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1996 Louisville

5–⁠6 (2–⁠3 Conference USA), coached by Ron Cooper.

Schedule and results

Louisville in 1996, game by game: won at Kentucky 38–14; lost at No. 7 Penn State 7–24; lost vs. Baylor 13–14; won at Michigan State 30–20; lost vs. Southern Miss 7–24; won at Tulane 23–20; won vs. Northern Illinois 27–3; lost vs. Cincinnati 7–10; won vs. Memphis 13–10; lost at No. 8 North Carolina 10–28; lost at Houston 7–38+24−31Won 38–14 at Kentucky+24KentuckyLost 7–24 at No. 7 Penn State-17No. 7 Penn StateLost 13–14 vs. Baylor-1BaylorWon 30–20 at Michigan State+10Michigan StateLost 7–24 vs. Southern Miss-17Southern MissWon 23–20 at Tulane+3TulaneWon 27–3 vs. Northern Illinois+24Northern Illino…Lost 7–10 vs. Cincinnati-3CincinnatiWon 13–10 vs. Memphis+3MemphisLost 10–28 at No. 8 North Carolina-18No. 8 North CarolinaLost 7–38 at Houston-31Houston
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atKentuckyW 38–⁠1454%
Sep 7at7Penn StateL 7–⁠2425%
Sep 14vsBaylorL 13–⁠1457%
Sep 21atMichigan StateW 30–⁠2042%
Sep 28vsSouthern MissL 7–⁠2458%
Oct 12atTulaneW 23–⁠2062%
Oct 19vsNorthern IllinoisW 27–⁠388%
Oct 26vsCincinnatiL 7–⁠1069%
Nov 2vsMemphisW 13–⁠1077%
Nov 9at8North CarolinaL 10–⁠2825%
Nov 16atHoustonL 7–⁠3852%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Houston 38–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 37th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 82 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
5–⁠6
Conference
2–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
182–⁠205
Coach
Ron Cooper
Elo
1484 −45 this season
SP+ rating
-1.2 No. 63 of 111; offense No. 100, defense No. 19
SRS
−0.4 No. 55 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Bret Ingalls
Defensive coordinator
Everett Withers

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 2Sam Madison DBMiami Dolphins
Rd 4Tyrus McCloud LBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 5Carl Powell DEIndianapolis Colts
Rd 7Leland Taylor DTBaltimore Ravens

1996 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Southern Miss4–⁠18–⁠3
Houston4–⁠17–⁠5
Cincinnati2–⁠36–⁠5
Louisville2–⁠35–⁠6
Memphis2–⁠34–⁠7
Tulane1–⁠42–⁠9

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