1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team
The 1998 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas as a member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Houston Nutt, the Razorbacks compiled an overall record 9–3 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, sharing the SEC's Western Division title with [1998 1998 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team|Mississippi State Bulldogs football team|Mississippi State]. By virtue of a head-to-head loss to the Bulldogs, Arkansas was left out of the SEC Championship Game. The Razorbacks were invited to the Florida Citrus Bowl, where they lost to Michigan. The team played home games at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas and War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Nutt became the first Arkansas head coach to win his first eight games. In the ninth game of the season, undefeated, No. 10 Arkansas lost to the future national champion, No. 1 [1998 1998 Tennessee Volunteers football team|Tennessee Volunteers football team|Tennessee] in Knoxville, 28–24, due in large part to a fumble late in the game by Arkansas quarterback Clint Stoerner. Tennessee recovered the fumble and then drove the short field for the go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute to play. It is considered one of the most devastating losses in Razorback football history. The emotional hangover from that loss adversely affected Arkansas the following week, leading to an upset loss at Mississippi State, 22–21. Beating LSU in the regular season finale secured Arkansas a share of the division title and sent the 9–2 Razorbacks to the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando on New Year's Day to play the Michigan Wolverines. In the first meeting ever between the two schools, the Tom Brady-led Wolverines won, 45–31, and Arkansas finished the season 9–3 and ranked No. 16 in the final AP poll.
Game summaries
vs No. 22 Alabama
After leading by eight at halftime, Arkansas shut out Alabama in the second half to earn a dominant 36-point win.| Statistics | Alabama | Arkansas |
| First downs | 7 | 26 |
| Total yards | 152 | 445 |
| Rushing yards | 104 | 206 |
| Passing yards | 48 | 239 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 31:09 | 28:51 |