CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1996 Boise State

2–⁠10 (1–⁠4 Big West), coached by Tom Mason (interim, first 10 games), then Pokey Allen (final 2 games).

Schedule and results

Boise State in 1996, game by game: lost vs. Central Michigan 21–42; won vs. Portland State 33–22; lost vs. Eastern Washington 21–27; lost at Hawai’i 14–20; lost vs. Northwestern State 16–20; lost at No. 5 Arizona State 7–56; lost at Nevada 28–66; lost vs. Utah State 14–39; lost at Fresno State 7–41; lost vs. North Texas 27–30; won at New Mexico State 33–32; lost vs. Idaho 19–64+11−49Lost 21–42 vs. Central Michigan-21Central MichiganWon 33–22 vs. Portland State+11Portland StateLost 21–27 vs. Eastern Washington-6Eastern Washing…Lost 14–20 at Hawai’i-6Hawai’iLost 16–20 vs. Northwestern State-4Northwestern St…Lost 7–56 at No. 5 Arizona State-49No. 5 Arizona StateLost 28–66 at Nevada-38NevadaLost 14–39 vs. Utah State-25Utah StateLost 7–41 at Fresno State-34Fresno StateLost 27–30 vs. North Texas-3North TexasWon 33–32 at New Mexico State+1New Mexico StateLost 19–64 vs. Idaho-45Idaho
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsCentral MichiganL 21–⁠4242%
Sep 7vsPortland StateW 33–⁠2280%
Sep 14vsEastern WashingtonL 21–⁠2760%
Sep 21atHawai’iL 14–⁠2038%
Sep 28vsNorthwestern StateL 16–⁠2055%
Oct 5at5Arizona StateL 7–⁠569%
Oct 12atNevadaL 28–⁠6613%
Oct 19vsUtah StateL 14–⁠3935%
Nov 2atFresno StateL 7–⁠4119%
Nov 9vsNorth TexasL 27–⁠3051%
Nov 16atNew Mexico StateW 33–⁠3238%
Nov 23vsIdahoL 19–⁠6437%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Idaho 64–⁠19; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Big West.

In program history: The worst season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

Record
2–⁠10
Conference
1–⁠4 5th in Big West
AP final
Unranked
Points
240–⁠459
Coach
Tom Mason (interim, first 10 games), then Pokey Allen (final 2 games)
Elo
1195 −154 this season
SP+ rating
-32.8 No. 110 of 111; offense No. 86, defense No. 110
SRS
−30.0 No. 109 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Tom Mason

1996 Big West standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nevada4–⁠19–⁠3
Utah State4–⁠16–⁠5
Idaho3–⁠26–⁠5
North Texas3–⁠25–⁠6
Boise State1–⁠42–⁠10
New Mexico State0–⁠51–⁠10

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