1998 WAC Championship Game

1998 WAC Championship Game
Conference Championship
Air Force Falcons BYU Cougars (10–1) (9–3) 20 13 Head coach:  Fisher DeBerry Head coach:  LaVell Edwards AP Coaches BCS 17 13 NR
1 2 3 4 Total Air Force 0 0 7 13 20 BYU 0 7 0 6 13
Date	December 5, 1998
Season	1998
Stadium	Sam Boyd Stadium
Location	Whitney, Nevada
Attendance	32,745
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC

1998 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
No. 13 Air Force x$		7	–	1					12	–	1
Wyoming		6	–	2					8	–	3
Colorado State		5	–	3					8	–	4
Rice		5	–	3					5	–	6
TCU		4	–	4					7	–	5
Tulsa		2	–	6					4	–	7
SMU		1	–	1					0	–	1
UNLV		0	–	8					0	–	11
Pacific Division
BYU xy		7	–	1					9	–	5
San Diego State x		7	–	1					7	–	5
Utah		5	–	3					7	–	4
Fresno State		5	–	3					5	–	6
San Jose State		3	–	5					4	–	8
UTEP		3	–	5					3	–	8
New Mexico		1	–	7					3	–	9
Hawaii		0	–	8					0	–	12
Championship: Air Force 20, BYU 13
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 1998 WAC Championship Game was a college football game played on Saturday, December 5, 1998, at Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada. This was the 3rd and last WAC Championship Game and determined the 1998 champion of the Western Athletic Conference. The game featured the Air Force Falcons, champions of the Mountain division, and the BYU Cougars, champions of the Pacific division. Air Force would win the game 20–13.^[1][2]

Teams

Air Force

Main article: 1998 Air Force Falcons football team

BYU

Main article: 1998 BYU Cougars football team

Game summary

1998 WAC Championship Game

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Air Force	0	0	7	13	20
BYU	0	7	0	6	13

at Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, Nevada

• Date: December 5, 1998
• Game attendance: 32,745
• TV: ABC
• WAC game summary

Game information

First quarter No scoring Second quarter (1:01) BYU – Mike Rigell 13 yard pass from Kevin Feterik, Owen Pochman kick (Drive: 4 plays, 24 yards, 0:43; BYU 7–0) Third quarter (6:39) AFA – Blane Morgan 2 yard run, Jackson Whiting kick (Drive: 5 plays, 51 yards, 1:56; Tied 7–7) Fourth quarter (12:26) BYU – Owen Pochman 32 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 27 yards, 2:48; BYU 10–7) (5:44) BYU – Owen Pochman 34 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards, 4:33; BYU 13–7) (3:49) AFA – Matt Farmer 59 yard pass from Blane Morgan, Jackson Whiting kick (Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 1:49; AFA 14–13) (1:43) AFA – Spanky Gilliam 29 yard run, Jackson Whiting kick blocked (Drive: 4 plays, 42 yards, 0:48; AFA 20–13)

Statistics

Statistics	AFA	BYU
First downs	11	30
Plays–yards	52–260	90–390
Rushes–yards	39–111	48–132
Passing yards	149	258
Passing: comp–att–int	8–13–0	20–42–1
Time of possession	23:58	36:02

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Air Force	Passing	Blane Morgan	3–6, 90 yds, 1 TD
	Rushing	Spanky Gilliam	11 car, 94 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Matt Farmer	2 rec, 79 yds, 1 TD
BYU	Passing	Kevin Feterik	20–42, 258 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Ronney Jenkins	25 car, 100 yds
	Receiving	Tevita Ofahengaue	5 rec, 90 yds

References

1. "CougarStats: BYU Football: BYU vs. Air Force 1998 WAC Championship Game". cougarstats.com.
2. "Air Force 20, BYU 13". UPI. December 5, 1998. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.