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1996 Air Force

6–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Fisher DeBerry.

Schedule and results

Air Force in 1996, game by game: won vs. San José State 45–0; won at UNLV 65–17; lost at Wyoming 19–22; won vs. Rice 45–17; lost vs. Navy 17–20; won at No. 8 Notre Dame 20–17; won vs. Hawai’i 34–7; lost vs. Colorado State 41–42; lost at Army 7–23; won at Fresno State 44–38; lost at San Diego State 23–28+48−16Won 45–0 vs. San José State+45San José StateWon 65–17 at UNLV+48UNLVLost 19–22 at Wyoming-3WyomingWon 45–17 vs. Rice+28RiceLost 17–20 vs. Navy-3NavyWon 20–17 at No. 8 Notre Dame+3No. 8 Notre DameWon 34–7 vs. Hawai’i+27Hawai’iLost 41–42 vs. Colorado State-1Colorado StateLost 7–23 at Army-16ArmyWon 44–38 at Fresno State+6Fresno StateLost 23–28 at San Diego State-5San Diego State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsSan José StateW 45–⁠077%
Sep 7atUNLVW 65–⁠1774%
Sep 21atWyomingL 19–⁠2247%
Sep 28vsRiceW 45–⁠1775%
Oct 12vsNavyL 17–⁠2071%
Oct 19at8Notre DameW 20–⁠1727%
Oct 26vsHawai’iW 34–⁠786%
Nov 2vsColorado StateL 41–⁠4262%
Nov 9atArmyL 7–⁠2339%
Nov 16atFresno StateW 44–⁠3861%
Nov 28atSan Diego StateL 23–⁠2843%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to San Diego State 28–⁠23; unranked in the final AP poll; 7th in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 28th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 71 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1996.

Record
6–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 7th in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
360–⁠231
Coach
Fisher DeBerry
Elo
1554 +16 this season
SP+ rating
13.4 No. 26 of 111; offense No. 22, defense No. 43
SRS
8.4 No. 30 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Paul Hamilton
Defensive coordinators
Richard Bell and Cal McCombs
Captains
Chris Gizzi, Lee Guthrie and Beau Morgan
Offense
Wishbone triple option
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 6Daniel Palmer OTSan Diego Chargers

1996 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
BYU9–⁠014–⁠15
Wyoming7–⁠110–⁠222
San Diego State6–⁠28–⁠3
Utah6–⁠28–⁠4
Rice6–⁠27–⁠4
Colorado State6–⁠27–⁠5
Air Force5–⁠36–⁠5
SMU4–⁠45–⁠6
New Mexico3–⁠56–⁠5
Fresno State3–⁠54–⁠7
TCU3–⁠54–⁠7
San José State3–⁠53–⁠9
Tulsa2–⁠64–⁠7
Hawai’i1–⁠72–⁠10
UNLV1–⁠81–⁠11
UTEP0–⁠82–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.