1998 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 1998 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama as a member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach Mike DuBose, the Crimson Tide compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing third in the SEC's Western Division. Alabama as invited to the Music City Bowl, where the Crimson Tide lost to Virginia Tech. The team played home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

1998 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Music City Bowl, L 7–38 vs. Virginia Tech
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Record	7–5 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Mike DuBose (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Neil Callaway (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Charlie Stubbs (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Ellis Johnson (2nd season)
Captains	Calvin Hall John David Phillips Daniel Pope Kelvin Sigler Trevis Smith
Home stadium	Bryant–Denny Stadium Legion Field
Seasons ← 1997 1999 →

1998 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 1 Tennessee x$#		8	–	0					13	–	0
No. 5 Florida %		7	–	1					10	–	2
No. 14 Georgia		6	–	2					9	–	3
Kentucky		4	–	4					7	–	5
Vanderbilt		1	–	7					2	–	9
South Carolina		0	–	8					1	–	10
Western Division
No. 16 Arkansas x		6	–	2					9	–	3
Mississippi State xy		6	–	2					8	–	5
Alabama		4	–	4					7	–	5
Ole Miss		3	–	5					7	–	5
LSU		2	–	6					4	–	7
Auburn		1	–	7					3	–	8
Championship: Tennessee 24, Mississippi State 14
# – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	6:00 p.m.	BYU*		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	ESPN	W 38–31	83,818	[1]
September 12	11:30 a.m.	Vanderbilt		Legion Field Birmingham, AL	JPS	W 32–7	83,091	[2]
September 26	5:00 p.m.	at Arkansas	No. 22	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	ESPN2	L 6–42	51,763	[3]
October 3	11:30 a.m.	No. 8 Florida		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	JPS	L 10–16	83,818	[4]
October 10	2:00 p.m.	Ole Miss		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	PPV	W 20–17 OT	83,818	[5]
October 17	2:00 p.m.	East Carolina*		Legion Field Birmingham, AL	PPV	W 23–22	80,079	[6]
October 24	2:30 p.m.	at No. 3 Tennessee		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)	CBS	L 18–35	107,289	[7]
October 31	2:00 p.m.	Southern Miss*		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	PPV	W 30–20	83,818	[8]
November 7	2:30 p.m.	at LSU		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	CBS	W 22–16	80,522	[9]
November 14	11:30 a.m.	at Mississippi State		Scott Field Starkville, MS (rivalry)	JPS	L 14–26	40,517	[10]
November 21	6:30 p.m.	Auburn		Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl)	ESPN	W 31–17	83,091	[11]
December 29	4:00 p.m.	vs. Virginia Tech*		Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (Music City Bowl)	ESPN	L 7–38	41,600	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[13]

Rankings

See also: 1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	RV	24	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	RV	RV	22	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
BCS	Not released								—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Game summaries

BYU

See also: 1998 BYU Cougars football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	14	10	7	31
Crimson Tide	14	10	0	14	38

The Crimson Tide debut a new east side upper deck and 81 new sky boxes in Bryant-Denny Stadium which set the attendance mark to 83,818. This record-breaking crowd watched as Shaun Alexander scored five touchdowns as the Crimson Tide held on to beat BYU.

Statistics	BYU	Alabama
First downs	25	25
Total yards	280	339
Rushing yards	98	143
Passing yards	182	196
Turnovers	3	2
Time of possession	30:19	29:41

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing	Kevin Feterik	19–30, 182 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Will Snowden	4 carries, 27 yards
	Receiving	Margin Hooks	4 receptions, 65 yards
Alabama	Passing	John David Phillips	17–29, 188 yards
	Rushing	Shaun Alexander	26 carries, 115 yards, 5 TD's
	Receiving	Quincy Jackson	11 receptions, 104 yards

Vanderbilt

See also: 1998 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	7	0	0	0	7
Crimson Tide	7	7	11	7	32

Alabama would score 32 unanswered points after Vanderbilt took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter to win its first conference game of the year. The Alabama defense held Vanderbilt to -33 rushing yards and forced three interceptions. The Alabama offense was led by Shaun Alexander who rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns.

Statistics	Vanderbilt	Alabama
First downs	13	16
Total yards	145	400
Rushing yards	–33	221
Passing yards	178	179
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	25:31	36:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Vanderbilt	Passing	David Wallace	18–40, 167 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT's
	Rushing	Jared McGrath	7 carries, 16 yards
	Receiving	Tavarus Hogans	5 receptions, 74 yards, 1 TD
Alabama	Passing	John David Phillips	19–30, 179 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Shaun Alexander	20 carries, 206 yards, 3 TD's
	Receiving	Michael Vaughn	8 receptions, 73 yards

Arkansas

See also: 1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Crimson Tide	3	3	0	0	6
Razorbacks	0	14	7	21	42

Despite only trailing by eight at the half, Alabama would be shut out in the second half and lose by 36 points. This would be the largest margin of defeat since the 1957 Iron Bowl.

