The 1998 USC Trojans football team represented the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC) as a member of

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

(Pac-10) during the

1998 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1998 and culminated with the major bowl games in ...

. In their first year under head coach Paul Hackett, the Trojans compiled an overall record of 8-5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, tying for third place in the Pac-10, and outscored opponents 346 to 241. USC was invited to the

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

, where the Trojans lost to

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

. The team played home games at

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It was the Trojans' 75th anniversary playing at the Coliseum. This was Hackett's only winning season and bowl appearance at USC. After three wins, including an opener against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

in the

Pigskin Classic The Pigskin Classic was a season-opening college football game played at Anaheim Stadium from 1990 until 1994, and continued from 1995 to 2002 at various stadiums. It was initially created as a west-coast counterpart of the Kickoff Classic and ...

, USC was ranked as high as No. 18 in the AP poll, but lost two of its next three and dropped out of the rankings for the rest of the season. During halftime of the game against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, 91-year-old USC "Super Fan"

Giles Pellerin Giles L. "Bud" Pellerin (December 23, 1906 – November 21, 1998), nicknamed the Superfan or Super Fan, was an American telephone company executive, University of Southern California, USC alumnus, and a fan (person), fan of the USC Trojans footbal ...

died while watching his 797th consecutive USC football game. Quarterback

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans, winning the Heisman Trophy as ...

led the team in passing, completing 130 of 235 passes for 1,755 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions. Chad Morton led the team in rushing with 199 carries for 985 yards and six touchdowns.

R. Jay Soward Rodney Jay Soward (born January 16, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and wa ...

led the team in receiving yards with 44 catches for 679 yards and six touchdowns; Billy Miller also had 49 catches for 623 yards and six touchdowns.

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries

vs Purdue

vs San Diego State

vs Oregon State

at No. 10 Florida State

vs Arizona State

vs California

at Washington State

at No. 12 Oregon

vs Washington

at Stanford

at No. 3 UCLA

vs No. 9 Notre Dame

Sun Bowl (vs TCU)

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Awards

* All-Pac-10: OL

Travis Claridge Travis Claridge (March 23, 1978 – February 28, 2006) was an American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Atlanta Falcons between 2000 and 2003 and for the Carolina Panthers in 2004. Early life ...

, DL Ennis Davis, LB Chris Claiborne, DB

Daylon McCutcheon Daylon Anthony McCutcheon (born December 9, 1976) is an American former professional football player and coach. He was a cornerback for seven seasons for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and later was an assistant coach ...

, DB Rashard Cook 2011 USC football media guide

References

{{USC Trojans football navbox

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

USC Trojans football seasons

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...