The Season at a Glance
Looking back at 1998, looking ahead at 1999
By Dan Shanoff, CNN/SI
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Final 1998 Top 25
by Sports Illustrated's Ivan Maisel
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1. Tennessee (13-0) |
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2. Ohio State (11-1) |
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3. Florida State (11-2) |
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4. Arizona (12-1) |
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5. Florida (10-2) |
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6. Wisconsin (11-1) |
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7. UCLA (10-2) |
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8. Tulane (12-0) |
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9. Air Force (12-1) |
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10. Georgia Tech (10-2) |
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11. Michigan (10-3) |
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12. Texas A&M (11-3) |
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13. Kansas State (11-2) |
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14. Texas (9-3) |
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15. Penn State (9-3) |
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16. Nebraska (9-4) |
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17. Georgia (9-3) |
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18. Arkansas (9-3) |
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19. Purdue (8-4) |
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20. Syracuse (8-4) |
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21. Colorado (8-4) |
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22. Miami (9-3) |
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23. Virginia (9-3) |
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24. Virginia Tech (9-3) |
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25. Notre Dame (9-3) |
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1999: The Year of the Quarterback
Impressed with this year's crop of NFL-bound quarterbacks? Kansas State's Michael Bishop , Kentucky's Tim Couch , Ohio State's Joe Germaine , Tulane's Shaun King , Syracuse's Donovan McNabb and UCLA's Cade McNown were some of the most talented signal-callers in college football history. But 1999 will prove to be the true Year of the Quarterback.
Statistically, six of the top 10 quarterbacks will return next year:
1. Louisiana Tech's Tim Rattay
2. Louisville's Chris Redman
4. Purdue's Drew Brees
5. Marshall's Chad Pennington
8. West Virginia's Marc Bulger
10. N.C. State's Jamie Barnette
Throw in Texas's Major Applewhite , Michigan's Tom Brady , Virginia's Aaron Brooks , Georgia's Quincy Carter , Georgia Tech's Joe Hamilton , Florida's Doug Johnson and, of course, Tennessee's Tee Martin, and fans should be looking at unprecedented aerial fireworks fit for the end of a millennium.
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1998 Superlatives |
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Biggest surprise: Tee Martin topping Peyton Manning and leading Tennessee to an elusive national title. Runner-up: Tulane's perfect season
Biggest flop: LSU, from preseason Top 10 to sub-.500 record.
Runner-up: Washington, with Brock Who?-ard and a mediocre 6-6 record.
Top game: Texas A&M 36, Kansas State 33, knocking K-State out of the BCS equation on a wild December 5.
Top moment: Ricky Williams's record-breaking 60-yard run against Texas A&M in a 26-24 Longhorns upset on November 27.
Runner-up: Arizona QB Ortege Jenkins' 9-yard TD somersault over Washington in the final seconds of a 31-28 Wildcats upset on October 3.
Top coaching job: Tommy Bowden, Tulane
Top player (offense): Donovan McNabb, QB, Syracuse
Top player (defense): LaVarr Arrington, LB, Penn State
Top player (both ways): Champ Bailey, DB/WR, Georgia
Most likely to succeed in the NFL: Ricky Williams, RB, Texas |
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Even more
shamefully premature
1999 preseason Top 10 |
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1. Florida State
2. Tennessee
3. Ohio State
4. Florida
5. Michigan
6. Georgia Tech
7. Penn State
8. Arizona
9. Miami
10. Purdue
Also receiving votes: Virginia Tech, Georgia, Notre Dame, Virginia, Marshall, Colorado, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Texas A&M |
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Shamefully premature
1999 Heisman Watch |
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1. Ron Dayne, RB, Wisconsin
2. Drew Brees, QB, Purdue
3. Tee Martin, QB, Tennessee
4. Chris Redman, QB, Louisville
5. Travis Minor, RB, Florida State |
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A Haiku for Keith Jackson |
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Fummm-ble! Whoooa, Nellie!
Soph-oh-mores rumblin', stumblin'.
Big Hoss, we'll miss you. |
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Looking ahead to 1999 |
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Next season's Tulane: Marshall
Ascending: Purdue
Descending: Kansas State
Rebuilding: Syracuse, losing 14 starters, including Donovan McNabb
Sugar Bowl 2000: Florida State exacts revenge from Tennessee, 28-17, for the national title |
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| The Bandwagon |
| Joe Tiller |  | Life's a Brees
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| Tee Martin Hall | | Last time: Peyton who?
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| Chris Weinke | | He's no Outzen
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| Bill Snyder |  | Stop eating cupcakes.
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| Mack Brown | | Now try it without Ricky
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The BYU 1984 National Champs Award goes to... |
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Tulane , 12-0, No. 7 in the media and coaches' polls, No. 1 in our hearts. |
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Storylines we'll be following this offseason |
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Coaching moves Names you'll hear bandied about for pro jobs (don't pay attention, because they aren't going anywhere): Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez, Michigan State's Nick Saban, Florida's Steve Spurrier, UCLA's Bob Toledo, Stanford's Tyrone Willingham.
Making the NFL jump Georgia's Champ Bailey is gone; Kentucky's Tim Couch could be next. Will Ron Dayne reconsider his decision to stay at Wisconsin after his four-touchdown, 240-yard Rose Bowl performance?
BCS reform? After all the griping, the system worked ... this time. Undefeated UCLA or K-State would have tilted the BCS like a pinball machine. Don't expect any changes to the system. So lay off the computer rankings -- the media and coaches have a pot-and-kettle thing going on with their criticism of the New York Times, the Seattle Times and Jeff Sagarin. |
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