1998 Northwestern Wildcats football team

1998 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1998 record	3–9 (0–8 Big Ten)
Head coach	Gary Barnett (7th season)
Captain	D'Wayne Bates
Captain	Barry Gardner (2nd year)
Captain	Matt Hartl
Captain	Bryan LaBelle
Home stadium	Ryan Field (Capacity: 47,130)
Seasons

1998 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#2/2 Ohio State ‡§		7	–	1					11	–	1
#6/5 Wisconsin †§		7	–	1					11	–	1
#12/12 Michigan §		7	–	1					10	–	3
#24/23 Purdue		6	–	2					9	–	4
#17/15 Penn State*		0	–	3*					0	–	3*
Michigan State		4	–	4					6	–	6
Minnesota		2	–	6					5	–	6
Indiana		2	–	6					4	–	7
Illinois		2	–	6					3	–	8
Iowa		2	–	6					3	–	8
Northwestern		0	–	8					3	–	9
† – BCS representative as champion ‡ – BCS at-large representative § – Conference co-champions *All wins for Penn State (9-3, 5-3) vacated due to scandal. Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

The 1998 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at Ryan Field and participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Gary Barnett, who resigned at the conclusion of the regular season to become the head coach at Colorado.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	11:30 AM	UNLV*	Ryan Field Evanston, IL		W 41–7	30,197
September 12	11:00 AM	Duke*	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN+	L 10–44	40,178
September 19	7:00 PM	at Rice*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX		W 23–14	16,271
September 26	11:00 AM	at No. 14 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN	L 7–38	78,337
October 3	11:00 AM	Illinois	Ryan Field Evanston, IL (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)	ESPN+	L 10–13	41,232
October 10	11:00 AM	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN2	L 24–26	70,397
October 17	6:00 PM	Michigan	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN	L 6–12	47,129
October 24	11:00 AM	No. 1 Ohio State	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2	L 10–36	47,130
October 31	11:00 AM	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	L 5–29	67,473
November 7	11:00 AM	Purdue	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN+	L 21–56	39,575
November 14	11:00 AM	at No. 19 Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN2	L 10–41	96,382
November 21	10:00 PM	at Hawaii*	Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI		W 47–21	25,918
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time