The 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1998 and culminated with the major bowl games in early January 1999.
It was the first season of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), which saw the Tennessee Volunteers win the national championship, one year after star quarterback Peyton Manning left for the National Football League (NFL).
Tennessee defeated the Florida State Seminoles, 23–16, in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, to secure the inaugural BCS National Championship.
The computer factored in things such as strength of schedule, margin of victory, and quality wins without taking into account time (in other words, a loss early in the season and a loss late in the season were on equal footing).
The AP voters selected Ohio State as the top-ranked team to begin the season, followed by No.
The Volunteers had lost to the Gators each of the past five years, despite having Hall of Famer Peyton Manning under center in four of those games.
This time they finally came away with the victory, as Florida missed a 32-yard field goal in overtime to seal a 20–17 Tennessee triumph.
3 UCLA’s game against Miami was postponed due to a hurricane, a situation which would have repercussions later in the season.
2 Nebraska needed a fourth-quarter punt return for a touchdown and a game-ending goal line stand to get past Oklahoma State 24–17.
11 Oregon but allowed the Ducks to come all the way back; the lead changed hands several times before the Bruins finally won 41–38 on a field goal in overtime.
20 Georgia Tech was impressive enough to move the Seminoles ahead of their in-state rivals in the next AP Poll: No.
The first-ever BCS standings were released on October 26 and featured UCLA in the top spot, followed by Ohio State in second and the next three teams in the same order as the AP Poll.
1 UCLA trailed by 10 points in the fourth quarter against a Stanford team with a 1–6 record, but the Bruins scored two late touchdowns for a 28–24 victory.
UCLA’s close shave against inferior competition caused them to drop in both the BCS and the human polls.
The Buckeyes held a 24–9 lead in the third quarter, but the Spartans (under the direction of up-and-coming head coach Nick Saban) responded with 19 unanswered points and sealed their 28–24 victory with an interception in the end zone on Ohio State’s last drive.
3 UCLA had another close call, needing a last-minute touchdown to beat Oregon State 41–34.
The Coaches Poll further muddied the waters by placing Tennessee and Kansas State in a tie for first.
10 Arkansas by double digits at the half, and the Razorbacks still led by four points with three minutes left.
But a snap went over their punter’s head for a safety, and a fumble on Arkansas’ next possession enabled a Volunteers touchdown drive for a 28–24 win (the third time in three weeks that a No.
11 Nebraska 40–30 to clinch the Big 12 North title and end the Cornhuskers’ 29-game winning streak over the Wildcats, one of the longest in NCAA history.
The BCS standings kept their previous top four and elevated Texas A&M, champion of the Big 12 South, to fifth place.
The AP and Coaches top five remained the same, but the BCS standings moved Ohio State to No.
3 in the BCS standings and needed a loss by one of the teams ahead of them in order to have a shot at the championship.
The game between UCLA and Miami—a makeup of the hurricane-canceled contest from September—turned out to be just what the Wildcats needed: the Bruins blew a 17-point second-half lead as Edgerrin James ran for a Miami record 299 yards and led the Hurricanes to a 49–45 win.
10 Texas A&M in the second quarter of the Big 12 Championship Game, and the crowd roared at the announcement of Miami’s victory.
Kansas State quarterback Michael Bishop completed a 55-yard Hail Mary with time running out, but the receiver was tacked just short of the goal line and the game went into overtime.
The teams traded field goals until A&M’s Branndon Stewart threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Sirr Parker that gave the Aggies a 36–33 double-overtime triumph and ended Kansas State’s dreams of an unlikely championship.
The game ended 24–14 in favor of Tennessee, and the final AP Poll of the regular season featured No.
(The Seminoles had previously defeated Miami and Texas A&M, the two teams which had just ended UCLA and Kansas State’s perfect seasons.)
10 Tulane was undefeated, but their light schedule eliminated them from championship consideration; the Green Wave would match up against Brigham Young in the Liberty Bowl.