1998 Wisconsin Badgers football team

1998 Wisconsin Badgers football
Rose Bowl Champions Big Ten Co-Champions
Rose Bowl, W 38–31 vs. UCLA
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#5
AP	#6
1998 record	11–1 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Barry Alvarez (9th year)
Offensive coordinator	Brad Childress (8th year)
Defensive coordinator	Kevin Cosgrove (4th year)
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium (Capacity: 76,129, Astroturf)

1998 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#2 Ohio State %+		7	–	1					11	–	1
#6 Wisconsin $+		7	–	1					11	–	1
#12 Michigan +		7	–	1					10	–	3
#24 Purdue		6	–	2					9	–	4
#17 Penn State		5	–	3					9	–	3
Michigan State		4	–	4					6	–	6
Minnesota		2	–	6					5	–	6
Indiana		2	–	6					4	–	7
Illinois		2	–	6					3	–	8
Iowa		2	–	6					3	–	8
Northwestern		0	–	8					3	–	9
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1998 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Season

Wisconsin finished the regular season 10–1 overall (7–1 conference) and were co-champions of the Big Ten Conference (with Ohio State and Michigan) for the first time since 1993. They were awarded the berth in the 1999 Rose Bowl due to Big Ten Conference tie-breaking rules, at the time, which gave the Rose Bowl invitation to the tied team which had gone the longest period of time without an invitation: Michigan had been in the 1998 Rose Bowl, Ohio State had been in the 1997 Rose Bowl, while Wisconsin's last Rose Bowl was 1994.

The circumstances of this selection, the fact that Ohio State was the higher-ranked team (Ohio State was the pre-season #1 and spent most of the season with this ranking: Wisconsin did not play Ohio State or Michigan State that year, so Ohio State had the better record versus common opponents due to the Michigan loss), combined with the fact that the opponent (UCLA) was ranked #2 and headed to the national title game before a season-ending loss, led to ridicule in the national media: most notably, Craig James' declaration that Wisconsin was "the worst team to ever play in the Rose Bowl." Wisconsin went on to defeat #6 UCLA 38–31 in the 1999 Rose Bowl. Afterward, Badger coach Barry Alvarez fired back, "Well, I know we're at least the second worst."^[1][2]

Individual awards and honors

• Tom Burke: All-America (unanimous consensus), Bill Willis Trophy, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media)
• Aaron Gibson: All-America (consensus), All-Big Ten (First Team, media; Second Team, coaches)
• Ron Dayne: All-America (WCFF), 1999 Rose Bowl player of the Game, All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media)
• Matt Davenport: All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media)
• Kevin Stemke: All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media)
• Jamar Fletcher: All-Big Ten (First Team, media; Second Team, coaches)
• Casey Rabach: All-Big Ten (Second Team, coaches & media)
• Chris McIntosh:All-Big Ten (Second Team, coaches)
• Barry Alvarez: Big Ten Coach of the Year

Schedule and results

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	8:00 PM	at San Diego State*	#20	Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego, CA (Kickoff Classic)	NBC	W 26–14	37,471[3]
September 12	11:30 AM	Ohio*	#17	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	MSC	W 45–0	74,676[4]
September 19	1:00 PM	UNLV*	#14	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI		W 52–7	75,044[5]
September 26	11:00 AM	Northwestern	#14	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	ESPN	W 38–7	78,337[6]
October 3	11:00 AM	at Indiana	#13	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ESPN2	W 24–20	32,328[7]
October 10	7:30 PM	Purdue	#12	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	ESPN2	W 31–24	78,782[8]
October 17	11:00 AM	at Illinois	#9	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	ESPN2	W 37–3	40,627[9]
October 24	2:30 PM	at Iowa	#9	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA (Rivalry)	ABC	W 31–0	70,397[10]
November 7	11:00 AM	Minnesota	#8	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	ESPN	W 26–7	78,767[11]
November 14	11:00 AM	at #15 Michigan	#8	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	ESPN	L 10–27	111,217[12]
November 21	2:00 PM	#14 Penn State	#13	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	ESPN	W 24–3	78,964[13]
January 1	3:30 PM	vs. #6 UCLA*	#9	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	ABC	W 38–31	93,872[14]
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

Regular starters

Position Player Quarterback Mike Samuel Running Back Ron Dayne Fullback Cecil Martin Wide Receiver Chris Chambers Wide Receiver Ahmad Merritt Tight End Dague Retzlaff/Eric Grams Left Tackle Chris McIntosh Left Guard Bill Ferrario Center Casey Rabach Right Guard Dave Costa Right Tackle Aaron Gibson

Position Player Defensive End Tom Burke Defensive Tackle Ross Kolodziej Nose Guard Eric Mahlik Defensive End John Favret Outside Linebacker Bob Adamov Inside Linebacker Donnel Thompson Outside Linebacker Chris Ghidorzi Cornerback Mike Echols Free Safety Jason Doering Strong Safety Leonard Taylor Cornerback Jamar Fletcher

Team players selected in the 1999 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Aaron Gibson	Tackle	1	27	Detroit Lions
Tom Burke	Linebacker	3	83	Arizona Cardinals
Cecil Martin	Fullback	6	172	Philadelphia Eagles

^[15]

References

1. Howard-Cooper, Scott (January 2, 1999). "After Dayne Runs Them Over, They Beat Themselves Up - UCLA Conquered and Divided After Rose Bowl Defeat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
2. Gurnick, Ken (January 2, 1999). "College Football: Rose Bowl; Badgers Prove Doubters Wrong". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
3. "Wisconsin at San Diego St.". CNN. September 6, 1998.
4. "Ohio at Wisconsin". CNN. September 12, 1998.
5. "UNLV at Wisconsin". CNN. September 19, 1998.
6. "Northwestern at Wisconsin". CNN. September 26, 1998.
7. "Wisconsin at Indiana". CNN. October 3, 1998.
8. "Purdue at Wisconsin". CNN. October 11, 1998.
9. "Wisconsin at Illinois". CNN. October 17, 1998.
10. "Wisconsin at Iowa". CNN. October 24, 1998.
11. "Minnesota at Wisconsin". CNN. November 7, 1998.
12. "Wisconsin at Michigan". CNN. November 14, 1998.
13. "Penn State at Wisconsin". CNN. November 21, 1998.
14. Bagnato, Andrew (January 2, 1999). "Badgers Say Cheese". Chicago Tribune.
15. "1999 NFL Draft".

External links

• University of Wisconsin–Madison Athletic Department Collection-1998 Wisconsin Football Guide
• cfreference.net (1998 Wisconsin)
• collogepollarchive.com (1998 Wisconsin)
• 1998 Big Ten All Conference selections