1996 New Mexico Lobos football team

1996 New Mexico Lobos football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Division	Mountain Division
Record	6–5 (3–5 WAC)
Head coach	Dennis Franchione (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dennis Darnell (3rd as OC, 5th overall season)
Defensive coordinator	Gary Patterson (1st season)
Home stadium	University Stadium

1996 Western Athletic Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
No. 5 BYU x$		8	–	0					14	–	1
Utah		6	–	2					8	–	4
Rice		6	–	2					7	–	4
SMU		4	–	4					5	–	6
New Mexico		3	–	5					6	–	5
TCU		3	–	5					4	–	7
Tulsa		2	–	6					4	–	7
UTEP		0	–	8					2	–	9
Pacific Division
No. 22 Wyoming x		7	–	1					10	–	2
San Diego State		6	–	2					8	–	3
Colorado State		6	–	2					7	–	5
Air Force		5	–	3					6	–	5
Fresno State		3	–	5					4	–	7
San Jose State		3	–	5					3	–	9
Hawaii		1	–	7					2	–	10
UNLV		1	–	8					1	–	11
Championship: BYU 28, Wyoming 25 OT
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 New Mexico Lobos football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Mexico in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth season under head coach Dennis Franchione, the Lobos compiled a 6–5 record (3–5 against WAC opponents) and outscored opponents by a total of 331 to 280.

The team's statistical leaders included Donald Sellers with 2,048 passing yards, Lennox Gordon with 1,008 rushing yards, Jeremy Banks with 538 receiving yards, and kicker Colby Cason with 62 points scored.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
August 29	at New Mexico State*	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, New Mexico	W 28–7
September 7	Northern Arizona*	University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico	W 49–33
September 14	UCF*	University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico	W 17–7
September 21	at BYU	Cougar Stadium Provo, Utah	L 14–17
September 28	TCU	University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico	W 27–7
October 5	at Rice	Rice Stadium Houston, Texas	L 21–38
October 19	San Diego State	University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico	L 42–48
October 26	at SMU	Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas	L 31–52
November 2	at Tulsa	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, Oklahoma	W 34–23
November 9	Utah	University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico	L 24–31
November 23	UTEP	University Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico	W 44–17
*Non-conference game

Roster

1996 New Mexico Lobos football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class	Defense Pos. # Name Class WS 6 Scott McGarrahan Jr FS 16 Billy Austin Jr LB 23 Brian Urlacher Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Dennis Franchione Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 1996-12-23