1998 USC Trojans football team

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]

1998 USC Trojans football
Sun Bowl, L 19–28 vs. TCU
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Record8–5 (5–3 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorHue Jackson (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorBill Young (1st season)
Captains
Home stadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 92,000, grass)
1998 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
ConfOverall
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

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
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 3011:30 a.m.Purdue*
ABCW 27–1756,623
September 127:30 p.m.San Diego State*No. 22
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
FSNW2W 35–649,927
September 197:00 p.m.Oregon StateNo. 18
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
FSNW2W 40–2045,629
September 2612:30 p.m.at No. 10 Florida State*No. 18
ABCL 10–3079,815
October 34:00 p.m.Arizona StateNo. 21
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
ABCW 35–2456,093
October 103:30 p.m.CaliforniaNo. 19
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
FSNL 31–3265,678
October 177:15 p.m.at Washington State
FSNW 42–1431,178
October 243:30 p.m.at No. 12 Oregon
FSNL 13–1745,807
October 3112:30 p.m.Washingtondagger
  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA
ABCW 33–1062,276
November 73:30 p.m.at Stanford
FSNW 34–943,250
November 2112:30 p.m.at No. 3 UCLA
ABCL 17–3488,080
November 285:00 p.m.No. 9 Notre Dame*
ABCW 10–090,069
December 3111:00 a.m.vs. TCU*
CBSL 19–2846,612
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • 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
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
APRV2218182119—————RV———RV
Coaches PollRV2316172220—————RV——RV—
BCSNot 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

Purdue

Awards

References
  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. 2011 USC football media guide
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