1998 Tulane Green Wave football team

American college football season

1998 Tulane Green Wave football

C-USA champion
Liberty Bowl champion

Liberty Bowl, W 41–27 vs. BYU C-USA Champions

Conference| Conference USA
Ranking
Coaches| No. 7
AP| No. 7
Record| 12–0 (6–0 C-USA)
Head coach|

* Tommy Bowden (2nd season; regular season)
* Chris Scelfo (interim; bowl game)

Offensive coordinator| Rich Rodriguez (2nd season)
Offensive scheme| Spread option
Defensive coordinator| Rick Smith (2nd season)
Base defense| 4–3
Home stadium| Louisiana Superdome

Seasons

<- 1997

1999 ->

1998 Conference USA football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team |  | W |  | L |  |  |  |  | W |  | L |
No. 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  |
Memphis |  | 1  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 9  |
Cincinnati |  | 1  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 9  |

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

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

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

September 5| 6:00 pm| at Cincinnati| |

* Nippert Stadium
* Cincinnati, OH

| | W 52–34| 20,721|
September 12| 7:00 pm| at SMU*| |

* Cotton Bowl
* Dallas, TX

| | W 31–21| 12,316|
September 26| 2:30 pm| Navy*| |

* Louisiana Superdome
* New Orleans, LA

| | W 42–24| 19,371|
October 3| 2:30 pm| Southern Miss| No. 25|

* Louisiana Superdome
* New Orleans, LA (rivalry)

| | 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|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, NJ

| | 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|

* Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
* Memphis, TN

| | W 41–31| 18,192|
November 14| 12:00 pm| at Army| No. 14|

* Michie Stadium
* West Point, NY

| | W 49–35| 39,083|
November 21| 2:30 pm| Houston| No. 12|

* Louisiana Superdome
* New Orleans, LA

| FSN| W 48–20| 26,978|
November 26| 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|

* Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
* Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)

| 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

[edit]

See also: 1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below| Week

|

Poll| Pre| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| Final
AP| —| —| RV| RV| 25| 25| 24| 22| 19| 16T| 14| 12| 11| 9| 10| 7
Coaches Poll| —| —| RV| RV| 25| 25| 24| 23| 18| 16| 14| 13| 11| 9| 10| 7
BCS| Not released| 19| 16| 16| 16| 11| 10| 10| Not released

## Game summaries

[edit]

### At Cincinnati

[edit]

See also: 1998 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

Tulane at Cincinnati  |  | 1 | 2| Total

|
|
|

Green Wave |  |  | 0
Bearcats |  |  | 0

* Location: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
* Game start: 6:00 PM
* Game attendance: 20,721

### At SMU

[edit]

See also: 1998 SMU Mustangs football team

Tulane at SMU  |  | 1 | 2| Total

|
|
|

Green Wave |  |  | 0
Mustangs |  |  | 0

* Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX
* Game start: 7:00 PM
* Game attendance: 12,316

### Navy

[edit]

See also: 1998 Navy Midshipmen football team

Navy at Tulane  |  | 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

[edit]

See also: 1998 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team and Battle for the Bell (Southern Miss–Tulane)

Southern Miss at No. 25 Tulane  |  | 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

[edit]

See also: 1998 Louisville Cardinals football team

Louisville at No. 24 Tulane (Homecoming Game)  |  | 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

[edit]

See also: 1998 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

No. 22 Tulane at Rutgers  |  | 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

### SW Louisiana

[edit]

See also: 1998 Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team

SW Louisiana at No. 19 Tulane  |  | 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

[edit]

See also: 1998 Memphis Tigers football team

No. 15 Tulane at Memphis  |  | 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

[edit]

See also: 1998 Army Cadets football team

No. 14 Tulane at Army  |  | 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

[edit]

See also: 1998 Houston Cougars football team

Houston at No. 12 Tulane  |  | 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

[edit]

See also: 1998 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

Louisiana Tech at No. 11 Tulane  |  | 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

[edit]

See also: 1998 BYU Cougars football team and 1998 Liberty Bowl

BYU vs No. 10 Tulane  |  | 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

[edit]

Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL Team

|
|
|
|

Shaun King | Quarterback | 2 | 50 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Dennis O'Sullivan  | Long Snapper  | \-  | \-  | New York Jets / Houston Texans[4]

[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Notre Dame has been treated well during the BCS era, ESPN, March 22, 2008.
2. ^ "Tulane ends regular season unbeaten". Hattiesburg American. November 27, 1998. Retrieved July 15, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "1998 Season in Review". Tulane University Department of Athletics. July 29, 1999. Archived from the original on December 6, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
4. ^ "Dennis O'Sullivan: Career Stats at NFL.com". www.nfl.com. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
5. ^ "1999 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.

* v
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* e

Tulane Green Wave football

Venues|

* Sportsman's Park (1893–1894)
* Tulane Athletic Field (1895–1901)
* Athletic Park (1902–1907)
* Pelican Park (1908)
* First Tulane Stadium (1909–1916)
* Second Tulane Stadium (1917–1925)
* Third Tulane Stadium (1926–1974)
* Louisiana Superdome (1975–2013)
* Tad Gormley Stadium (2002–2004, 2008) (alternate)
* Yulman Stadium (2014–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Auburn
* LSU: Battle for the Rag
* Ole Miss
* Southern Miss: Battle for the Bell

Culture & lore|

* History
* Riptide
* "The Olive and the Blue"
* "The Hullabaloo"
* Marching Band
* Porter Cup
* Effect of Hurricane Katrina
* The Ten Win Turnaround

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* All-Americans
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 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
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* 1989
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* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

* v
* t
* e

Conference USA football champions

* Houston & Southern Miss (1996)
* Southern Miss (1997)
* Tulane (1998)
* Southern Miss (1999)
* Louisville (2000)
* Louisville (2001)
* Cincinnati & TCU (2002)
* Southern Miss (2003)
* Louisville (2004)
* Tulsa (2005)
* Houston (2006)
* UCF (2007)
* East Carolina (2008)
* East Carolina (2009)
* UCF (2010)
* Southern Miss (2011)
* Tulsa (2012)
* Rice (2013)
* Marshall (2014)
* Western Kentucky (2015)
* Western Kentucky (2016)
* Florida Atlantic (2017)
* UAB (2018)
* Florida Atlantic (2019)
* UAB (2020)
* UTSA (2021)
* UTSA (2022)
* Liberty (2023)

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*[v]: View this template
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*[Conf]: Conference record
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