1998 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1998 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	3–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ron Turner (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Buddy Teevens (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Tim Kish (2nd season)
MVP	Danny Clark
Captains	Ivan Benson Danny Clark Ryan Schau
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1997 1999  →

1998 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 6 Wisconsin $+		7	–	1					11	–	1
No. 2 Ohio State  %+		7	–	1					11	–	1
No. 12 Michigan +		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 24 Purdue		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 17 Penn State		5	–	3					9	–	3
Michigan State		4	–	4					6	–	6
Indiana		2	–	6					4	–	7
Minnesota		2	–	6					5	–	6
Illinois		2	–	6					3	–	8
Iowa		2	–	6					3	–	8
Northwestern		0	–	8					3	–	9
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1998 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Ron Turner, the Fighting Illini compiled a 3–8 record (2–6 in conference games), finished in a four-way tie for seventh place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 326 to 149. ^[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Kurt Kittner (782 passing yards), running back Rocky Harvey (634 rushing yards), and wide receiver Lenny Willis (26 receptions for 301 yards). ^[2]

The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	5:30 pm	at Washington State *	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	FSN	L 13–20	31,568
September 12	6:00 pm	Middle Tennessee *	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 48–20	35,475
September 19	11:00 am	Louisville *	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN2	L 9–35	39,475
September 26	11:00 am	Iowa	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN Plus	L 14–37	44,245
October 3	11:00 am	at Northwestern	Ryan Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	ESPN Plus	W 13–10	41,232
October 10	11:00 am	No. 1 Ohio State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck)	ESPN	L 0–41	46,390
October 17	11:00 am	No. 9 Wisconsin	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN2	L 3–37	40,627
October 24	1:00 pm	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		L 9–42	60,163
October 31	11:00 am	at No. 10 Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN Plus	L 0–27	96,508
November 7	1:00 pm	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)		W 31–16	31,388	[3]
November 21	12:00 pm	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		L 9–31	67,285
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[4]

Roster

1998 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 34 Jameel Cook Sr WR 6 George McDonald-Ashford  Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Ron Turner Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "1998 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
2. "1998 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
3. Tupper, Mark (November 8, 1998). "Illini runs over Indiana". Herald and Review . p. C1. Retrieved October 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
4. "fightingillini.com". Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2012.