Two human polls and one formulaic ranking made up the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), did not bestow a National Championship title for Division I-A football. That title was primarily bestowed by different polling agencies. There were several polls that currently existed. The main weekly polls were the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) standings made their debut in 1998, and began being released about halfway through the season.

Legend

AP Poll

Coaches poll

BCS standings

The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) determined the two teams that competed in the BCS National Championship Game, the 1999 Fiesta Bowl. Each week, the BCS standings ranked the top 15 teams, or down to the lowest-ranked Automatic Qualifying conference leader. Source: