1996 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team

1996 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football
Conference USA co-champion
Conference	Conference USA
Record	8–3 (4–1 C-USA)
Head coach	Jeff Bower (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Norman Joseph (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	John Thompson (5th season)
Base defense	Multiple
Home stadium	M. M. Roberts Stadium
Seasons ←  1995 1997  →

1996 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Houston +		4	–	1					7	–	5
Southern Miss +		4	–	1					8	–	3
Cincinnati		2	–	3					6	–	5
Louisville		2	–	3					5	–	6
Memphis		2	–	3					4	–	7
Tulane		1	–	4					2	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Golden Eagles were led by seventh-year head coach Jeff Bower and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium. In the inaugural season of Conference USA, Southern Miss claimed a share of the conference championship with Houston after finishing 4–1 in conference, and 8–3 overall. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	at Georgia *		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	W 11–7	81,067	[2]
September 7	at No. 14 Alabama *		Legion Field Birmingham, AL	L 10–20	82,338	[3]
September 14	Utah State *		M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	W 31–24	24,307	[4]
September 21	Southwestern Louisiana *		M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	W 52–27	23,169	[5]
September 28	at Louisville		Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	W 24–7	36,462	[6]
October 10	at East Carolina *		Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	W 28–7	34,480	[7]
October 19	Memphis		M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS (Black and Blue Bowl)	W 16–0	25,601	[8]
October 26	at Tulane	No. 24	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (rivalry)	W 31–28	20,394	[9]
November 2	at Cincinnati	No. 23	M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	W 21–17	25,241	[10]
November 9	at Houston	No. 20	Robertson Stadium Houston, TX	L 49–56	18,107	[11]
November 16	at No. 3 Florida State *	No. 25	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 14–54	77,280	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1996 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	24	23	20	25	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	24	22	—	—	—	—	—	—

Roster

1996 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 86 Matt Coghlan Jr WR 80 Todd Pinkston Fr OL 79 Brian Bell Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 24 Terrence Parrish Fr DB 20 Perry Phenix So DL 99 Quantrelis Phillips Jr DE 53 Adalius Thomas Fr CB 3 Rod Thomas Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Jeff Bower Coordinators/assistant coaches Dave Wommack – Defensive backs Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "1996 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
2. "Donnan's debut a dud". Ledger-Enquirer. September 1, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. "No offense: Alabama 20, USM 10". Hattiesburg American. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Interception spells doom for the Ags". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 15, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Golden Eagles pound Cajuns". The Crowley Post-Signal. September 22, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Mistakes cost Cards against Eagles". Messenger-Inquirer. September 29, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Eagles take wing, 28–7". The Clarion-Ledger. October 11, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
8. "USM hurls shutout at Tigers". The Commercial Appeal. October 20, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Eagles nearly lose game". