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1998: AP preseason, postseason college football rankings
Best climber: Arizona, No. 24 to No. 4
Few quarterback time shares have worked as seamlessly as the rotation of Keith Smith-Ortege Jenkins, who helped lead the Wildcats to a school-record 471.9 yards per game, an 11-1 record and a bowl win over Nebraska. If not for a bad 15 minutes or so against UCLA, Arizona could have been playing for the national title. Also, Tommy Bowden led Tulane to a remarkable 12-0 season, rising from unranked to No. 7 (despite being ignored by the major bowls).
Taking a dive: LSU, No. 9 to unranked
There were lots of notable decliners here -- Nebraska, Arizona State, West Virginia, North Carolina -- so why LSU? Only the Tigers had a face-plant of this kind of proportion -- they lost seven of their final eight games, setting the wheels in motion for Gerry DiNardo's ouster a year later.
| Preseason |
Postseason |
| Rank |
Team |
Rank |
Team |
| 1. |
Ohio State |
1. |
Tennessee |
| 2. |
Florida State |
2. |
Ohio State |
| 3. |
Florida |
3. |
Florida State |
| 4. |
Nebraska |
4. |
Arizona |
| 5. |
Michigan |
5. |
Florida |
| 6. |
Kansas State |
6. |
Wisconsin |
| 7. |
UCLA |
7. |
Tulane |
| 8. |
Arizona State |
8. |
UCLA |
| 9. |
LSU |
9. |
Georgia Tech |
| 10. |
Tennessee |
10. |
Kansas State |
| 11. |
West Virginia |
11. |
Texas A&M |
| 12. |
North Carolina |
12. |
Michigan |
| 13. |
Penn State |
13. |
Air Force |
| 14. |
Texas A&M |
14. |
Georgia |
| 15. |
Colorado State |
15. |
Texas |
| 16. |
Virginia |
16. |
Arkansas |
| 17. |
Syracuse |
17. |
Penn State |
| 18. |
Washington |
18. |
Virginia |
| 19. |
Georgia |
19. |
Nebraska |
| 20. |
Wisconsin |
20. |
Miami |
| 21. |
Southern Miss |
21. |
Missouri |
| 22. |
Notre Dame |
22. |
Notre Dame |
| 23. |
Michigan State |
23. |
Virginia Tech |
| 24. |
Arizona |
24. |
Purdue |
| 25. |
Auburn |
25. |
Syracuse |
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