1998 Kentucky Wildcats football team

American college football season

1998 Kentucky Wildcats football

Outback Bowl, L 26–14 vs. Penn State
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	7–5 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Hal Mumme (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Leach (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Mike Major (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Commonwealth Stadium
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 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Quarterback Tim Couch was the first pick overall in the 1999 NFL draft.

Couch led Kentucky to seven wins, including a win on the road at #21 LSU and a spot in the 1999 Outback Bowl, where Couch completed 30 of 48 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns, though Kentucky lost to Penn State, 26–14. In the Kentucky–Louisville rivalry, the Wildcats beat the Cardinals to claim the Governor's Cup. In the Border Battle, Tennessee beat Kentucky by a score of 59–21 to claim the Beer Barrel.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	3:00 pm	at Louisville*	Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY (Governor's Cup)	FSN	W 68–34	42,643
September 12	1:30 pm	Eastern Kentucky*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY		W 52–7	57,776
September 19	1:30 pm	Indiana*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)		W 31–27	57,788
September 26	3:30 pm	at No. 8 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	L 35–51	85,011
October 3	6:00 pm	at No. 22 Arkansas	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	ESPN2	L 20–27	55,782
October 10	7:00 pm	South Carolina	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY		W 33–28	57,739
October 17	9:00 pm	at No. 21 LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	ESPN2	W 39–36	80,524
October 24	12:30 pm	No. 11 Georgia	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	JPS	L 26–28	57,838
November 7	6:00 pm	Mississippi State	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	ESPN2	W 37–35	57,760
November 14	1:30 pm	Vanderbilt	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)		W 55–17	57,521
November 21	12:30 pm	at No. 1 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	L 21–59	107,252
January 1	11:00 am	vs. No. 20 Penn State*	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	L 14–26	66,005
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	25	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	RV	RV	—	RV
BCS	Not released								—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Roster

1998 Kentucky Wildcats football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`2`	Tim Couch	Jr
WR	`3`	Craig Yeast	Sr
QB	`16`	Matt Mumme	Sr
WR	`25`	Quentin McCord	So
RB	`32`	Anthony White	Jr
C	`61`	Paul McGonagle	Sr
TE	`85`	James Whalen	Jr
RB		Artose Pinner	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`20`	Eric Kelly	So
LB	`30`	Marlon McCree	So
DT		Chris Demaree	Fr
DE		Dennis Johnson	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`10`	Seth Hanson	So
P	`18`	Jimmy Carter	Sr

Head coach

Hal Mumme

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Mike Leach – Offensive coordinator/wide receivers
Chris Hatcher – Quarterbacks
Tony Franklin – Running backs
Mike Fanoga – Tight ends/assistant offensive line
Guy Morriss – Offensive line/assistant head coach
Mike Major – Defensive coordinator/linebackers
Bob Brush – Defensive assistant
Tom Adams – Defensive line
Darrell Patterson – Safeties
Tim Keane – Cornerbacks

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

1999 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Tim Couch	Quarterback	1	1	Cleveland Browns

References

"Mcubed.net : NCAA Football : Series Records : Tennessee vs. Kentucky".
"Couch means ouch for Cards". Messenger-Inquirer. September 6, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Cats cream Colonels 52–7". Lexington Herald-Leader. September 13, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
Whitmire, Tim (September 20, 1998). "Cats escape Indiana, 31-27". Messenger-Inquirer. Associated Press. p. 1B. Retrieved October 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
"Florida outguns Kentucky, Couch 51–35". Messenger-Inquirer. September 27, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Aw, Nutts! Hogs overtake 'Cats". The Paducah Sun. October 4, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Balanced attack lifts Kentucky over South Carolina". The Charlotte Observer. October 11, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Wildcats nip LSU". Daily World. October 18, 1998. Retrieved July 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Botched kick snaps Couch's final march". The Paducah Sun. October 25, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"MSU falls short against 'Cats". The Greenwood Commonwealth. November 8, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"If it was a farewell, it was a doozy". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 15, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Top-ranked Vols wallop flat Wildcats". Messenger-Inquirer. November 22, 1998. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Paterno has plenty of time, but Couch doesn't". The Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1999. Retrieved October 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"1999 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.

v t e Kentucky Wildcats football
Venues	Stoll Field/McLean Stadium (1916–1972) Kroger Field (1973–present) E.J. Nutter Training Facility (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Centre Florida Indiana Louisville: Governor's Cup Tennessee Transylvania: Battle On Broadway Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	The Wildcat Scratch Blue "On, On, U of K" "Kentucky Fight" Marching band Bluegrass Miracle 2003 Arkansas game Big Blue Nation
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees Starting quarterbacks
Seasons	1881 1882–1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold

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