1998 Texas Longhorns football team

1998 Texas Longhorns football
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
DivisionSouth Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 15
Record9–3 (6–2 Big 12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGreg Davis (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorCarl Reese (1st season)
Home stadiumDarrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 79,471)
Seasons
← 1997
1999 →
1998 Big 12 Conference football standings
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

The 1998 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were represented in the Big 12 Conference in the South Division. They played their home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. The team was coached by head coach Mack Brown.

The Longhorns finished the regular season with an 8–3 record and defeated No. 25 Mississippi State in the Cotton Bowl Classic, 38–11.

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's legendary Blackshirts defense. 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 (this particular year fell on November 27, 1998) between Texas and Texas A&M. Needing only 63 yards to break Tony Dorsett's 22-year-old NCAA Division I-A all-time rushing record (6,082), Ricky 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 Miami University's Travis Prentice), and rushed for 200 or more yards in twelve different games (an NCAA record he shares with Dayne and USC's Marcus Allen). Williams won the 64th Heisman Trophy, becoming the second Texas Longhorn to win this honor, joining Earl Campbell. Williams was sometimes known as the "Texas Tornado."[1]

  1. ^ Richard, Dave (December 9, 2002). "Q & A: Williams makes it look easy". Miami Dolphins. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved January 26, 2007.