CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1996 Alabama

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Gene Stallings, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1996, game by game: won vs. Bowling Green 21–7; won vs. Southern Miss 20–10; won vs. Vanderbilt 36–26; won at Arkansas 17–7; won vs. Kentucky 35–7; won at NC State 24–19; won vs. Ole Miss 37–0; lost at No. 6 Tennessee 13–20; won at No. 11 LSU 26–0; lost at Mississippi State 16–17; won vs. Auburn 24–23; lost vs. No. 3 Florida 30–45; won vs. No. 15 Michigan 17–14+37−15Won 21–7 vs. Bowling Green+14Bowling GreenWon 20–10 vs. Southern Miss+10Southern MissWon 36–26 vs. Vanderbilt+10VanderbiltWon 17–7 at Arkansas+10ArkansasWon 35–7 vs. Kentucky+28KentuckyWon 24–19 at NC State+5NC StateWon 37–0 vs. Ole Miss+37Ole MissLost 13–20 at No. 6 Tennessee-7No. 6 TennesseeWon 26–0 at No. 11 LSU+26No. 11 LSULost 16–17 at Mississippi State-1Mississippi Sta…Won 24–23 vs. Auburn+1AuburnLost 30–45 vs. No. 3 Florida-15No. 3 FloridaWon 17–14 vs. No. 15 Michigan+3No. 15 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsBowling GreenW 21–⁠776%
Sep 7vsSouthern MissW 20–⁠1070%
Sep 14vsVanderbiltW 36–⁠2685%
Sep 21atArkansasW 17–⁠769%
Oct 5vsKentuckyW 35–⁠787%
Oct 12atNC StateW 24–⁠1974%
Oct 19vsOle MissW 37–⁠080%
Oct 26at6TennesseeL 13–⁠2040%
Nov 9at11LSUW 26–⁠052%
Nov 16atMississippi StateL 16–⁠1780%
Nov 23vsAuburnW 24–⁠2370%
Dec 7Bowls & playoffvs3FloridaSEC Championship GameL 30–⁠4536%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs15MichiganOutback BowlW 17–⁠1451%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Michigan 17–⁠14 in the Outback Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 2: 13
  3. Wk 3: 14
  4. Wk 4: 13
  5. Wk 5: 13
  6. Wk 6: 14
  7. Wk 7: 13
  8. Wk 8: 8
  9. Wk 9: 7
  10. Wk 10: 7
  11. Wk 11: 10
  12. Wk 12: 10
  13. Wk 13: 8
  14. Wk 14: 15
  15. Wk 15: 15
  16. Wk 16: 11
  17. Wk 17: 16
  18. Final: 11

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.

SEC West champions6–⁠2 in the conference, shared with LSU

Consensus All-AmericanKevin Jackson, DB

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 7
Points
316–⁠195
Coach
Gene Stallings
Elo
1703 +77 this season
SP+ rating
17.1 No. 20 of 111; offense No. 60, defense No. 5
SRS
11.6 No. 23 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Woody McCorvey
Defensive coordinator
Mike DuBose

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 1Dwayne Rudd LBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 5Patrick Hape TETampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 7Ralph Staten DBBaltimore Ravens

All-SEC

4 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

  • Dennis RiddleRBAP-2
  • John CauseyCAP-2
  • Will FriendOGAP-2
  • Chris HoodDEAP-2
  • Ralph StatenLBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1996 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1996 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida8–⁠012–⁠11
Tennessee7–⁠110–⁠29
LSU6–⁠210–⁠212
Alabama6–⁠210–⁠311
Auburn4–⁠48–⁠424
South Carolina4–⁠46–⁠5
Georgia3–⁠55–⁠6
Mississippi State3–⁠55–⁠6
Kentucky3–⁠54–⁠7
Ole Miss2–⁠65–⁠6
Arkansas2–⁠64–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠9

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