CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1996 LSU

10–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Gerry DiNardo, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

LSU in 1996, game by game: won vs. Houston 35–34; won at No. 13 Auburn 19–15; won vs. New Mexico State 63–7; won vs. Vanderbilt 35–0; lost at No. 1 Florida 13–56; won vs. Kentucky 41–14; won vs. Mississippi State 28–20; lost vs. No. 10 Alabama 0–26; won at Ole Miss 39–7; won vs. Tulane 35–17; won at Arkansas 17–7; won vs. Clemson 10–7+56−43Won 35–34 vs. Houston+1HoustonWon 19–15 at No. 13 Auburn+4No. 13 AuburnWon 63–7 vs. New Mexico State+56New Mexico StateWon 35–0 vs. Vanderbilt+35VanderbiltLost 13–56 at No. 1 Florida-43No. 1 FloridaWon 41–14 vs. Kentucky+27KentuckyWon 28–20 vs. Mississippi State+8Mississippi Sta…Lost 0–26 vs. No. 10 Alabama-26No. 10 AlabamaWon 39–7 at Ole Miss+32Ole MissWon 35–17 vs. Tulane+18TulaneWon 17–7 at Arkansas+10ArkansasWon 10–7 vs. Clemson+3Clemson
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vsHoustonW 35–⁠3481%
Sep 21at13AuburnW 19–⁠1532%
Sep 28vsNew Mexico StateW 63–⁠789%
Oct 5vsVanderbiltW 35–⁠083%
Oct 12at1FloridaL 13–⁠5624%
Oct 19vsKentuckyW 41–⁠1484%
Oct 26vsMississippi StateW 28–⁠2081%
Nov 9vs10AlabamaL 0–⁠2648%
Nov 16atOle MissW 39–⁠757%
Nov 23vsTulaneW 35–⁠1788%
Nov 29atArkansasW 17–⁠763%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsClemsonPeach BowlW 10–⁠758%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Clemson 10–⁠7 in the Peach Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 44th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 19
  2. Wk 2: 18
  3. Wk 3: 17
  4. Wk 4: 20
  5. Wk 5: 21
  6. Wk 6: 17
  7. Wk 7: 14
  8. Wk 8: 12
  9. Wk 9: 17
  10. Wk 10: 13
  11. Wk 11: 12
  12. Wk 12: 11
  13. Wk 13: 17
  14. Wk 14: 18
  15. Wk 15: 19
  16. Wk 16: 17
  17. Wk 17: 17
  18. Final: 12

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 Alabama

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 11
Points
335–⁠210
Coach
Gerry DiNardo
Elo
1649 +77 this season
SP+ rating
10.3 No. 37 of 111; offense No. 56, defense No. 29
SRS
8.3 No. 31 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Morris Watts
Defensive coordinator
Carl Reese
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 1David LaFleur TEDallas Cowboys
Rd 3Denard Walker DBTennessee Oilers
Rd 6Nicky Savoie TENew Orleans Saints

All-SEC

4 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Ben BordelonOTAP-2
  • Booger McFarlandDTAP-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.