| Sport: | football |
| Year: | 1998 |
| Team: | Wisconsin Badgers |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Coachrank: | 5 |
| Aprank: | 6 |
| Record: | 11 - 1 |
| Conf Record: | 7 - 1 |
| Hc Year: | 9th |
| Oc Year: | 7th as OC; 8th overall |
| Def Coach: | Kevin Cosgrove |
| Dc Year: | 4th as OC; 9th overall |
| Mvp: | Bob Adamov Tom Burke Matt Davenport Aaron Gibson Eric Grams Cecil Martin Mike Samuel Mike Schneck Leonard Taylor |
| Champion: | Big Ten co-champion Rose Bowl champion |
| Bowl Result: | W 38 - 31 vs. UCLA |
The 1998 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season.
Wisconsin finished the regular season 10 - 1 overall (7 - 1 conference) and were co-champions of the Big Ten Conference (with Ohio State and Michigan) for the first time since 1993. They were awarded the berth in the 1999 Rose Bowl due to Big Ten Conference tie-breaking rules, at the time, which gave the Rose Bowl invitation to the tied team which had gone the longest period of time without an invitation: Michigan had been in the 1998 Rose Bowl, Ohio State had been in the 1997 Rose Bowl, while Wisconsin's last Rose Bowl was 1994.
The circumstances of this selection, the fact that Ohio State was the higher-ranked team (Ohio State was the pre-season #1 and spent most of the season with this ranking: Wisconsin did not play Ohio State or Michigan State that year, so Ohio State had the better record versus common opponents due to the Michigan loss), combined with the fact that the opponent (UCLA) was ranked #2 and headed to the national title game before a season-ending loss, led to ridicule in the national media: most notably, Craig James' declaration that Wisconsin was "the worst team to ever play in the Rose Bowl." Wisconsin went on to defeat #6 UCLA 38 - 31 in the 1999 Rose Bowl. Afterward, Badger coach Barry Alvarez fired back, "Well, I know we're at least the second worst."[1] [2]
See also: 1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings.
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| Quarterback | Mike Samuel |
| Running Back | Ron Dayne |
| Fullback | Cecil Martin |
| Wide Receiver | Chris Chambers |
| Wide Receiver | Ahmad Merritt |
| Tight End | Dague Retzlaff/Eric Grams |
| Left Tackle | Chris McIntosh |
| Left Guard | Bill Ferrario |
| Center | Casey Rabach |
| Right Guard | Dave Costa |
| Right Tackle | Aaron Gibson |
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| Defensive End | Tom Burke |
| Defensive Tackle | Ross Kolodziej |
| Nose Guard | Eric Mahlik |
| Defensive End | John Favret |
| Outside Linebacker | Bob Adamov |
| Inside Linebacker | Donnel Thompson |
| Outside Linebacker | Chris Ghidorzi |
| Cornerback | Mike Echols |
| Free Safety | Jason Doering |
| Strong Safety | Leonard Taylor |
| Cornerback | Jamar Fletcher |
See main article: 1999 Rose Bowl.
See also: 1998 UCLA Bruins football team.
All-America (unanimous consensus), Bill Willis Trophy, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media)
All-America (consensus), All-Big Ten (First Team, media; Second Team, coaches)
All-America (WCFF), 1999 Rose Bowl player of the Game, All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media)
All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media)
All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media)
All-Big Ten (First Team, media; Second Team, coaches)
All-Big Ten (Second Team, coaches & media)
All-Big Ten (Second Team, coaches)
Big Ten Coach of the Year
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Tackle | 1 | 27 | Detroit Lions | |
| Linebacker | 3 | 83 | Arizona Cardinals | |
| Fullback | 6 | 172 | Philadelphia Eagles | |