| 1998 American General Music City Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 29, 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Vanderbilt Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Nashville, Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | DE Corey Moore (Va. Tech) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Virginia Tech by 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Larry Carlton | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Hal Dowden (Big 12) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Lorrie Morgan, Steve Winwood, Million Dollar Band and The Marching Virginians | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 41,600 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$750,000 per team | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Rich Waltz, Rod Gilmore, Holly Rowe | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 2.4 | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1998 Music City Bowl was a postseason college football game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and Virginia Tech Hokies. It was the inaugural competition of the annual Music City Bowl. The University of Alabama represented the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Virginia Tech represented the Big East. The game was the final competition for each team in the 1998 college football season. The game ended as a 38–7 victory for Virginia Tech.
The Alabama Crimson Tide, had gone 7–4 during the regular season. Virginia Tech's 8–3 record during the 1998 college football regular season was good enough to earn it a bid to the inaugural Music City Bowl game.
The 1998 Music City Bowl kicked off on December 29, 1998, in Nashville, Tennessee. The weather at kickoff was "horrid," as rain and sleet mixed in freezing temperatures. The game's early going was marked by defense as both teams struggled against the inclement weather. Virginia Tech scored first off a 43-yard touchdown scramble by quarterback Al Clark. Clark's touchdown provided the game's only points until the second quarter, when Alabama evened the score at 7–7 with a five-yard touchdown pass. The Hokies struck back with a field goal before halftime and took a tenuous 10–7 lead into the second half.
In that half, the Tech offense finally got rolling. The Hokies scored 14 points in both the third and fourth quarters, ending the game on an uncontested 28–0 run. Alabama's offense was stifled throughout by effective pressure from Tech defensive end Corey Moore, and Tech was able to turn several fumbles and interceptions by the Crimson Tide into points on the scoreboard. The 31 point victory margin was the largest victory margin in Virginia Tech bowl game history and that remains true as of the end of the 2022 season. Moore was named the game's most valuable player. The two teams did not meet again until the 2009 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game on September 5, 2009.