1998 Texas Longhorns football team

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), Williams approached the line of scrimmage with 1:45 seconds left in the first quarter having already rushed for 54 yards. At first and ten on the Texas forty-yard-line, quarterback Major Applewhite handed off to Williams who 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 26–24 upset of sixth-ranked Texas A&M. He finished the game racking up 295 yards. He also broke the NCAA Division I-A career rushing touchdowns and career scoring records in 1998 with 73 and 452 respectively (topped one year later by Travis Prentice of the Miami RedHawks), 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.^[1]

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 legendary former 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.

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.^[2]

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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.

• Ricky Williams: Heisman Trophy,^[6] Walter Camp Award,^[7] Maxwell Award^[8] Doak Walker Award, consensus All-American^[9]

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

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