1998 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

American college football season

1998 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
SEC Western Division co-champion
SEC Championship Game, L 14–24 vs. Tennessee
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 11–38 vs. Texas
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Record	8–5 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Jackie Sherrill (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Lynn Amedee (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Lee Dunn (3rd season)
Home stadium	Scott Field
Seasons ← 1997 1999 →

1998 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Eastern Division
No. 1 Tennessee x$#	8	–	0	13	–	0
No. 5 Florida %	7	–	1	10	–	2
No. 14 Georgia	6	–	2	9	–	3
Kentucky	4	–	4	7	–	5
Vanderbilt	1	–	7	2	–	9
South Carolina	0	–	8	1	–	10
Western Division
Mississippi State xy	6	–	2	8	–	5
No. 16 Arkansas x	6	–	2	9	–	3
Alabama	4	–	4	7	–	5
Ole Miss	3	–	5	7	–	5
LSU	2	–	6	4	–	7
Auburn	1	–	7	3	–	8
Championship: Tennessee 24, Mississippi State 14
# – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 1998 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University as a member of the Western Division of the Southern Conference (SEC) during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Jackie Sherrill, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 8–5 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, sharing the SEC's Western Division title with Arkansas. By virtue of Mississippi State's head-to-head win over the Razorbacks, the team advanced to the SEC Championship Game, losing to the eventual national champion, Tennessee. This remains the only appearance in the SEC Championship Game for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs were invited to the Cotton Bowl Classic, where they were defeated by Texas. Mississippi State played home games Scott Field in Starkville, Mississippi.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	5:00 pm	Vanderbilt		Scott Field Starkville, MS	ESPN2	W 42–0	32,150
September 12	11:30 am	at Memphis*		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	FSN	W 14–6	28,467
September 19	6:00 pm	at Oklahoma State*	No. 25	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK		L 23–42	42,250
September 26	11:30 am	at South Carolina		Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	W 38–0	70,052
October 10	11:30 am	Auburn		Scott Field Starkville, MS	JPS	W 38–21	40,029
October 17	1:30 pm	East Tennessee State*		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS		W 53–6	37,573
October 24	5:00 pm	at LSU	No. 24	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 6–41	80,040
November 7	5:00 pm	at Kentucky		Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	ESPN2	L 35–37	57,760
November 14	11:30 am	Alabama		Scott Field Starkville, MS (rivalry)	JPS	W 26–14	40,517	^[1]
November 21	11:30 am	No. 9 Arkansas		Scott Field Starkville, MS	JPS	W 22–21	36,656
November 26	7:00 pm	at Ole Miss	No. 25	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (Egg Bowl)	ESPN	W 28–6	50,412
December 5	6:30 pm	vs. No. 1 Tennessee	No. 23	Georgia Dome Atlanta (SEC Championship Game)	ABC	L 14–24	74,795
January 1	10:00 am	vs. No. 20 Texas*	No. 25	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	FOX	L 11–38	72,611
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Mississippi St	7	7	7	7	28
Ole Miss	3	3	0	0	6

Scoring summary

1	9:36	MISS	Carlisle McGee 40 yard field goal	MISS 3-0

1	4:27	MSU	James Johnson 2 yard run (Brian Hazelwood kick)	MSU 7-3

2	7:36	MSU	James Johnson 1 yard run (Brian Hazelwood kick)	MSU 14-3

2	1:51	MISS	Carlisle McGee 22 yard field goal	MSU 14-6

3	1:06	MSU	Dicenzo Miller 28 yard pass from Wayne Madkin (Brian Hazelwood kick)	MSU 21-6

4	2:34	MSU	Tim Nelson 30 yard interception return (Brian Hazelwood kick)	MSU 28-6

^ "Deja vu: Dogs need 2 more wins all over again". The Clarion-Ledger. November 15, 1998. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1998 Mississippi State Football Results/Schedule". Mississippi State Athletics. Archived from the original on January 28, 1999. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
^ "NCAA Football - Mississippi State vs. Mississippi". USA Today.

v t e Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Venues	Davis Wade Stadium (1914–present) Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium (alternate, 1953–1990)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama LSU Ole Miss: Egg Bowl
Culture & lore	Bully "Hail State" Famous Maroon Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
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