Arizona Cardinals
Cecil Martin	Fullback	6	Philadelphia Eagles

^[20]

References

^ "1962 Wisconsin Badgers Schedule and Results". SR/College Footbal. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
^ "Wisconsin Football 2020 Fact Book". University of Wisconsin. p. 184. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
^ Howard-Cooper, Scott (January 2, 1999). "After Dayne Runs Them Over, They Beat Themselves Up - UCLA Conquered and Divided After Rose Bowl Defeat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
^ Gurnick, Ken (January 2, 1999). "College Football: Rose Bowl; Badgers Prove Doubters Wrong". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "1998 Wisconsin Badgers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 10. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
^ "Wisconsin at San Diego St". CNN. September 6, 1998. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012.
^ "Ohio at Wisconsin". CNN. September 12, 1998. Archived from the original on January 23, 2001.
^ "UNLV at Wisconsin". CNN. September 19, 1998. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012.
^ "Northwestern at Wisconsin". CNN. September 26, 1998. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012.
^ "Wisconsin at Indiana". CNN. October 3, 1998. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.
^ "Purdue at Wisconsin". CNN. October 11, 1998. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013.
^ "Wisconsin at Illinois". CNN. October 17, 1998. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.
^ "Wisconsin at Iowa". CNN. October 24, 1998. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012.
^ "Minnesota at Wisconsin". CNN. November 7, 1998. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012.
^ "Wisconsin at Michigan". CNN. November 14, 1998. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012.
^ "Penn State at Wisconsin". CNN. November 21, 1998. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012.
^ Bagnato, Andrew (January 2, 1999). "Badgers Say Cheese". Chicago Tribune.
^ "Jansen Highlights Michigan All-Big Ten Award Winners". University of Michigan. November 30, 1998.
^ "1999 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2018.

[SR-1] "1962 Wisconsin Badgers Schedule and Results". SR/College Footbal. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 26, 2025.

[p184-2] "Wisconsin Football 2020 Fact Book". University of Wisconsin. p. 184. Retrieved June 26, 2025.

[3] Howard-Cooper, Scott (January 2, 1999). "After Dayne Runs Them Over, They Beat Themselves Up - UCLA Conquered and Divided After Rose Bowl Defeat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 4, 2009.

[4] Gurnick, Ken (January 2, 1999). "College Football: Rose Bowl; Badgers Prove Doubters Wrong". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2009.

[stat-5] "1998 Wisconsin Badgers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2025.

[6] "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 10. Retrieved October 21, 2017.

[7] "Wisconsin at San Diego St". CNN. September 6, 1998. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012.

[8] "Ohio at Wisconsin". CNN. September 12, 1998. Archived from the original on January 23, 2001.

[9] "UNLV at Wisconsin". CNN. September 19, 1998. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012.

[10] "Northwestern at Wisconsin". CNN. September 26, 1998. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012.

[11] "Wisconsin at Indiana". CNN. October 3, 1998. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012.

[12] "Purdue at Wisconsin". CNN. October 11, 1998. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013.

[13] "Wisconsin at Illinois". CNN. October 17, 1998. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013.

[14] "Wisconsin at Iowa". CNN. October 24, 1998. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012.

[15] "Minnesota at Wisconsin". CNN. November 7, 1998. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012.

[16] "Wisconsin at Michigan". CNN. November 14, 1998. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012.

[17] "Penn State at Wisconsin". CNN. November 21, 1998. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012.

[18] Bagnato, Andrew (January 2, 1999). "Badgers Say Cheese". Chicago Tribune.

[B10-19] "Jansen Highlights Michigan All-Big Ten Award Winners". University of Michigan. November 30, 1998.

[20] "1999 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2018.

