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 C ...

(USC) in 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 e ...

. In their first year under head coach Paul Hackett, the Trojans compiled an 8-5 record (5–3 against conference opponents), finished in a tie for third place in the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

(Pac-10), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 346 to 241. This was Hackett's only winning season and bowl appearance with the team. It was also the Trojans' 75th anniversary playing at the Coliseum. After three wins, including an opener against

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

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 h ...

, USC was ranked as high as 18 in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

, but lost two of its next three and dropped out of the rankings permanently. 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. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, 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, USC alumnus, and a fan of the University of Southern California Trojans (USC) college football ...

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

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...

led the team in passing, completing 130 of 235 passes for 1,755 yards with seven touchdowns and six interceptions.

Chad Morton Chad Akio Morton (born April 4, 1977) is a former American football running back and kick/ punt returner in the National Football League. He was drafted from USC late in the fifth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. After a st ...

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 a former gridiron football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft, but only played one season after multiple suspensions derailed his career ...

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

Coaching staff

Season summary

Purdue

San Diego State

Oregon State

At Florida State

Arizona State

California

At Washington State

At Oregon

Washington

At Stanford

At UCLA

Notre Dame

Sun Bowl (vs TCU)

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 T ...

, DL Ennis Davis, LB

Chris Claiborne Christopher Ashon Claiborne (born July 26, 1978) is an American football coach and former player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. Claiborne played college football for the University of Southern Cali ...

, DB

Daylon McCutcheon Daylon Anthony McCutcheon (born December 9, 1976) is a former American football cornerback who played his entire career with the Cleveland Browns. High school career McCutcheon played high school football at Bishop Amat Memorial High School in L ...

, DB Rashard Cook 2011 USC football media guide

References

{{USC Trojans football navbox

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

USC Trojans football seasons

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 Con ...