CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1996 Texas

8–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Big 12), coached by John Mackovic, finished No. 23 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Texas in 1996, game by game: won vs. Missouri 40–10; won vs. New Mexico State 41–7; lost vs. No. 9 Notre Dame 24–27; lost at No. 19 Virginia 13–37; won vs. Oklahoma State 71–14; lost vs. Oklahoma 27–30; lost at No. 8 Colorado 24–28; won vs. Baylor 28–23; won at Texas Tech 38–32; won at Kansas 38–17; won vs. Texas A&M 51–15; won vs. No. 6 Nebraska 37–27; lost vs. No. 7 Penn State 15–38+57−24Won 40–10 vs. Missouri+30MissouriWon 41–7 vs. New Mexico State+34New Mexico StateLost 24–27 vs. No. 9 Notre Dame-3No. 9 Notre DameLost 13–37 at No. 19 Virginia-24No. 19 VirginiaWon 71–14 vs. Oklahoma State+57Oklahoma StateLost 27–30 vs. Oklahoma-3OklahomaLost 24–28 at No. 8 Colorado-4No. 8 ColoradoWon 28–23 vs. Baylor+5BaylorWon 38–32 at Texas Tech+6Texas TechWon 38–17 at Kansas+21KansasWon 51–15 vs. Texas A&M+36Texas A&MWon 37–27 vs. No. 6 Nebraska+10No. 6 NebraskaLost 15–38 vs. No. 7 Penn State-23No. 7 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsMissouriW 40–⁠1081%
Sep 7vsNew Mexico StateW 41–⁠786%
Sep 21vs9Notre DameL 24–⁠2754%
Sep 28at19VirginiaL 13–⁠3737%
Oct 5vsOklahoma StateW 71–⁠1474%
Oct 12vsOklahomaL 27–⁠3079%
Oct 26at8ColoradoL 24–⁠2825%
Nov 2vsBaylorW 28–⁠2366%
Nov 9atTexas TechW 38–⁠3235%
Nov 16atKansasW 38–⁠1751%
Nov 29vsTexas A&MW 51–⁠1561%
Dec 7Bowls & playoffvs6NebraskaBig 12 Championship GameW 37–⁠2727%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs7Penn StateFiesta BowlL 15–⁠3844%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Penn State 38–⁠15 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 23 in the final AP poll; Big 12 champions.

In program history: The tied 36th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 126 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 13
  7. Wk 7: 23
  8. Wk 8: 25
  9. Wk 17: 20
  10. Final: 23

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.

Big 12 champions6–⁠2 in the conference, won the Big 12 Championship Game

Consensus All-AmericanDan Neil, OL

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big 12
AP final
No. 23 peak No. 6
Points
447–⁠305
Coach
John Mackovic
Elo
1693 +75 this season
SP+ rating
19.3 No. 16 of 111; offense No. 9, defense No. 44
SRS
16.2 No. 14 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Gene Dahlquist
Defensive coordinator
Gary Darnell

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 1Bryant Westbrook DBDetroit Lions
Rd 3Dan Neil CDenver Broncos
Rd 3Chris Carter DBNew England Patriots
Rd 5Taje Allen DBSt. Louis Rams
Rd 7Michael Adams WRPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 7Pat Fitzgerald TEBuffalo Bills

All-Big 12

4 first team, 2 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 Big 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska8–⁠011–⁠26
Colorado7–⁠110–⁠28
Kansas State6–⁠29–⁠317
Texas6–⁠28–⁠523
Texas Tech5–⁠37–⁠5
Texas A&M4–⁠46–⁠6
Missouri3–⁠55–⁠6
Oklahoma3–⁠53–⁠8
Oklahoma State2–⁠65–⁠6
Kansas2–⁠64–⁠7
Baylor1–⁠74–⁠7
Iowa State1–⁠72–⁠9

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