1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

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1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football
SEC Western Division co-champion
Outback Bowl champion
Outback Bowl, W 17–14 vs. Michigan
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionWestern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 11
1996 record10–3 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach
  • Gene Stallings (7th season)
Offensive coordinatorMike Dubose
Defensive coordinatorWoody McCorvey
Home stadiumBryant–Denny Stadium
(Capacity: 70,123)
Legion Field
(Capacity: 83,091)
Seasons
← 1995
1997 →
1996 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Eastern Division
No. 1 Florida x$   8 0     12 1  
No. 9 Tennessee   7 1     10 2  
South Carolina   4 4     6 5  
Kentucky   3 5     4 7  
Georgia   3 5     5 6  
Vanderbilt   0 8     2 9  
Western Division
No. 11 Alabama xy   6 2     10 3  
No. 12 LSU x   6 2     10 2  
No. 24 Auburn   4 4     8 4  
Mississippi State   3 5     5 6  
Ole Miss   2 6     5 6  
Arkansas   2 6     4 7  
Championship: Florida 45, Alabama 30
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama for the 1996–97 college football season, competing in the Western Division in the Southeastern Conference. Gene Stallings led the Crimson Tide to a 10–3 record in his final year with the program. The team played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

Alabama's loss to Mississippi State broke a 15-game winning streak Alabama had in the series and was their first loss to the Bulldogs since a dramatic upset MSU posted over the #1 ranked Tide in 1980.

Following a victory in the annual Iron Bowl on November 23, head coach Gene Stallings announced his retirement, which would go into effect at the end of the season.[1]

Schedule[]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 312:00 p.m.Bowling Green*No. 13
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
PPVW 21–776,878[2]
September 711:30 a.m.Southern Miss*No. 14
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL
JPSW 20–1082,338[3]
September 145:00 p.m.VanderbiltNo. 13ESPN2W 36–2670,123[4]
September 2111:30 a.m.at ArkansasNo. 13
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR
JPSW 17–754,827[5]
October 51:00 p.m.KentuckydaggerNo. 13
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL
PPVW 35–770,123[6]
October 122:30 p.m.at NC State*No. 8ABCW 24–1950,750[7]
October 195:00 p.m.Ole MissNo. 7
  • Bryant–Denny Stadium
  • Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)
ESPN2W 37–070,123[8]
October 262:30 p.m.at No. 6 TennesseeNo. 7CBSL 13–20106,700[9]
November 96:30 p.m.at No. 11 LSUNo. 10
ESPNW 26–080,290[10]
November 168:00 p.m.at Mississippi StateNo. 8
ESPNL 16–1740,050[11]
November 236:30 p.m.AuburnNo. 15
  • Legion Field
  • Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl) (College GameDay)
ESPNW 24–2383,091[12]
December 78:00 p.m.vs. No. 4 FloridaNo. 11ABCL 30–4574,132[13]
January 1, 199710:00 a.m.vs. No. 15 Michigan*No. 16ESPNW 17–1453,161[14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time
  • Source: Rolltide.com: 1996 Alabama football schedule[15]

Coaching staff[]

Name Position Consecutive seasons at Alabama
Gene Stallings Head coach 7th
Woody McCorvey Offensive coordinator 7th
Dabo Swinney Wide receivers and Tight end coach 4th
Danny Pearman Offensive Tackles coach/Special teams coordinator 6th
Jim Fuller Offensive Line Coach 13th
Randy Ross Quarterbacks coach/Recruiting Coordinator 7th
Ivy Williams Running backs coach 3rd
Mike Dubose Defensive coordinator/Defensive line 7th
Curley Hallman Secondary coach 1st
Mickey Conn Graduate Assistant 1st
Jeff Rouzie Linebackers coach 6th
Reference:[16]

Game summaries[]

Bowling Green[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Falcons 0 0 0 7 7
#13 Crimson Tide 7 7 7 0 21

Alabama wins its sixth straight season opener over newly Division 1 opponent Bowling Green.

Southern Miss[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Eagles 0 10 0 0 10
#14 Crimson Tide 10 7 3 0 20

Alabama would hold Southern Miss to 104 yards of offense to win for the sixth straight year over the Golden Eagles.

Vanderbilt[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Commodores 7 8 11 0 26
#13 Crimson Tide 3 12 21 0 36

In the first home game at Bryant-Denny Stadium for 1996, a shootout would unfold as the Crimson Tide would use a 21 point 3rd quarter to beat the Commodores.