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 Vaughn & Quincy 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

Florida

See also: 1998 Florida Gators football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Gators	6	7	3	0	16
Crimson Tide	3	0	7	0	10

Despite being outgained by over 200 yards, Alabama had an opportunity driving at the end of the game to try to win, but a late interception by Andrew Zow gave Florida the win. Florida had 6 possessions inside the Alabama 12 yard line 3 resulting in turnovers, 3 resulting in field goals that kept Alabama in the game.

Statistics	Florida	Alabama
First downs	23	11
Total yards	467	240
Rushing yards	111	41
Passing yards	356	199
Turnovers	3	2
Time of possession	33:38	26:22

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Doug Johnson	10–20, 187 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Terry Jackson	25 carries, 135 yards
	Receiving	Travis McGriff	9 receptions, 213 yards, 1 TD
Alabama	Passing	Andrew Zow	12–26, 185 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Shaun Alexander	16 carries, 57 yards
	Receiving	Calvin Hall	5 receptions, 84 yards

Ole Miss

See also: 1998 Ole Miss Rebels football team

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Rebels	0	7	7	3	0	17
Crimson Tide	3	7	0	7	3	20

A 22-yard game-winning field goal by Ryan Pflugner in overtime gave the Crimson Tide its first overtime victory in its second try. The Rebels, who tied it late in the 4th quarter with a field goal to force overtime, threw an interception on their first possession which put Alabama in a score and win scenario.

Statistics	Ole Miss	Alabama
First downs	26	18
Total yards	471	434
Rushing yards	221	162
Passing yards	250	272
Turnovers	1	2
Time of possession	34:42	25:18

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ole Miss	Passing	Romaro Miller	22–36, 230 yards 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Deuce McAllister	24 carries, 188 yards
	Receiving	Cory Peterson	6 receptions, 60 yards
Alabama	Passing	Andrew Zow	15–30, 272 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Shaun Alexander	22 carries, 125 yards
	Receiving	Shaun Alexander	3 receptions, 72 yards, 1 TD

East Carolina

See also: 1998 East Carolina Pirates football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pirates	0	0	19	3	22
Crimson Tide	14	7	2	0	23

Despite having a 21–0 lead at the half, a blocked extra point ran back for two points in the third quarter was the difference in the second half for Alabama. East Carolina outscored Alabama 22–2 in the second half but, never could take the lead away from Alabama.

Statistics	East Carolina	Alabama
First downs	14	20
Total yards	258	331
Rushing yards	84	96
Passing yards	174	235
Turnovers	1	3
Time of possession	25:43	34:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
East Carolina	Passing	David Garrard	14–25, 139 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	David Garrard	16 carries, 34 yards
	Receiving	Marcellus Harris	3 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD
Alabama	Passing	Andrew Zow	21–39, 235 yards, 2 TD's, 2 INT's
	Rushing	Shaun Alexander	22 carries, 86 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Quincy Jackson	5 receptions, 66 yards

Tennessee

See also: 1998 Tennessee Volunteers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crimson Tide	3	0	8	7	18
No. 3 Volunteers	7	7	7	14	35

Tennessee for the 4th year in a row beat Alabama in what was a close game up until Peerless Price ran a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown after the Crimson Tide had cut the lead to three. Alabama would not get closer than the ten point lead after that.

Statistics	Alabama	Tennessee
First downs	21	22
Total yards	319	348
Rushing yards	142	231
Passing yards	177	117
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	30:16	29:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Alabama	Passing	Andrew Zow	18–39, 177 yards 1 INT
	Rushing	Shaun Alexander	26 carries, 132 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Quincy Jackson	4 receptions, 35 yards
Tennessee	Passing	Tee Martin	10–14, 117 yards
	Rushing	Travis Henry	22 carries, 113 yards, 2 TD's
	Receiving	Cedrick Wilson	6 receptions, 76 yards

Southern Miss

See also: 1998 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	7	3	7	3	20
Crimson Tide	3	17	7	3	30

Behind a career-high 361 yards passing from Andrew Zow, the Crimson Tide amassed 499 yards of offense as they beat Southern Miss in their final game at Bryant-Denny Stadium this season.

Statistics	Southern Miss	Alabama
First downs	16	28
Total yards	388	499
Rushing yards	64	138
Passing yards	324	361
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	23:17	36:43

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southern Miss	Passing	Lee Roberts	17–34, 281 yards 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Derrick Nix	18 carries, 41 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Sherrod Gideon	7 receptions, 192 yards, 1 TD
Alabama	Passing	Andrew Zow	26–35, 361 yards, 3 TD's
	Rushing	Shaun Alexander	36 carries, 141 yards
	Receiving	Michael Vaughn	4 receptions, 96 yards, 3 TD's

LSU

See also: 1998 LSU Tigers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crimson Tide	0	0	7	15	22
Tigers	0	6	10	0	16

The Crimson Tide trailed 16–7 with less than 3 minutes to go in the game when they were able to score a touchdown with 2:24 left making the score 16–14. Alabama would recover an onside kick and drive down the field and with 38 seconds to go in the game Andrew Zow hit Michael Vaughn on a deflected pass in the end zone and with the two point conversion Alabama led 22–16. An interception by Marcus Spencer would seal one of the greatest comebacks in Alabama History. This game was also the first time both teams came into the game not ranked since 1990.

Statistics	Alabama	LSU
First downs	17	27
Total yards	369	486
Rushing yards	85	272
Passing yards	284	214
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	27:31	32:29

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Alabama	Passing	Andrew Zow	17–27, 284 yards, 3 TD's
	Rushing	Shaun Alexander	22 carries, 109 yards
	Receiving	Quincy Jackson	4 receptions, 138 yards, 2 TD's
LSU	Passing	Herb Tyler	21–31, 214 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT's
	Rushing	Kevin Faulk	30 carries, 201 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Larry Foster	7 receptions, 81 yards

Mississippi State

See also: 1998 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crimson Tide	0	0	14	0	14
Bulldogs	0	17	3	6	26

J.J. Johnson broke a Mississippi State school record for rushing yards in a game at 237 as Mississippi State would win its third straight meeting over Alabama. Despite a 20–0 deficit in the third quarter, Alabama rallied to cut the lead to six but that was as close as they could get.

Statistics	Alabama	Mississippi State
First downs	19	22
Total yards	295	456
Rushing yards	39	264
Passing yards	256	192
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	26:57	33:03

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Alabama	Passing	Andrew Zow	16–32, 256 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Shaun Alexander	20 carries, 60 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Shaun Alexander	5 receptions, 110 yards, 1 TD
Mississippi State	Passing	Wayne Madkin	10–17, 192 yards
	Rushing	J.J. Johnson	36 carries, 237 yards, 2 TD's
	Receiving	J.J. Johnson	3 receptions, 75 yards

Auburn

See also: 1998 Auburn Tigers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	10	7	0	0	17
Crimson Tide	0	14	7	10	31

Despite trailing 17–0 in the second quarter, Alabama would score the final 31 points of the game to win the Iron Bowl. Four turnovers for Auburn helped the Crimson Tide get back and eventually pull away from Auburn. This would be the last Iron Bowl ever to be played at Legion Field in Birmingham.

Statistics	Auburn	Alabama
First downs	18	17
Total yards	308	329
Rushing yards	100	101
Passing yards	228	208
Turnovers	4	2
Time of possession	27:27	32:33

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Auburn	Passing	Gabe Gross	14–34, 208 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT's
	Rushing	Demontray Carter	22 carries, 102 yards
	Receiving	Clifton Robinson	4 receptions, 92 yards
Alabama	Passing	Andrew Zow	16–23, 191 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Shaun Alexander	27 carries, 109 yards, 2 TD's
	Receiving	Quincy Jackson	3 receptions, 75 yards, 1 TD

Virginia Tech

See also: 1998 Virginia Tech Hokies football team and 1998 Music City Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hokies	7	3	14	14	38
Crimson Tide	0	7	0	0	7

The first ever Music City Bowl had an exciting first half with Alabama trailing Virginia Tech 10–7 at the half. The second half was all Virginia Tech as they would outscore the Crimson Tide 28–0 to beat Alabama. The lose would end the Crimson Tide season at 7–5.

Statistics	Virginia Tech	Alabama
First downs	14	15
Total yards	278	274
Rushing yards	207	50
Passing yards	71	224
Turnovers	1	4
Time of possession	25:51	34:09

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Virginia Tech	Passing	Al Clark	7–14, 71 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Al Clark	9 carries, 82 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Ricky Hall	1 reception, 20 yards
Alabama	Passing	Andrew Zow	19–35, 224 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT's
	Rushing	Shaun Alexander	21 carries, 68 yards
	Receiving	Shaun Alexander	8 receptions, 87 yards

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Consecutive seasons at Alabama
Mike DuBose	Head coach	2nd
Neil Callaway	Offensive coordinator/Offensive line coach	2nd
Ronnie Cottrell	Assistant head coach/Tight end	1st
Charlie Stubbs	Quarterback coach	1st
Dabo Swinney	Wide receivers coach	6th
Ivy Williams	Running backs coach	4th
Ellis Johnson	Defensive coordinator/Outside linebackers coach	2nd
Charlie Harbison	Cornerbacks coach	1st
Jeff Rouzie	Special teams coordinator/Inside linebackers coach	8th
Jackie Shipp	Defensive line coach	1st
Reference:[14]