1998 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1998 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record3–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBuddy Teevens (2nd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorTim Kish (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
MVPDanny Clark
Captains
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1998 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 2 Ohio State %+ 7–1  11–1 
No. 6 Wisconsin $+ 7–1  11–1 
No. 12 Michigan + 7–1  10–3 
No. 24 Purdue 6–2  9–4 
No. 17 Penn State 5–3  9–3 
Michigan State 4–4  6–6 
Minnesota 2–6  5–6 
Indiana 2–6  4–7 
Illinois 2–6  3–8 
Iowa 2–6  3–8 
Northwestern 0–8  3–9 
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1998 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Ron Turner, the Fighting Illini compiled a 3–8 record (2–6 in conference games), finished in a four-way tie for seventh place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 326 to 149.[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Kurt Kittner (782 passing yards), running back Rocky Harvey (634 rushing yards), and wide receiver Lenny Willis (26 receptions for 301 yards).[2]

The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 55:30 pmat Washington State*
FSNL 13–2031,568
September 126:00 pmMiddle Tennessee*
W 48–2035,475
September 1911:00 amLouisville*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
ESPN2L 9–3539,475
September 2611:00 amIowa
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
ESPN PlusL 14–3744,245
October 311:00 amat Northwestern
ESPN PlusW 13–1041,232
October 1011:00 amNo. 1 Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (Illibuck)
ESPNL 0–4146,390
October 1711:00 amNo. 9 Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
ESPN2L 3–3740,627
October 241:00 pmat Purdue
L 9–4260,163
October 3111:00 amat No. 10 Penn State
ESPN PlusL 0–2796,508
November 71:00 pmIndiana
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 31–1631,388[3]
November 2112:00 pmat Michigan State
L 9–3167,285
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[4]

Roster

1998 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
RB 34 Jameel Cook Sr
QB 15 Kurt Kittner Fr
WR 6 George McDonald-Ashford  Sr
OT 59 Marques Sullivan So
TE 87 Josh Whitman So
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 48 Danny Clark Jr
DE 99 Fred Wakefield So
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

References

  1. ↑ "1998 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  2. ↑ "1998 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  3. ↑ Tupper, Mark (November 8, 1998). "Illini runs over Indiana". Herald and Review. p. C1. Retrieved October 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "fightingillini.com". Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
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