# 1998 Missouri Tigers football team

The 1998 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri. The 1998 Tigers had an overall record of 8-4 (5-3 in conference play), including a 34–31 win in the Insight.com Bowl over West Virginia at Tucson. They were members of the Big 12 Conference in the North Division. The team was coached by head coach Larry Smith. West Virginia took Missouri's spot in the Big 12 when the latter joined the SEC fourteen years later.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 6:30 pm | Bowling Green* | | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | | W 37–0 | 48,971 |
| September 12 | 2:30 pm | Kansas | No. 25 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO (Border War) | ABC | W 41–23 | 59,720 |
| September 19 | 2:30 pm | at No. 1 Ohio State* | No. 19 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC | L 14–35 | 93,269 |
| October 3 | 1:00 pm | No. 7 (I-AA) Northwestern State* | No. 25 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | | W 35–14 | 48,298 |
| October 10 | 1:00 pm | at Iowa State | No. 21 | Jack Trice StadiumAmes, IA (rivalry) | | W 35–19 | 38,756 |
| October 17 | 1:00 pm | Oklahoma | No. 20 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO (rivalry) | | W 20–6 | 61,586 |
| October 24 | 11:30 am | at No. 7 Nebraska | No. 19 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, Nebraska (rivalry) | FSN | L 13–20 | 76,425 |
| October 31 | 1:00 pm | at Texas Tech | No. 18 | Jones StadiumLubbock, TX | | W 28–26 | 41,378 |
| November 7 | 11:30 am | Colorado | No. 18 | Faurot FieldColumbia, Missouri | FSN | W 38–14 | 57,261 |
| November 14 | 11:30 am | at No. 6 Texas A&M | No. 13 | Kyle FieldCollege Station, TX | FSN | L 14–17 | 60,433 |
| November 21 | 2:30 pm | No. 2 Kansas State | No. 19 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | ABC | L 25–31 | 68,174 |
| December 26 | 7:00 pm | vs. West Virginia* | No. 23 | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ (Insight.com Bowl) | ESPN | W 34–31 | 36,147 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Seasons at Missouri | Alma mater |
| Larry Smith | Head coach | 5 | Bowling Green (1961) |
| Jerry Berndt | Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks | 5 | Wisconsin–Superior (1960) |
| Corbyn Smith | Offensive tackle, tight end & Special teams coordinator | 1 | Iowa (1995) |
| David Mitchell | Running backs | 2 | Arkansas State |
| Andy Hill | Wide receivers | 3 | Missouri (1985) |
| Andy Moeller | Offensive line | 6 | Michigan (1986) |
| Moe Ankney | Defensive coordinator | 5 | Bowling Green (1963) |
| Dave Toub | Defensive line | 1 | UTEP (1985) |
| Ricky Hunley | Linebackers & associate head coach | 5 | Arizona (1984) |
| Jon Hoke | defensive backs | 5 | Ball State (1980) |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | 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 | 25 | 21 | 25 | 23T | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 19 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 21 |
| Coaches Poll | RV | 25 | 19 | 24 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 23 | 25 | RV | RV | 25 |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 18 | — | 13 | 19 | — | — | — | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Ohio State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Missouri | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Ohio State | 7 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 35 |
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
* Date: September 19, 1998
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 80°, Sunny, wind 5 S
* Game attendance: 93,269
* Referee: J. Kemerling
* TV: ABC
* Box Score