1996 West Virginia Mountaineers football team
American college football season
1996 West Virginia Mountaineers football | |
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Gator Bowl, L 13–20 vs. North Carolina | |
Conference | Big East Conference |
Record | 8–4 (4–3 Big East) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Dan Simrell (2nd season) |
Defensive coordinator | Steve Dunlap (5th season) |
Home stadium | Mountaineer Field |
Seasons |
| Conf | Overall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 13 Virginia Tech + | 6 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 14 Miami (FL) + | 6 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 21 Syracuse + | 6 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
West Virginia | 4 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pittsburgh | 3 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Boston College | 2 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rutgers | 1 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Temple | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1996 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 104th overall and 6th season as a member of the Big East Conference (Big East). The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his 17th year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of eight wins and four losses (8–4 overall, 4–3 in the Big East) and with a loss in the Gator Bowl against North Carolina.
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
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August 31 | 7:30 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | ESPN | W 34–0 | 54,612 | [1] | ||
September 7 | 12:00 p.m. | Western Michigan* | ESPN | W 34–9 | 47,938 | [2] | ||
September 14 | 12:00 p.m. | East Carolina* |
| ESPN Plus | W 10–9 | 50,129 | [3] | |
September 21 | 7:00 p.m. | at Purdue* | W 20–6 | 40,642 | [4] | |||
September 28 | 6:00 p.m. | Maryland* | No. 23 |
| ESPN2 | W 13–0 | 54,542 | [5] |
October 5 | 3:30 p.m. | Boston College | No. 19 |
| CBS | W 34–17 | 58,307 | [6] |
October 19 | 1:30 p.m. | at Temple | No. 15 | W 30–10 | 12,546 | [7] | ||
October 26 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 25 Miami (FL) | No. 12 |
| ESPN | L 7–10 | 66,948 | [8] |
November 2 | 3:30 p.m. | Syracuse | No. 18 |
| CBS | L 7–30 | 56,312 | [9] |
November 9 | 12:00 p.m. | at Rutgers | W 55–14 | 21,024 | [10] | |||
November 23 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 17 Virginia Tech | No. 23 | ESPN2 | L 14–31 | 50,086 | [11] | |
January 1 | 12:30 p.m. | vs. No. 12 North Carolina* | No. 25 | NBC | L 13–20 | 52,103 | [12] | |
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Rankings
Week | ||||||||||||||||||
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Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
AP | — | — | — | — | — | 23 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 18 | — | — | 23 | 25 | 24 | 25 | — |
Coaches | — | — | — | — | 23 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 17 | — | 24 | 21 | 25 | 24 | 25 | — |
Roster
1996 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
| Defense
| Special teams
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References
- ^ "WVU stomps Pitt". Indiana Gazette. September 1, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "West Virginia rushes past Western Michigan". Detroit Free Press. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "West Virginia wins, 10–9, after East Carolina fails on 2-point play". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 15, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Purdue's offense feels mountain of W. Va. pressure". The Indianapolis Star. September 22, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Double-zero; Mountaineers blank Maryland while keeping the loss column empty". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 29, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eagles have no answer". The Boston Globe. October 6, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Only victory Temple finds in moral". Courier-Post. October 20, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Blocked punt revives 'Canes' fortunes 10–7". Fort Myers News-Press. October 27, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Syracuse rips Mountaineers". The Roanoke Times. November 3, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "West Virginia blasts Rutgers". The Record. November 10, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Virginia Tech stays in Big East title chase". The Charlotte Observer. November 24, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Backup quarterback stars for Tar Heels". The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 2, 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1996 West Virginia Mountaineers Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 10, 2024.