1996 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Last updated

1996 North Carolina Tar Heels football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 20–13 vs. West Virginia
Conference Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 10
APNo. 10
Record10–2 (6–2 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Greg Davis (1st season)
Offensive scheme Multiple
Defensive coordinator Carl Torbush (9th season)
Base defense 4–3
Captains
Home stadium Kenan Memorial Stadium
Seasons
  1995
1997  
1996 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 3 Florida State $  8 0   11 1  
No. 10 North Carolina  6 2   10 2  
Clemson  6 2   7 5  
Virginia  5 3   7 5  
Georgia Tech  4 4   5 6  
Maryland  3 5   5 6  
NC State  3 5   3 8  
Wake Forest  1 7   3 8  
Duke  0 8   0 11  
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Tar Heels played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team was led by head coach Mack Brown.

Contents

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 313:30 p.m. Clemson ABC W 45–047,500 [1]
September 76:00 p.m.at No. 9 Syracuse *No. 24 ESPN2 W 27–1048,097 [2]
September 213:30 p.m. Georgia Tech No. 11
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
ABCW 16–050,000 [3]
September 283:30 p.m.at No. 2 Florida State No. 11ABCL 0–1380,120 [4]
October 56:30 p.m.at Wake Forest No. 15W 45–625,681 [5]
October 127:00 p.m. Maryland No. 13
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
ESPN2W 38–747,500 [6]
October 266:30 p.m.at Houston *No. 9W 42–1416,850 [7]
November 212:00 p.m. NC State No. 8
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)
JPS W 52–2047,000 [8]
November 91:30 p.m. Louisville *No. 8
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
W 28–1046,000 [9]
November 163:30 p.m.at No. 24 Virginia No. 6ABCL 17–2042,500 [10]
November 2312:00 p.m.at Duke No. 13JPSW 27–1030,264 [11]
January 1, 199712:30 p.m.vs. No. 25 West Virginia *No. 12 NBC W 20–1352,103 [12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[13]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP 241211111513119881313131210
Coaches 2213131117141198871414141310

Roster

1996 North Carolina Tar Heels football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
WR 4Ocatvus BarnesJr
FB 6Chris WatsonSr
TB 12 Leon Johnson Sr
QB 15Chris KeldorfJr
WR 18 Na Brown So
WR 23LC StevensSo
RB 27 Jonathan Linton Jr
OT 51Mike BaxterJr
G 63Mike HobgoodJr
C 64 Jeff Saturday Jr
G 74Jerness GethersSr
OT 75Byron ThomasSr
TE 86 Ebenezer Ekuban So
TE 92 Freddie Jones Sr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
S 2 Omar Brown Jr
S 3Greg WilliamsJr
LB 9 Keith Newman So
CB 29 Robert Williams So
CB 31 Dré Bly Redshirt.svg  Fr
LB 41 Brian Simmons Jr
LB 53 Kivuusama Mays Jr
LB 54James HamiltonSr
DT 70 Andre Purvis Sr
DT 84 Nate Hobgood-Chittick Jr
DT 85Chris Mintz Redshirt.svg  Fr
DE 87 Greg Ellis Jr
DT 90 Vonnie Holliday Jr
DE 91 Mike Pringley So
DT 94 Rick Terry Sr
DE 96 Russell Davis So
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 40David SecrestSr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

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

Roster

References

  1. "UNC makes Tigers Heel". The Greenville News. September 1, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Heels' QB too tall an order for SU". Press & Sun-Bulletin. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Tar Heels topple Tech 16–0". The News-Herald. September 22, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "North Carolina shut down by sack-happy Florida State". The Commercial Appeal. September 29, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Tar Heels' Johnson knocks off records and Wake Forest, 45–6". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. October 6, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Maryland drops fourth straight game". The Daily Times. October 13, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "North Carolina swamps Houstin in Astrodome". San Angelo Standard-Times. October 27, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "A Pack of disasters". The Herald-Sun. November 3, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "U of L shoots itself in foot vs. Heels, 28–10". The Courier-Journal. November 10, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "The Cavs have big comeback". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 17, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Johnson goes out with a bang; Tar Heels put end to Devils' misery". The Herald-Sun. November 24, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Backup quarterback stars for Tar Heels". The Cincinnati Enquirer. January 2, 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "1996 North Carolina Tar Heels Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 10, 2024.