1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football
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
	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 11
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)
	Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e
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

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.

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
G	`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
G	`51`	Laron White

Defense

Pos.	#	Name
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

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

Southern Miss

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

Vanderbilt

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

Arkansas

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

Kentucky

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

North Carolina State

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

Ole Miss

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

Tennessee

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

LSU

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

Mississippi State

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

Auburn

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

Quarter	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

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

Michigan

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

References

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

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

[1]

v t e Alabama Crimson Tide football
Venues	University of Alabama Quad (1893–1914) Denny Field (1915–1928) Bryant–Denny Stadium (1929–present) Rickwood Field (alternate, 1912–1927) Cramton Bowl (alternate, 1922–1954) Ernest F. Ladd Stadium (alternate, 1948–1968) Legion Field (alternate, 1927–2003)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Auburn: Iron Bowl (James E. Foy, V-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy) Clemson Florida Georgia Georgia Tech LSU Mississippi State Ole Miss Penn State Tennessee: Third Saturday in October
Culture & lore	History Saban era Traditions Big Al "Yea Alabama" "Dixieland Delight" A-Day 1922 Penn game Million Dollar Band Walk of Fame Paul W. Bryant Museum The Bear The Bear Bryant Show Porter Cup 1943 Informals Forrest Gump Punt Bama Punt Bo Over the Top 1992 SEC Championship Game 2009 SEC Championship Game 2011 "Game of the Century" Kick Six (Kick Bama Kick) 2019 "Game of the Century" 2024 Vanderbilt game
People	Head coaches All-Americans College Football Hall of Fame inductees NFL draftees Starting quarterbacks Statistical leaders Yearly leaders Champ Pickens
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold