1998 Colorado Buffaloes football team

The 1998 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder as a member of the North Division of the Big 12 Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by Rick Neuheisel in his fourth and final season as head coach, the Buffaloes compiled an overall record of 8–4 in a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing fourth in the Big 12 North. Colorado was invited to the Aloha Bowl, where the Buffaloes defeated Oregon. The team played home games at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.

1998 Colorado Buffaloes football
Aloha Bowl champion
Aloha Bowl, W 51–43 vs. Oregon
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Division	North Division
Record	8–4 (4–4 Big 12)
Head coach	Rick Neuheisel (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Karl Dorrell (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	A. J. Christoff (4th season)
Base defense	4–3
MVPs	Darrin Chiaverini Hannibal Navies
Captains	Marlon Barnes Darrin Chiaverini Hannibal Navies
Home stadium	Folsom Field
Seasons ← 1997 1999 →

1998 Big 12 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 10 Kansas State x		8	–	0					11	–	2
No. 19 Nebraska		5	–	3					9	–	4
No. 21 Missouri		5	–	3					8	–	4
Colorado		4	–	4					8	–	4
Kansas		1	–	7					4	–	7
Iowa State		1	–	7					3	–	8
South Division
No. 11 Texas A&M x$		7	–	1					11	–	3
No. 15 Texas		6	–	2					9	–	3
Texas Tech		4	–	4					7	–	5
Oklahoma State		3	–	5					5	–	6
Oklahoma		3	–	5					5	–	6
Baylor		1	–	7					2	–	9
Championship: Texas A&M 36, Kansas State 33
$ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Neuheisel departed Colorado in early January for the University of Washington.^[1][2] He was succeeded by Gary Barnett, previously head coach at Northwestern University.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	8:00 pm	vs. No. 15 Colorado State*		Mile High Stadium Denver, CO (Rocky Mountain Showdown)	ESPN	W 42–14	76,036
September 12	1:00 pm	Fresno State*	No. 16	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 29–21	42,623
September 19	1:00 pm	Utah State*	No. 15	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 25–6	45,298
September 26	8:15 pm	Baylor	No. 15	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	FSN	W 18–16	46,603
October 3	1:30 pm	at Oklahoma	No. 15	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	ABC	W 27–25	71,217
October 10	5:00 pm	No. 5 Kansas State	No. 14	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	FX	L 9–16	51,581
October 17	11:30 am	No. 22 Texas Tech	No. 19	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	FSN	W 19–17	48,969
October 24	5:00 pm	at Kansas	No. 17	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	FX	L 17–33	31,600
November 4	10:30 am	at No. 18 Missouri		Faurot Field Columbia, MO	FSN	L 14–38	57,261
November 14	12:30 pm	Iowa State		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	PPV	W 37–8	49,438
November 27	12:30 pm	at No. 14 Nebraska		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–16	75,958
December 25	1:30 pm	vs. No. 21 Oregon*		Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI (Aloha Bowl)	ABC	W 51–43	34,803
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[3][4][5]

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	16	15	15	15	14	19	17	24	—	—	RV	—	—	—	RV
Coaches Poll	RV	16	15	15	15	14	18	17	25	25	—	—	—	—	—	RV
BCS	Not released								—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released