1996 Auburn Tigers football team

The 1996 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Coached by Terry Bowden, they tallied an 8–4 record, played Army in the Independence Bowl, and finished the season ranked #22 in the AP Poll and #21 in the Coaches Poll.

1996 Auburn Tigers football
Independence Bowl champion
Independence Bowl, W 32–29 vs. Army
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 25
AP	No. 24
Record	8–4 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Terry Bowden (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Tommy Bowden Rodney Allison (bowl)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Oliver
Home stadium	Jordan-Hare Stadium
Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	5:30 p.m.	UAB*	No. 16	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 29–0	80,645	[1]
September 7	6:00 p.m.	Fresno State*	No. 18	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	PPV	W 62–0	79,026	[2]
September 14	11:30 a.m.	at Ole Miss	No. 15	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 45–28	40,456	[3]
September 21	6:30 p.m.	No. 21 LSU	No. 13	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 15–19	85,214	[4]
October 5	2:30 p.m.	South Carolina	No. 20	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	CBS	W 28-24	84,107	[5]
October 12	11:30 a.m.	at Mississippi State	No. 18	Scott Field Starkville, MS	JPS	W 49–15	40,728	[6]
October 19	2:30 p.m.	at No. 1 Florida	No. 16	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	L 10–51	85,697	[7]
November 2	6:00 p.m.	Arkansas	No. 24	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	ESPN2	W 28–7	84,763	[8]
November 9	1:00 p.m.	Northeast Louisiana*	No. 22	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 28–24	78,309	[9]
November 16	2:30 p.m.	Georgia	No. 20	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (Deep South's Oldest Rivalry)	CBS	L 49–56 4OT	85,214	[10]
November 23	6:30 p.m.	at No. 15 Alabama		Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl, College GameDay)	ESPN	L 23–24	83,091	[11]
December 31	2:30 p.m.	vs. No. 24 Army*		Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)	ESPN	W 32–29	41,366	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[13]

Rankings

See also: 1996 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	17	16	18	15	13т	22	20	18	16	22	24	22	20	—	—	—	—	24
Coaches	17		17	16	15	22	20	19	16	—	25	24	21	—	—	—	—	25

Roster

1996 Auburn Tigers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 5 Karsten Bailey So WR Robert Baker QB 16 Dameyune Craig Jr OT 69 DeMarcus Curry So WR 83 Tyrone Goodson QB 13 Todd Huerkamp Fr OT 78 Jeno James C 52 James Kiger TE 80 Jessie McCovery FB 43 Kevin McLeod Jr G 68 Victor Riley Jr OT 73 Jim Roe G 60 Leonard Thomas RB 3 Rusty Williams	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 4 Jayson Bray NT 96 Jimmy Brumbaugh DE 91 Charles Dorsey DE 95 Leonardo Carson CB 9 Dan Evans So S 25 Martavius Houston OLB 47 Marcellus Mostella ILB 50 Ricky Neal OLB 86 Quinton Reese ILB 55 Takeo Spikes So S 27 Brad Ware LB 82 Marcus Washington Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K, P 19 Jaret Holmes Jr	Head coach Terry Bowden Coordinators/assistant coaches Tommy Bowden – Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher – Quarterbacks Joe Hortiz – Graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 1996-12-21

References

1. "Holmes' 5 field goals carry Auburn past stubborn UAB". The Montgomery Advertiser. September 1, 1996. Retrieved December 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Sweeney after rout: Thank you, Auburn". The Modesto Bee. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Auburn, Craig rout Ole Miss". The Tennessean. September 15, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "LSU's Hill burns Auburn". Daily World. September 22, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Fumble seals fate for USC". Anderson Independent-Mail. October 6, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Bulldogs forced to learn from adversity". The Dothan Eagle. October 13, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Gators send scary message in 51–10 mauling of Auburn". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. October 20, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Auburn flogs Hogs". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 3, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Auburn rallies to 28–24 victory". The Jackson Sun. November 10, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Tigers blow lead, then lose game in 4 OTs". The Anniston Star. November 17, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Tide wins a classic". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 24, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Auburn pulls rank on Army". The Shreveport Times. January 1, 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "1996 Auburn Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 10, 2024.