1998 LSU Tigers football team

The 1998 LSU Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Louisiana State University (LSU) as a member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach Gerry DiNardo, the team compiled a 4–7 record, with a conference record of 2–6, and finished fifth in the SEC's Western Division. The team played home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

1998 LSU Tigers football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Record	4–7 (2–6 SEC)
Head coach	Gerry DiNardo (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Morris Watts (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Lou Tepper (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Tiger Stadium
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

In the beginning of the season, expectations were high as LSU had tied for the SEC West title but lost tiebreakers the previous two seasons. After a 3–0 start and No. 6 national ranking, the Tigers' season stunningly fell apart. They finished 1–7 in the last eight games of the season with many close losses, and finished 4–7, their seventh losing season out of the last ten. The loss at Ole Miss was LSU's first overtime game.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	7:00 p.m.	Arkansas State*	No. 7	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 42–6	80,051	[1]
September 19	4:00 p.m.	at Auburn	No. 7	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 31–19	85,214	[2]
September 26	7:00 p.m.	Idaho*	No. 6	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 53–20	80,466	[3]
October 3	6:00 p.m.	No. 12 Georgia	No. 6	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	ESPN	L 27–28	80,792	[4]
October 10	6:00 p.m.	at No. 6 Florida	No. 11	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–22	85,407	[5]
October 17	8:00 p.m.	Kentucky	No. 21	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	ESPN2	L 36–39	80,524	[6]
October 24	5:00 p.m.	No. 24 Mississippi State		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 41–6	80,040	[7]
October 31	1:00 p.m.	at Ole Miss		Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (Magnolia Bowl)	PPV	L 31–37 OT	50,577	[8]
November 7	2:30 p.m.	Alabama		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	CBS	L 16–22	80,522	[9]
November 21	1:30 p.m.	at No. 10 Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	NBC	L 36–39	80,012	[10]
November 27	1:30 p.m.	at No. 13 Arkansas		War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR (rivalry)	CBS	L 14–41	55,831	[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[12]

Rankings

See also: 1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

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

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	9	7	7	6	6	11	21	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	8	8	7	6	6	12	21	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
BCS	Not released								—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released