The 1998 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin as a member South Division of the Big 12 Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Mack Brown, the Longhorns compiled an overall record of 9–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing second in the Big 12's South Division. Texas was invited to the Cotton Bowl Classic, where the Longhorns defeated Mississippi State. The team played home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

Running back Ricky Williams had a sensational senior season, rushing for nine touchdowns and 385 yards in the season's first two games; 318 yards and six touchdowns against Rice; 350 yards and five touchdowns against Iowa State; 150 yards against Nebraska; and 166 yards and two scores against rival Oklahoma. The highlight of the season came when Williams broke the NCAA Division I-A career rushing record during the annual UT-A&M game held the day after Thanksgiving. Needing only 63 yards to break Tony Dorsett's 22-year-old career rushing record (6,082), and having already rushed for 54 yards, Williams broke two tackles, sprinted into open field and received a down field block from receiver Wane McGarity for a 60-yard touchdown run and the record. Williams' record-breaking run gave Texas a 10–0 lead in its eventual upset of sixth-ranked Texas A&M. He finished the game with 295 yards. He also broke the NCAA Division I-A career rushing touchdowns and career scoring records in 1998 with 73 and 452 respectively, and rushed for 200 or more yards in 12 different games, an NCAA record he shares with Ron Dayne and Marcus Allen. Williams won the 64th Heisman Trophy, becoming the second Longhorn to win this honor, joining Earl Campbell.

Before the season

Previous head coach John Mackovic was fired following an disappointing 4-7 season the year prior, which included one of the worst losses in program history; a 66-3 blowout at home by unranked UCLA dubbed "Rout 66". In his place a hiring committee, made up of former head coach Darrell Royal, athletic director Deloss Dodds, former players and important boosters, contacted Brown in December of 1997 about the job. The search for a successor took less than a week.

Recruiting class When Brown arrived at Texas he had less than two months to put together the year's recruiting class. The stars of the 1998 class included the Texas City Four (Everick Rawls, Tyrone Jones, Ervis Hill and Jermain Anderson) along with future NFL offensive lineman Mike Williams. The group would eventually lead Texas to a combined 38-13 record over their four years. 1998 Texas recruiting class Name Position Hometown School Height Weight Jermain Anderson DE Texas City Texas City High School 6 ft 3 in 207 lb Beau Baker OL Houston Clear Lake High School 6 ft 5 in 265 lb Ahmad Brooks DB Abilene Abilene High School 5 ft 8 in 165 lb Adam Dunn QB New Caney New Caney High School 6 ft 5 in 245 lb Montrell Flowers WR Dallas Skyline High School 5 ft 9 in 175 lb Ervis Hill DB Texas City Texas City High School 5 ft 9 in 178 lb Victor Ike RB Austin Bowie High School 5 ft 11 in 189 lb Lee Jackson DB Longview Longview High School 6 ft 3 in 193 lb Tyrone Jones LB Texas City Texas City High School 6 ft 4 in 210 lb Jamal Joyner DB Dallas Dallas Carter High School 6 ft 2 in 180 lb Antwan Kirk-Hughes OT Waxahachie Waxahachie High School 6 ft 3 in 320 lb Miguel McKay LB Lufkin Lufkin High School 6 ft 1 in 231 lb Everick Rawls LB Texas City Texas City High School 6 ft 1 in 216 lb Chris Robertson RB Denison Denison High School 6 ft 1 in 196 lb Beau Trahan QB Bay City Bay City High School 5 ft 11 in 200 lb Marcus Wilkins LB Anderson Mill Westwood High School 6 ft 2 in 215 lb Mike Williams OT The Colony The Colony High School 6 ft 6 in 339 lb Jon Wyndham DB Manor Manor High School 6 ft 1 in 187 lbReference:

Returning starters The Longhorns returned 13 starters from the previous season. They returned 8 on offense and 5 on defense. Ricky Williams had considered forgoing his senior season and declaring for the NFL draft after the firing of coach Mackovic. Williams had managed to win the Doak Walker Award and finish 12th in all-time NCAA rushing in 1997 and was expected to be drafted high. As late as early January 1998, Ricky himself said he was leaning towards going pro, despite having privately decided to stay weeks earlier. He announced his intention to stay on January 8 at a press conference with Mack Brown. Brown embraced Williams and stated "We have just had a successful recruiting class, this is our first signee. He’s the best football player in the country returning next year.” Ricky's decision to stay was a major PR victory for coach Brown, combined with his recruiting success. For Williams, the choice was richly rewarded with a Heisman Trophy and the all-time NCAA rushing record.

The returning offensive starters were: Ben Adams (RG), Octavious Bishop (LT), Ricky Brown (FB), Kwame Cavil (WR), Jay Humphrey (RT), Wane McGarity (WR), Roger Roesler (LG), and Ricky Williams (RB). The returning defensive starters were: Aaron Babino (SS), Anthony Hicks (WLB), Tony Holmes (CB/S), Aaron Humphrey (DE), Donald McCowen (FS), Brandon Nava (SLB), Dusty Renfro (MLB), Chris Smith (DE), and Cedric Woodard (DT).

Schedule

Rankings

Personnel Roster

Depth chart

Game summaries

At Kansas State

Kansas State welcomed Texas for their first Big 12 Conference matchup, and first meeting since 1942, and Texas' first trip to Manhattan since 1926. 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams was held to just 43 yards on 25 carries for an average of just 1.7 yards per carry. He did not score in the game. Williams averaged 202 rushing yards per game in 1998 and was held to a season low 43 years, his next lowest yardage output was 90 yards against Oklahoma State. K-State racked up 223 yards on the ground on 51 carries and the Wildcats won handily, 48–7.

Awards and honors Ricky Williams: Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Award, Maxwell Award Doak Walker Award, consensus All-American

1999 NFL draft The following Texas players were selected in the 1999 NFL draft following the season.

Ricky Williams Running back 1 5 New Orleans Saints Wane McGarity Wide receiver 4 118 Dallas Cowboys Jay Humphrey Tackle 4 125 Minnesota Vikings

References