1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football | |
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SEC Western Division co-champion Outback Bowl champion | |
SEC Championship Game, L 30–45 vs. Florida | |
Outback Bowl, W 17–14 vs. Michigan | |
Conference | Southeastern Conference |
Western Division | |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 11 |
AP | No. 11 |
1996 record | 10–3 (6–2 SEC) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Mike Dubose |
Defensive coordinator | Woody McCorvey |
Home stadium | Bryant–Denny Stadium (Capacity: 70,123) Legion Field (Capacity: 83,091) |
1996 Southeastern Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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[]
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 31 | 2:00 p.m. | Bowling Green* | No. 13 |
| PPV | W 21–7 | 76,878 | [2] |
September 7 | 11:30 a.m. | Southern Miss* | No. 14 |
| JPS | W 20–10 | 82,338 | [3] |
September 14 | 5:00 p.m. | Vanderbilt | No. 13 |
| ESPN2 | W 36–26 | 70,123 | [4] |
September 21 | 11:30 a.m. | at Arkansas | No. 13 |
| JPS | W 17–7 | 54,827 | [5] |
October 5 | 1:00 p.m. | Kentucky | No. 13 |
| PPV | W 35–7 | 70,123 | [6] |
October 12 | 2:30 p.m. | at NC State* | No. 8 |
| ABC | W 24–19 | 50,750 | [7] |
October 19 | 5:00 p.m. | Ole Miss | No. 7 |
| ESPN2 | W 37–0 | 70,123 | [8] |
October 26 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 6 Tennessee | No. 7 |
| CBS | L 13–20 | 106,700 | [9] |
November 9 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 11 LSU | No. 10 |
| ESPN | W 26–0 | 80,290 | [10] |
November 16 | 8:00 p.m. | at Mississippi State | No. 8 |
| ESPN | L 16–17 | 40,050 | [11] |
November 23 | 6:30 p.m. | Auburn | No. 15 |
| ESPN | W 24–23 | 83,091 | [12] |
December 7 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. No. 4 Florida | No. 11 |
| ABC | L 30–45 | 74,132 | [13] |
January 1, 1997 | 10:00 a.m. | vs. No. 15 Michigan* | No. 16 |
| ESPN | W 17–14 | 53,161 | [14] |
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- 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 | |
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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[]
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Auburn | 3 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
Alabama | 17 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
at Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama
Game information | ||
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After the game, head coach Gene Stallings announced his resignation effective at the end of the season.
Florida[]
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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#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[]
- ^ "Tide prevails; Stallings retires: Auburn Bama both blow leads". The Atlanta Journal. 1996-11-24. pp. F1.
- ^ "Not pretty, but a 'W'". The Anniston Star. August 31, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "No offense: Alabama 20, USM 10". Hattiesburg American. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Vanderbilt chances go out with the Tide". The Tennessean. September 15, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "No repeat of nightmare". The Montgomery Advertiser. September 22, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "UK no mystery to Riddle as Alabama erupts 35–7". The Courier-Journal. October 6, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pack can't turn the Tide". The News and Observer. October 13, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Alabama just too much". The Clarion-Ledger. October 20, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Two in a row? It's a miracle". The Tennessean. October 27, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Alabama blanks LSU". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. November 10, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "State stuns Bama!". The Clarion-Ledger. November 17, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tide wins a classic". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 24, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "SECond chance Gators?". The Tampa Tribune. December 8, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "1996 Alabama football archives". RollTide.com. University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
- ^ 1997 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Media Guide, p. 2
- 1996 Southeastern Conference football season
- Alabama Crimson Tide football seasons
- Outback Bowl champion seasons
- 1996 in sports in Alabama