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1996 San José State

3–⁠9 (3–⁠5 Western Athletic Conference), coached by John Ralston.

Schedule and results

San José State in 1996, game by game: lost at Air Force 0–45; lost vs. California 25–45; lost at Stanford 2–25; won vs. UTEP 26–25; lost at Washington State 16–52; lost vs. No. 25 Wyoming 22–45; lost at Fresno State 18–28; lost at Colorado State 13–36; lost vs. San Diego State 20–49; won at Hawai’i 38–17; lost at No. 15 Washington 10–53; won vs. UNLV 31–28+21−45Lost 0–45 at Air Force-45Air ForceLost 25–45 vs. California-20CaliforniaLost 2–25 at Stanford-23StanfordWon 26–25 vs. UTEP+1UTEPLost 16–52 at Washington State-36Washington StateLost 22–45 vs. No. 25 Wyoming-23No. 25 WyomingLost 18–28 at Fresno State-10Fresno StateLost 13–36 at Colorado State-23Colorado StateLost 20–49 vs. San Diego State-29San Diego StateWon 38–17 at Hawai’i+21Hawai’iLost 10–53 at No. 15 Washington-43No. 15 WashingtonWon 31–28 vs. UNLV+3UNLV
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atAir ForceL 0–⁠4523%
Sep 7vsCaliforniaL 25–⁠4546%
Sep 14atStanfordL 2–⁠2522%
Sep 21vsUTEPW 26–⁠2555%
Sep 28atWashington StateL 16–⁠5221%
Oct 5vs25WyomingL 22–⁠4526%
Oct 12atFresno StateL 18–⁠2827%
Oct 19atColorado StateL 13–⁠3617%
Nov 2vsSan Diego StateL 20–⁠4923%
Nov 9atHawai’iW 38–⁠1736%
Nov 16at15WashingtonL 10–⁠538%
Nov 23vsUNLVW 31–⁠2868%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UNLV 31–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 72nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 91 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 9th in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
221–⁠448
Coach
John Ralston
Elo
1316 −71 this season
SP+ rating
-21.7 No. 102 of 111; offense No. 85, defense No. 103
SRS
−18.6 No. 101 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Roger Theder
Defensive coordinator
Mike Church

1996 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
BYU9–⁠014–⁠15
Wyoming7–⁠110–⁠222
San Diego State6–⁠28–⁠3
Utah6–⁠28–⁠4
Rice6–⁠27–⁠4
Colorado State6–⁠27–⁠5
Air Force5–⁠36–⁠5
SMU4–⁠45–⁠6
New Mexico3–⁠56–⁠5
Fresno State3–⁠54–⁠7
TCU3–⁠54–⁠7
San José State3–⁠53–⁠9
Tulsa2–⁠64–⁠7
Hawai’i1–⁠72–⁠10
UNLV1–⁠81–⁠11
UTEP0–⁠82–⁠9

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