# 1998 USC Trojans football team

The 1998 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California (USC) in the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. 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 (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 in the Pigskin Classic, USC was ranked as high as 18 in the AP Poll, but lost two of its next three and dropped out of the rankings permanently.
During halftime of the game against UCLA, 91-year-old USC "Super Fan" Giles Pellerin died while watching his 797th consecutive USC football game.
Quarterback Carson Palmer 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 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

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 11:30 a.m. | Purdue* | | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (Pigskin Classic) | ABC | W 27–17 | 56,623 |
| September 12 | 7:30 p.m. | San Diego State* | No. 22 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | FSNW2 | W 35–6 | 49,927 |
| September 19 | 7:00 p.m. | Oregon State | No. 18 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | FSNW2 | W 40–20 | 45,629 |
| September 26 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 10 Florida State* | No. 18 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ABC | L 10–30 | 79,815 |
| October 3 | 4:00 p.m. | Arizona State | No. 21 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | ABC | W 35–24 | 56,093 |
| October 10 | 3:30 p.m. | California | No. 19 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | FSN | L 31–32 | 65,678 |
| October 17 | 7:15 p.m. | at Washington State | | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | FSN | W 42–14 | 31,178 |
| October 24 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 12 Oregon | | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR | FSN | L 13–17 | 45,807 |
| October 31 | 12:30 p.m. | Washington | | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | ABC | W 33–10 | 62,276 |
| November 7 | 3:30 p.m. | at Stanford | | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA (rivalry) | FSN | W 34–9 | 43,250 |
| November 21 | 12:30 p.m. | at No. 3 UCLA | | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Victory Bell) | ABC | L 17–34 | 88,080 |
| November 28 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 9 Notre Dame* | | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (rivalry) | ABC | W 10–0 | 90,069 |
| December 31 | 11:00 a.m. | vs. TCU* | | Sun BowlEl Paso, TX (Sun Bowl) | CBS | L 19–28 | 46,612 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | RV | 22 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | RV |
| Coaches Poll | RV | 23 | 16 | 17 | 22 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | RV | — |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | 20 | — | — | — | Not released |

## Season summary
### vs Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Boilermakers | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Trojans | 7 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 27 |

### vs San Diego State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aztecs | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| No. 22 Trojans | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |

### vs Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Beavers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| No. 18 Trojans | 7 | 10 | 3 | 20 | 40 |

### at No. 10 Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 18 Trojans | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| No. 10 Seminoles | 3 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 30 |

### vs Arizona State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Sun Devils | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| No. 21 Trojans | 0 | 7 | 6 | 22 | 35 |

### vs California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Bears | 7 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 32 |
| No. 19 Trojans | 7 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 31 |

### at Washington State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Trojans | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
| Cougars | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### at No. 12 Oregon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Trojans | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| No. 12 Ducks | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |

### vs Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Trojans | 7 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 33 |

### at Stanford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Trojans | 10 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 34 |
| Cardinal | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |

### at No. 3 UCLA

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Trojans | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| No. 3 Bruins | 14 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 34 |

### vs No. 9 Notre Dame

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 9 Fighting Irish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trojans | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |

### Sun Bowl (vs TCU)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Trojans | 0 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 19 |
| Horned Frogs | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |

## Awards

* All-Pac-10: OL Travis Claridge, DL Ennis Davis, LB Chris Claiborne, DB Daylon McCutcheon, DB Rashard Cook