Arkansas[]

1 2 3 4 Total
#13 Crimson Tide 0 7 0 10 17
Razorbacks 0 0 0 7 7

A defensive struggle goes the Crimson Tide way as they avenge their loss of a year ago to Arkansas.

Kentucky[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 7 0 0 7
#13 Crimson Tide 7 0 28 0 35

Former Alabama coach Bill Curry returned to Tuscaloosa for the first time since leaving Alabama for Kentucky in 1989. Despite being heavy underdogs, Curry's Wildcats forced a 7-7 tie at halftime which brought a chorus of boos from the homecoming crowd. The Crimson Tide then would use a 28 point third quarter to beat Kentucky.

North Carolina State[]

1 2 3 4 Total
#8 Crimson Tide 7 0 7 10 24
Wolfpack 3 0 3 13 19

Despite giving up a season high 418 yards of offense, The Crimson Tide survived on the road to stay undefeated.

Ole Miss[]

1 2 3 4 Total
Rebels 0 0 0 0 0
#7 Crimson Tide 3 7 14 13 37

The Crimson Tide put its most complete game together to date in 1996 to roll to a shutout win of Ole Miss.

Tennessee[]

1 2 3 4 Total
#7 Crimson Tide 0 3 10 0 13
#6 Volunteers 0 0 6 14 20

Tennessee used 14 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to beat Alabama for the second year in a row and for the first time in Knoxville since 1984.

LSU[]

1 2 3 4 Total
#10 Crimson Tide 0 7 12 7 26
#11 Tigers 0 0 0 0 0

For the second time in three weeks, Alabama defense would shut out its opponent. The Crimson tide offense went through one man Redshirt Freshman Shaun Alexander rushed for a School record 291 yards and all four Alabama touchdowns.

Mississippi State[]

1 2 3 4 Total
#8 Crimson Tide 0 13 0 3 16
Bulldogs 7 7 0 3 17

For the first time since 1980, Alabama would lose to Mississippi State in one of the biggest upset of the Gene Stallings era.

Auburn[]

Auburn Tigers (7–3) at #15 Alabama Crimson Tide (8–2)
1 2 34Total
Auburn 3 17 3023
Alabama 17 0 0724

at Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

  • Date: November 23, 1996
  • Game time: 6:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Clear, 51 °F (11 °C)
  • Game attendance: 83,091
  • Referee: R. Redding
  • TV: ESPN
  • Recap/Box

After the game, head coach Gene Stallings announced his resignation effective at the end of the season.

Florida[]

1 2 3 4 Total
#11 Crimson Tide 7 7 14 2 30
#4 Gators 6 18 14 7 45

Alabama would be in its fourth SEC Championship game in five seasons and once again would face Florida, as they had the previous three meetings. The Gators would use nearly 500 yards of offense to win its fourth straight SEC title, a record that still holds to this day.

Michigan[]

1 2 3 4 Total
#16 Crimson Tide 3 0 0 14 17
#15 Wolverines 0 6 0 8 14

Two 4th quarter touchdowns proved to be enough as Alabama would win its 10th game of the season and the 70th and final for Gene Stallings as head coach.

References[]

  1. ^ "Tide prevails; Stallings retires: Auburn Bama both blow leads". The Atlanta Journal. 1996-11-24. pp. F1.
  2. ^ "Not pretty, but a 'W'". The Anniston Star. August 31, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "No offense: Alabama 20, USM 10". Hattiesburg American. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Vanderbilt chances go out with the Tide". The Tennessean. September 15, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "No repeat of nightmare". The Montgomery Advertiser. September 22, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "UK no mystery to Riddle as Alabama erupts 35–7". The Courier-Journal. October 6, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Pack can't turn the Tide". The News and Observer. October 13, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Alabama just too much". The Clarion-Ledger. October 20, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Two in a row? It's a miracle". The Tennessean. October 27, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Alabama blanks LSU". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. November 10, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "State stuns Bama!". The Clarion-Ledger. November 17, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Tide wins a classic". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 24, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "SECond chance Gators?". The Tampa Tribune. December 8, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Alabama's big plays leave U-M ruing missed chances, 17–14". Detroit Free Press. January 2, 1997. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "1996 Alabama football archives". RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  16. ^ 1997 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Media Guide, p. 2
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