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1996 Auburn

8–⁠4 (4–⁠4 Southeastern Conference), coached by Terry Bowden, finished No. 24 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Auburn in 1996, game by game: won vs. UAB 29–0; won vs. Fresno State 62–0; won at Ole Miss 45–28; lost vs. No. 21 LSU 15–19; won vs. South Carolina 28–24; won at Mississippi State 49–15; lost at No. 1 Florida 10–51; won vs. Arkansas 28–7; won vs. UL Monroe 28–24; lost vs. Georgia 49–56; lost at No. 15 Alabama 23–24; won vs. No. 24 Army 32–29+62−41Won 29–0 vs. UAB+29UABWon 62–0 vs. Fresno State+62Fresno StateWon 45–28 at Ole Miss+17Ole MissLost 15–19 vs. No. 21 LSU-4No. 21 LSUWon 28–24 vs. South Carolina+4South CarolinaWon 49–15 at Mississippi State+34Mississippi Sta…Lost 10–51 at No. 1 Florida-41No. 1 FloridaWon 28–7 vs. Arkansas+21ArkansasWon 28–24 vs. UL Monroe+4UL MonroeLost 49–56 vs. Georgia-7GeorgiaLost 23–24 at No. 15 Alabama-1No. 15 AlabamaWon 32–29 vs. No. 24 Army+3No. 24 Army
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsUABW 29–⁠089%
Sep 7vsFresno StateW 62–⁠079%
Sep 14atOle MissW 45–⁠2856%
Sep 21vs21LSUL 15–⁠1968%
Oct 5vsSouth CarolinaW 28–⁠2477%
Oct 12atMississippi StateW 49–⁠1569%
Oct 19at1FloridaL 10–⁠5126%
Nov 2vsArkansasW 28–⁠779%
Nov 9vsUL MonroeW 28–⁠2491%
Nov 16vsGeorgiaL 49–⁠5678%
Nov 23at15AlabamaL 23–⁠2430%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs24ArmyIndependence BowlW 32–⁠2950%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Army 32–⁠29 in the Independence Bowl; No. 24 in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 51st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 2: 16
  3. Wk 3: 18
  4. Wk 4: 15
  5. Wk 5: 13
  6. Wk 6: 22
  7. Wk 7: 20
  8. Wk 8: 18
  9. Wk 9: 16
  10. Wk 10: 22
  11. Wk 11: 24
  12. Wk 12: 22
  13. Wk 13: 20
  14. Final: 24

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
8–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 24 peak No. 13
Points
398–⁠277
Coach
Terry Bowden
Elo
1622 +22 this season
SP+ rating
11.2 No. 33 of 111; offense No. 20, defense No. 58
SRS
7.7 No. 35 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinators
Tommy Bowden and Rodney Allison
Defensive coordinator
Bill Oliver

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 7Mark Smith DEArizona Cardinals

All-SEC

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

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.