CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1996 Virginia

7–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by George Welsh.

Schedule and results

Virginia in 1996, game by game: won vs. Central Michigan 55–21; won vs. Maryland 21–3; won at Wake Forest 42–7; won vs. No. 13 Texas 37–13; lost at Georgia Tech 7–13; won vs. NC State 62–14; lost at No. 3 Florida State 24–31; won at Duke 27–3; lost vs. Clemson 16–24; won vs. No. 6 North Carolina 20–17; lost at No. 17 Virginia Tech 9–26; lost vs. No. 19 Miami 21–31+48−17Won 55–21 vs. Central Michigan+34Central MichiganWon 21–3 vs. Maryland+18MarylandWon 42–7 at Wake Forest+35Wake ForestWon 37–13 vs. No. 13 Texas+24No. 13 TexasLost 7–13 at Georgia Tech-6Georgia TechWon 62–14 vs. NC State+48NC StateLost 24–31 at No. 3 Florida State-7No. 3 Florida StateWon 27–3 at Duke+24DukeLost 16–24 vs. Clemson-8ClemsonWon 20–17 vs. No. 6 North Carolina+3No. 6 North CarolinaLost 9–26 at No. 17 Virginia Tech-17No. 17 Virginia TechLost 21–31 vs. No. 19 Miami-10No. 19 Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vsCentral MichiganW 55–⁠2174%
Sep 14vsMarylandW 21–⁠373%
Sep 21atWake ForestW 42–⁠778%
Sep 28vs13TexasW 37–⁠1363%
Oct 5atGeorgia TechL 7–⁠1364%
Oct 19vsNC StateW 62–⁠1483%
Oct 26at3Florida StateL 24–⁠3129%
Nov 2atDukeW 27–⁠383%
Nov 9vsClemsonL 16–⁠2473%
Nov 16vs6North CarolinaW 20–⁠1750%
Nov 29at17Virginia TechL 9–⁠2631%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvs19MiamiCarquest BowlL 21–⁠3148%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Miami 31–⁠21 in the Carquest Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 23
  2. Wk 2: 24
  3. Wk 3: 23
  4. Wk 4: 22
  5. Wk 5: 20
  6. Wk 6: 19
  7. Wk 7: 12
  8. Wk 8: 20
  9. Wk 9: 20
  10. Wk 10: 14
  11. Wk 11: 16
  12. Wk 12: 15
  13. Wk 13: 24
  14. Wk 14: 19
  15. Wk 15: 20
  16. Wk 16: 25

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
7–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 4th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 12
Points
341–⁠203
Coach
George Welsh
Elo
1605 −8 this season
SP+ rating
16.8 No. 21 of 111; offense No. 42, defense No. 11
SRS
13.3 No. 20 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Tom O’Brien
Defensive coordinator
Rick Lantz
Captains
Tiki Barber and Todd White

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 1James Farrior LBNew York Jets
Rd 1Jon Harris DEPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 2Jamie Sharper LBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 2Tiki Barber RBNew York Giants
Rd 3Ronde Barber DBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 5Duane Ashman DEDetroit Lions

All-ACC

6 first team, 4 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 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State8–⁠011–⁠13
North Carolina6–⁠210–⁠210
Clemson6–⁠27–⁠5
Virginia5–⁠37–⁠5
Georgia Tech4–⁠45–⁠6
Maryland3–⁠55–⁠6
NC State3–⁠53–⁠8
Wake Forest1–⁠73–⁠8
Duke0–⁠80–⁠11

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