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1	WIS	Ron Dayne 54-yard run (Matt Davenport kick)	WIS 7–0

1	UCLA	Jermaine Lewis 38-yard pass from Cade McNown (Chris Sailer kick)	Tied 7–7

2	WIS	Dayne 7-yard run (Davenport kick)	WIS 14–7

2	UCLA	Durell Price 61-yard pass from Freddie Mitchell (Sailer kick)	Tied 14–14

2	UCLA	Danny Farmer 41-yard pass from McNown (Sailer kick)	UCLA 21–14

2	WIS	Dayne 10-yard run (Davenport kick)	Tied 21–21

2	WIS	Davenport 40-yard field goal	WIS 24–21

3	WIS	Dayne 22-yard run (Davenport kick)	WIS 31–21

3	UCLA	Lewis 10-yard run (Sailer kick)	WIS 31–28

4	WIS	Jamar Fletcher 46-yard interception return (Davenport kick)	WIS 38–28

4	UCLA	UCLA – Sailer 30-yard field goal	WIS 38–31

Wisconsin Badgers football
Venues	Randall Field (1895–1916) Camp Randall Stadium (1917–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Iowa Minnesota Nebraska
Culture & lore	Bucky Badger "On, Wisconsin!" Marching band "Jump Around" Tall Grass Game Crazylegs
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Big Ten Conference football champions
Western Conference	Wisconsin (1896) Wisconsin (1897) Michigan (1898) Chicago (1899) Iowa & Minnesota (1900) Michigan & Wisconsin (1901) Michigan (1902) Michigan, Minnesota, & Northwestern (1903) Michigan & Minnesota (1904) Chicago (1905) Michigan, Minnesota, & Wisconsin (1906) Chicago (1907) Chicago (1908) Minnesota (1909) Illinois & Minnesota (1910) Minnesota (1911) Wisconsin (1912) Chicago (1913) Illinois (1914) Illinois & Minnesota (1915) Ohio State (1916)
Big Ten	Ohio State (1917) Illinois, Michigan, & Purdue (1918) Illinois (1919) Ohio State (1920) Iowa (1921) Chicago, Iowa, & Michigan (1922) Illinois & Michigan (1923) Chicago (1924) Michigan (1925) Michigan & Northwestern (1926) Illinois & Minnesota (1927) Illinois (1928) Purdue (1929) Michigan & Northwestern (1930) Purdue, Michigan & Northwestern (1931) Michigan & Purdue (1932) Michigan & Minnesota (1933) Minnesota (1934) Minnesota & Ohio State (1935) Northwestern (1936) Minnesota (1937) Minnesota (1938) Ohio State (1939) Minnesota (1940) Minnesota (1941) Ohio State (1942) Michigan & Purdue (1943) Ohio State (1944) Indiana (1945)
Big Nine	Illinois (1946) Michigan (1947) Michigan (1948) Michigan & Ohio State (1949)
Big Ten	Michigan (1950) Illinois (1951) Purdue & Wisconsin (1952) Illinois & Michigan State (1953) Ohio State (1954) Ohio State (1955) Iowa (1956) Ohio State (1957) Iowa (1958) Wisconsin (1959) Minnesota & Iowa (1960) Ohio State (1961) Wisconsin (1962) Illinois (1963) Michigan (1964) Michigan State (1965) Michigan State (1966) Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue (1967) Ohio State (1968) Michigan & Ohio State (1969) Ohio State (1970) Michigan (1971) Michigan & Ohio State (1972) Michigan & Ohio State (1973) Michigan & Ohio State (1974) Ohio State (1975) Michigan & Ohio State (1976) Michigan & Ohio State (1977) Michigan & Michigan State (1978) Ohio State (1979) Michigan (1980) Iowa & Ohio State (1981) Michigan (1982) Illinois (1983) Ohio State (1984) Iowa (1985) Michigan & Ohio State (1986) Michigan State (1987) Michigan (1988) Michigan (1989) Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, & Michigan State (1990) Michigan (1991) Michigan (1992) Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993) Penn State (1994) Northwestern (1995) Ohio State & Northwestern (1996) Michigan (1997) Michigan, Ohio State, & (1998) Wisconsin (1999) Michigan, Northwestern, & Purdue (2000) Illinois (2001) Ohio State & Iowa (2002) Michigan (2003) Iowa & Michigan (2004) Ohio State & Penn State (2005) Ohio State (2006) Ohio State (2007) Ohio State & Penn State (2008) Ohio State (2009) Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010) Wisconsin (2011) Wisconsin (2012) Michigan State (2013) Ohio State (2014) Michigan State (2015) Penn State (2016) Ohio State (2017) Ohio State (2018) Ohio State (2019) Ohio State (2020) Michigan (2021) Michigan (2022) Michigan (2023) Oregon (2024)
National championships in bold