1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The 1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama for the 1996–97 college football season, competing in the Western Division in the Southeastern Conference. Gene Stallings led the Crimson Tide to a 10–3 record in his final year with the program. The team played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football
SEC Western Division co-champion Outback Bowl champion
SEC Championship Game, L 30–45 vs. Florida
Outback Bowl, W 17–14 vs. Michigan
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 11
1996 record	10–3 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Gene Stallings (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Woody McCorvey
Defensive coordinator	Mike DuBose
Home stadium	Bryant–Denny Stadium (Capacity: 70,123) Legion Field (Capacity: 83,091)

1996 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 1 Florida x$		8	–	0					12	–	1
No. 9 Tennessee		7	–	1					10	–	2
South Carolina		4	–	4					6	–	5
Kentucky		3	–	5					4	–	7
Georgia		3	–	5					5	–	6
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					2	–	9
Western Division
No. 11 Alabama xy		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 12 LSU x		6	–	2					10	–	2
No. 24 Auburn		4	–	4					8	–	4
Mississippi State		3	–	5					5	–	6
Ole Miss		2	–	6					5	–	6
Arkansas		2	–	6					4	–	7
Championship: Florida 45, Alabama 30
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Alabama's loss to Mississippi State broke a 15-game winning streak Alabama had in the series and was their first loss to the Bulldogs since a dramatic upset MSU posted over the #1 ranked Tide in 1980.

Following a victory in the annual Iron Bowl on November 23, head coach Gene Stallings announced his retirement, which would go into effect at the end of the season.[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	2:00 p.m.	Bowling Green*	No. 13	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	PPV	W 21–7	76,878
September 7	11:30 a.m.	Southern Miss*	No. 14	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	JPS	W 20–10	82,338
September 14	5:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt	No. 13	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	ESPN2	W 36–26	70,123
September 21	11:30 a.m.	at Arkansas	No. 13	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	JPS	W 17–7	54,827
October 5	1:00 p.m.	Kentucky	No. 13	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	PPV	W 35–7	70,123
October 12	2:30 p.m.	at NC State*	No. 8	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC	ABC	W 24–19	50,750
October 19	5:00 p.m.	Ole Miss	No. 7	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 37–0	70,123
October 26	2:30 p.m.	at No. 6 Tennessee	No. 7	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)	CBS	L 13–20	106,700
November 9	6:30 p.m.	at No. 11 LSU	No. 10	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry) (College GameDay)	ESPN	W 26–0	80,290
November 16	8:00 p.m.	at Mississippi State	No. 8	Scott Field Starkville, MS (rivalry)	ESPN	L 16–17	40,050
November 23	6:30 p.m.	Auburn	No. 15	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl) (College GameDay)	ESPN	W 24–23	83,091
December 7	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 4 Florida	No. 11	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (SEC Championship Game)	ABC	L 30–45	74,132
January 1, 1997	10:00 a.m.	vs. No. 15 Michigan*	No. 16	Houlihan's Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	W 17–14	53,161
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Personnel

1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR Curtis Alexander WR 84 Shamari Buchanan C 71 John Causey (C) Sr OT 72 Pete DiMario OG 68 Will Friend TE 38 Patrick Hape QB 9 Freddie Kitchens RB 29 Dennis Riddle OT 60 Chris Samuels FB 48 Trevis Smith WR 22 Michael Vaughn OG 51 Laron White	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 25 Fernando Bryant DE 34 Chris Hood S 7 Kevin Jackson DE 95 Kelvin Moore DT 96 Michael Myers ILB 42 Paul Pickett DT 78 Ozell Powell OLB 87 Dwayne Rudd S 13 Cedric Samuel OLB 41 Ralph Staten CB 2 Deshea Townsend	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 31 Jonathan Brock Sr	Head coach Gene Stallings Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Bowling Green

See also: 1996 Bowling Green Falcons football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	0	7	7
#13 Crimson Tide	7	7	7	0	21

Southern Miss

See also: 1996 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	0	10	0	0	10
#14 Crimson Tide	10	7	3	0	20

Vanderbilt

See also: 1996 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	7	8	11	0	26
#13 Crimson Tide	3	12	21	0	36

Arkansas

See also: 1996 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
#13 Crimson Tide	0	7	0	10	17
Razorbacks	0	0	0	7	7

Kentucky

See also: 1996 Kentucky Wildcats football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	0	0	7
#13 Crimson Tide	7	0	28	0	35

North Carolina State

See also: 1996 NC State Wolfpack football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
#8 Crimson Tide	7	0	7	10	24
Wolfpack	3	0	3	13	19

Ole Miss

See also: 1996 Ole Miss Rebels football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rebels	0	0	0	0	0
#7 Crimson Tide	3	7	14	13	37

Tennessee

See also: 1996 Tennessee Volunteers football team and Third Saturday in October

	1	2	3	4	Total
#7 Crimson Tide	0	3	10	0	13
#6 Volunteers	0	0	6	14	20

LSU

See also: 1996 LSU Tigers football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
#10 Crimson Tide	0	7	12	7	26
#11 Tigers	0	0	0	0	0

Mississippi State

See also: 1996 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

	1	2	3	4	Total
#8 Crimson Tide	0	13	0	3	16
Bulldogs	7	7	0	3	17

Auburn

See also: 1996 Auburn Tigers football team and Iron Bowl

Auburn Tigers (7–3) at #15 Alabama Crimson Tide (8–2)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Auburn	3	17	3	0	23
Alabama	17	0	0	7	24

at Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama

• Date: November 23, 1996
• Game time: 6:30 p.m.
• Game weather: Clear, 51 °F (11 °C)
• Game attendance: 83,091
• Referee: R. Redding
• TV: ESPN
• Recap/Box

Game information

First quarter ALA – Curtis Alexander 63-yard pass from Freddie Kitchens (Jon Brock kick), 13:30. Alabama 7–0. Drive: ALA – Jon Brock 37-yard field goal, 9:30. Alabama 10–0. Drive: ALA – Michael Vaughn 7-yard pass from Freddie Kitchens (Jon Brock kick), 3:32. Alabama 17–0. Drive: AUB – Jaret Holmes 34-yard field goal, 1:54. Alabama 17–3. Drive: Second quarter AUB – Karsten Bailey 57-yard pass from Dameyune Craig (Jaret Holmes kick), 8:27. Alabama 17–10. Drive: AUB – Brad Ware 34-yard interception return (Jaret Holmes kick), 2:16. Tie 17–17. AUB – Jaret Holmes 33-yard field goal, 0:52. Auburn 20–17. Drive: Third quarter' AUB – Jaret Holmes 34-yard field goal, 10:13. Auburn 23–17. Drive: Fourth quarter ALA – Dennis Riddle 6-yard pass from Freddie Kitchens (Jon Brock kick), 0:26. Alabama 24–23. Drive: Top passers AUB – Dameyune Craig – 11/39, 180 yards, TD, 2 INT ALA – Freddie Kitchens – 20/33, 292 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT Top rushers AUB – Rusty Williams – 17 rushes, 89 yards ALA – Dennis Riddle – 21 rushes, 131 yards Top receivers AUB – Karsten Bailey – 5 receptions, 92 yards, TD ALA – Michael Vaughn – 6 receptions, 60 yards, TD

After the game, head coach Gene Stallings announced his resignation effective at the end of the season.

Florida

See also: 1996 Florida Gators football team and 1996 SEC Championship Game

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Crimson Tide	7	7	14	2	30
#4 Gators	6	18	14	7	45

Michigan

See also: 1996 Michigan Wolverines football team and 1997 Outback Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
#16 Crimson Tide	3	0	0	14	17
#15 Wolverines	0	6	0	8	14

References

1. "Tide prevails; Stallings retires: Auburn Bama both blow leads". The Atlanta Journal. 1996-11-24. pp. F1.