1998 USC Trojans football team

1998 USC Trojans football
1998 USC Trojans football
Sun Bowl, L 19–28 vs. TCU
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	8–5 (5–3 Pac-10)
Head coach	Paul Hackett (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Hue Jackson (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Young (1st season)
Captains	Adam Abrams; Chris Claiborne; Billy Miller; Chad Morton;
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
	Seasons ← 1997 1999 →

1998 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 8 UCLA $	8	–	0	10	–	2
No. 4 Arizona	7	–	1	12	–	1
Oregon	5	–	3	8	–	4
USC	5	–	3	8	–	5
Washington	4	–	4	6	–	6
Arizona State	4	–	4	5	–	6
California	3	–	5	5	–	6
Oregon State	2	–	6	5	–	6
Stanford	2	–	6	3	–	8
Washington State	0	–	8	3	–	8

$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1998 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Paul Hackett, the Trojans compiled an 8-5 record (5–3 against conference opponents), finished in a tie for third place in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 346 to 241.^[1]

This was Hackett's only winning season and bowl appearance with the team. It was also the Trojans' 75th anniversary playing at the Coliseum.

After three wins, including an opener against Purdue in the Pigskin Classic, USC was ranked as high as 18 in the AP Poll, but lost two of its next three and dropped out of the rankings permanently.

During halftime of the game against UCLA, 91-year-old USC "Super Fan" Giles Pellerin died while watching his 797th consecutive USC football game.^[2]

Quarterback Carson Palmer led the team in passing, completing 130 of 235 passes for 1,755 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. Chad Morton led the team in rushing with 199 carries for 985 yards and six touchdowns. R. Jay Soward led the team in receiving yards with 44 catches for 679 yards and six touchdowns; Billy Miller also had 49 catches for 623 yards and six touchdowns.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	11:30 a.m.	Purdue*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Pigskin Classic)	ABC	W 27–17	56,623
September 12	7:30 p.m.	San Diego State*	No. 22	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	FSNW2	W 35–6	49,927
September 19	7:00 p.m.	Oregon State	No. 18	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	FSNW2	W 40–20	45,629
September 26	12:30 p.m.	at No. 10 Florida State*	No. 18	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ABC	L 10–30	79,815	^[4]
October 3	4:00 p.m.	Arizona State	No. 21	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 35–24	56,093
October 10	3:30 p.m.	California	No. 19	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	FSN	L 31–32	65,678
October 17	7:15 p.m.	at Washington State		Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	FSN	W 42–14	31,178
October 24	3:30 p.m.	at No. 12 Oregon		Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	FSN	L 13–17	45,807
October 31	12:30 p.m.	Washington		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	W 33–10	62,276
November 7	3:30 p.m.	at Stanford		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	FSN	W 34–9	43,250
November 21	12:30 p.m.	at No. 3 UCLA		Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Victory Bell)	ABC	L 17–34	88,080
November 28	5:00 p.m.	No. 9 Notre Dame*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	ABC	W 10–0	90,069
December 31	11:00 a.m.	vs. TCU*		Sun Bowl El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl)	CBS	L 19–28	46,612
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

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	22	18	18	21	19	—	—	—	—	—	RV	—	—	—	RV
Coaches Poll	RV	23	16	17	22	20	—	—	—	—	—	RV	—	—	RV	—
BCS	Not released								—	—	—	20	—	—	—	Not released

Coaching staff

1998 USC Trojans coaching staff
Name	Position	Year at USC	Alma mater (year)
Paul Hackett	Head coach	1st	UC Davis (1969)
Steve Greatwood	Offensive line	1st	Oregon (1981)
Hue Jackson	Offensive coordinator/running backs	2nd	Pacific (1987)
Ken O'Brien	Quarterbacks	1st	UC Davis (1983)
Ed Orgeron	Defensive line	1st	Northwestern State (1984)
Larry Petroff	Tight ends/recruiting coordinator	1st	Ashland College (1973)
Shawn Slocum	Linebackers	1st	Texas A&M (1987)
Dennis Thurman	Secondary	6th	USC (1978)
Mike Wilson	Wide receivers	2nd	Washington State (1981)
Bill Young	Defensive coordinator	1st	Oklahoma State (1967)

Season summary

vs Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
Boilermakers	14	3	0	0	17
Trojans	7	3	7	10	27

vs San Diego State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aztecs	0	6	0	0	6
No. 22 Trojans	7	14	0	14	35

vs Oregon State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Beavers	7	3	7	3	20
No. 18 Trojans	7	10	3	20	40

at No. 10 Florida State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Trojans	3	0	7	0	10
No. 10 Seminoles	3	10	7	10	30

vs Arizona State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Sun Devils	7	10	7	0	24
No. 21 Trojans	0	7	6	22	35

vs California

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Bears	7	3	8	14	32
No. 19 Trojans	7	17	7	0	31

at Washington State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Trojans	7	14	14	7	42
Cougars	7	7	0	0	14

at No. 12 Oregon

	1	2	3	4	Total
Trojans	0	10	0	3	13
No. 12 Ducks	0	3	7	7	17

vs Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	0	10	0	10
Trojans	7	7	0	19	33

at Stanford

	1	2	3	4	Total
Trojans	10	7	3	14	34
Cardinal	7	0	0	2	9

at No. 3 UCLA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Trojans	3	7	7	0	17
No. 3 Bruins	14	13	0	7	34

vs No. 9 Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 9 Fighting Irish	0	0	0	0	0
Trojans	0	0	10	0	10

Sun Bowl (vs TCU)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Trojans	0	3	13	3	19
Horned Frogs	14	7	7	0	28

Awards

All-Pac-10: OL Travis Claridge, DL Ennis Davis, LB Chris Claiborne, DB Daylon McCutcheon, DB Rashard Cook ^[5]

References

^ "Southern California Yearly Results (1995-1999)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
^ "Clemson Opening - Orlando Sentinel". Archived from the original on April 6, 2012.
^ "1998 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
^ "USC learns the hard way". The Los Angeles Times. September 27, 1998. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ 2011 USC football media guide

[1] "Southern California Yearly Results (1995-1999)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.

[2] "Clemson Opening - Orlando Sentinel". Archived from the original on April 6, 2012.

[3] "1998 Southern California Trojans Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 21, 2015.

[4] "USC learns the hard way". The Los Angeles Times. September 27, 1998. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] 2011 USC football media guide

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v t e USC Trojans football
Venues	Athletic Park (1895–1898) Fiesta Park (1897–1898, 1901–1902, 1904–1906, 1916) Chutes Park (1900) Prager Park (1903) Bovard Field (1904–1910, 1914–1915, 1917–1923) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (1923–present) Jones Field/Kennedy Field (practice)
Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Notre Dame Stanford UCLA: Victory Bell
Culture and lore	Traveler George Tirebiter Giles Pellerin "Fight On" Spirit of Troy Student Body Right Tommy Trojan Tribute to Troy Athletics scandal 1967 "Game of the Century" "Bush Push" 2007 Stanford game So This Is College
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911–1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold