1996 BYU Cougars football team

Last updated

1996 BYU Cougars football
BYU Logo 1969-1998.png
WAC champion
WAC Mountain Division champion
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
WAC Championship Game, W 28–25 OT vs. Wyoming
Conference Western Athletic Conference
DivisionMountain Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 5
Record14–1 (8–0 WAC)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinator Norm Chow (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinatorRoger French (16th season)
Offensive scheme Pro spread
Defensive coordinatorKen Schmidt (6th season)
Base defense 4–3
Home stadium Cougar Stadium
Seasons
  1995
1997  
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 Brigham Young Cougars football team represented the Brigham Young University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were the first team during the so-called "Modern era" (post 1937) to play 15 games in a season, and the only one to do it when Division I-A teams normally played 11 regular season games. Firstly, a team was able to play a designated "kickoff" opening game and not have it count against the allowed game total, then they played at Hawaii which did not count against the allowed total. That allowed BYU to play 13 regular season games. They then played a conference championship game and a bowl game in the Cotton Bowl Classic bringing the total to 15 games. [1]

Contents

During the 2002 and 2003 seasons teams were allowed to schedule 12 games as well as a "kickoff" game. As a result, the 2003 Kansas State Wildcats became only the second team to play a 15-game season, finishing with an 11-4 record. The kickoff game exemption was eliminated in 2005, but the Hawaii exemption remains in place.

Since 2014, it has again been possible for teams to play a 15-game schedule without playing in Hawaii because of the 4 team playoff system. The next team to do this without the aid of the playoff would be the 2019 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 2410:00 amNo. 13 Texas A&M * ABC W 41–3755,229
August 317:00 pm Arkansas State *No. 19
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
KSL W 58–963,681
September 141:30 pmat Washington *No. 14ABCL 17–2971,165
September 2112:00 pm New Mexico
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
KSLW 17–1463,587
September 2812:00 pm SMU No. 24
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
KSLW 31–362,537
October 47:00 pmat Utah State *No. 21 KUTV W 45–1733,119
October 1212:00 pm UNLV No. 19
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
KSLW 63–2864,872
October 197:00 pmat Tulsa No. 18 ESPN2 W 55–3034,624
October 261:00 pmat TCU No. 15KSLW 45–2128,961
November 212:00 pm UTEP No. 13
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
KSLW 40–1864,938
November 912:00 pm Rice No. 12
  • Cougar Stadium
  • Provo, Utah
KSLW 49–065,732
November 1610:00 pmat Hawaii No. 10KSLW 45–1416,468
November 2310:30 amat Utah No. 8 ESPN W 37–1735,378
December 72:30 pmvs. No. 20 Wyoming No. 6ABCW 28–25 OT41,328
January 112:30 pmvs. No. 14 Kansas State *No. 5 CBS W 19–1571,928

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP 191614242119181513121087655
Coaches 161525242120201614121077655

Roster

1996 BYU Cougars football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
OL 79 Jason Andersen Jr
WR 85R. J. AndersonJr
FB 35Donny AtuaiaFr
RB 22Mark AtuaiaSr
OL 73Eric BatemanSo
QB 12 Steve Sarkisian Sr
OL 78Greg HoaglandSr
WR 14Margin HooksFr
WR 88Ben HortonFr
OT 68Scott FanninSr
TE 96 Chad Lewis Sr
WR 80 Kaipo McGuire Sr
TE 88 Itula Mili Sr
OL 75 John Tait Fr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DL 90Harland Ah YouJr
LB 39Joe AmbrosiusJr
DB 9Jason AndersonJr
LB 44 Rob Morris Fr
LB 46Shay Muirbrook (C)Jr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Robbie Bosco (quarterbacks)
  • Norm Chow (associate head coach / offensive coordinator / quarterbacks / receivers)
  • Roger French (offensive live / offensive coordinator)
  • Barry Lamb (safeties)
  • Brian Mitchell (cornerbacks)
  • Chris Pella (recruiting coordinator / kickers / tight ends)
  • Tom Ramage (defensive line / special teams)
  • Lance Reynolds (running backs)
  • Ken Schmidt (defensive coordinator / linebackers)
  • Mike Empey (graduate assistant)
  • Nathan Gibbs (graduate assistant)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Roster

References

  1. "Untold stories from BYU's 1996 Cotton Bowl-winning season". Deseret News. September 20, 2024. Retrieved November 1, 2024.