1998 Texas Longhorns football team

The 1998 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin as a member South Division of the Big 12 Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Mack Brown, the Longhorns compiled an overall record of 9–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing second in the Big 12's South Division. Texas was invited to the Cotton Bowl Classic, where the Longhorns defeated Mississippi State. The team played home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

1998 Texas Longhorns football
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 38–11 vs. Mississippi State
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Division	South Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 15
Record	9–3 (6–2 Big 12)
Head coach	Mack Brown (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Greg Davis (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Carl Reese (1st season)
Home stadium	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
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

Running back Ricky Williams had a sensational senior season, highlighted by rushing for nine touchdowns and 385 yards in the season's first two games; rushing for 318 yards and six touchdowns against Rice; rushing for 350 yards and five touchdowns against Iowa State; and rushing for 150 yards against Nebraska. He also helped beat longtime rival Oklahoma rushing for 166 rushing yards and two scores. Williams broke the career rushing record during the annual rivalry game held the day after Thanksgiving between Texas and Texas A&M. Needing only 63 yards to break Tony Dorsett's 22-year-old NCAA Division I-A career rushing record (6,082), Williams approached the line of scrimmage with 1:45 seconds left in the first quarter having already rushed for 54 yards. At first and ten on the Texas forty-yard-line, quarterback Major Applewhite handed off to Williams who broke two tackles, sprinted into open field and received a down field block from receiver Wane McGarity for a 60-yard touchdown run and the record. Williams' record-breaking run gave Texas a 10–0 lead in its eventual 26–24 upset of sixth-ranked Texas A&M. He finished the game racking up 295 yards. He also broke the NCAA Division I-A career rushing touchdowns and career scoring records in 1998 with 73 and 452 respectively (topped one year later by Travis Prentice of the Miami RedHawks), and rushed for 200 or more yards in 12 different games, an NCAA record he shares with Ron Dayne and Marcus Allen. Williams won the 64th Heisman Trophy, becoming the second Texas Longhorn to win this honor, joining Earl Campbell.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	6:00 p.m.	New Mexico State*		Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	PPV	W 66–36	75,914
September 12	2:30 p.m.	at No. 6 UCLA*	No. 23	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA	ABC	L 31–49	73,070
September 19	2:30 p.m.	at No. 5 Kansas State		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	ABC	L 7–48	43,714
September 26	6:00 p.m.	Rice*		Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	FSN	W 59–21	71,486
October 3	6:00 p.m.	Iowa State		Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	PPV	W 54–33	70,681
October 10	11:30 a.m.	vs. Oklahoma		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	FSN	W 34–3	75,587
October 24	6:00 p.m.	Baylor		Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	FX	W 30–20	81,437
October 31	2:30 p.m.	at No. 7 Nebraska		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	ABC	W 20–16	76,434
November 7	2:30 p.m.	Oklahoma State	No. 20	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	ABC	W 37–34	81,437
November 14	6:00 p.m.	at Texas Tech	No. 18	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)	FSN	L 35–42	50,647
November 27	10:00 a.m.	No. 6 Texas A&M		Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	ABC	W 26–24	83,687
January 1, 1999	10:00 a.m.	vs. No. 25 Mississippi State*	No. 20	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	FOX	W 38–11	72,611	[2]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[3]

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	23	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	20	18	25	—	20	20	15
Coaches Poll	RV	23	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	23	21	—	—	23	22	16
BCS	Not released								—	14	15	23	—	—	—	Not released

Game summaries

At Kansas State

Texas at No. 5 Kansas State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Longhorns	0	0	0	7	7
• Wildcats	7	28	0	13	48

• Date: September 18
• Location: KSU Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas
• Game start: 2:30 pm CST
• Game attendance: 44,298
• Game weather: Partly Cloudy; 95 °F (35 °C); wind 22 mph (35 km/h) S
• Referee: Tim Ahlers
• TV announcers (ESPN2): Brad Nessler and Bob Griese

Kansas State welcomed Texas for their first Big 12 Conference matchup, and first meeting since 1942, and Texas' first trip to Manhattan since 1926. 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams was held to just 43 yards on 25 carries for an average of just 1.7 yards per carry. He did not score in the game. Williams averaged 202 rushing yards per game in 1998 and was held to a season low 43 years, his next lowest yardage output was 90 yards against Oklahoma State. K-State racked up 223 yards on the ground on 51 carries and the Wildcats won handily, 48–7.

Awards and honors

• Ricky Williams: Heisman Trophy,^[4] Walter Camp Award,^[5] Maxwell Award^[6] Doak Walker Award, consensus All-American^[7]

1999 NFL draft

The following Texas players were selected in the 1999 NFL draft following the season.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Ricky Williams	Running back	1	5	New Orleans Saints
Wane McGarity	Wide receiver	4	118	Dallas Cowboys
Jay Humphrey	Tackle	4	125	Minnesota Vikings

^[8]