The 1998 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Golden Eagles were led by ninth-year head coach Jeff Bower and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium. Following a successful 1997 season, the Golden Eagles were ranked in the preseason for the first time in school history, 21st in both polls. However, they were unable to replicate the previous season's success, losing their opening two games to ranked opponents and started 1–3. They finished with an overall record of 7–5 (5–1 C-USA), finishing second in Conference USA. They were invited to the 1998 Humanitarian Bowl, where they lost to Idaho, 35–42.[1]
| 1998 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football | |
|---|---|
Humanitarian Bowl, L 35–42 vs. Idaho | |
| Conference | Conference USA |
| Record | 7–5 (5–1 C-USA) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Larry Kueck (2nd season) |
| Offensive scheme | Pro-style |
| Defensive coordinator | John Thompson (7th season) |
| Base defense | Multiple |
| Home stadium | M. M. Roberts Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 Tulane $ | 6 | – | 0 | 12 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Miss | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisville | 4 | – | 2 | 7 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Carolina | 3 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Army | 2 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston | 2 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memphis | 1 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati | 1 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 5 | at No. 13 Penn State* | No. 21 | L 6–34 | 96,617 | [2] | ||
| September 19 | No. 17 Texas A&M* | FSNSW | L 6–24 | 33,233 | [3] | ||
| September 26 | Southwestern Louisiana* |
| W 55–0 | 24,379 | [4] | ||
| October 3 | at Tulane | L 7–21 | 32,527 | [5] | |||
| October 10 | Louisville |
| W 56–21 | 22,043 | [6] | ||
| October 17 | at Army | W 37–13 | 40,395 | [7] | |||
| October 24 | East Carolina |
| W 41–7 | 24,020 | [8] | ||
| October 31 | at Alabama* | L 20–30 | 83,818 | [9] | |||
| November 7 | at Houston | W 21–15 | 16,260 | [10] | |||
| November 14 | Memphis |
| W 45–3 | 19,132 | [11] | ||
| November 21 | at Nevada* | W 55–28 | 18,336 | [12] | |||
| December 30 | vs. Idaho* | ESPN2 | L 35–42 | 19,664 | [13] | ||
| |||||||
Rankings
edit- This season was the first time the Golden Eagles were ranked in the preseason.
| Week | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches Poll | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BCS | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released | |||||||
References
edit- ^ "1998 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ "Talent overcomes inexperience, State has no trouble defeating S. Miss". Sunday News. September 6, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Texas A&M relentless in Southern Miss win". The El Paso Times. September 20, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eagles get big relief 55–0". The Clarion-Ledger. September 27, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Turnovers kill USM in defeat". Enterprise-Journal. October 4, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Southern mess: Cards 'throw in the towel,' 56–21". The Courier-Journal. October 11, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Southern Mississippi downs Army in rout". Poughkeepsie Journal. October 18, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eagles clothesline Pirates". Hattiesburg American. October 25, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bama hurts Eagles again". Hattiesburg American. November 1, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Roberts passes USM to 21–15 victory". Enterprise-Journal. November 8, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Golden Eagles shred Memphis". The Commercial Appeal. November 15, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Southern Mississippi shreds Nevada 55–28". The Sacramento Bee. November 22, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Southern Miss gets Vandalized". The Times-News. December 31, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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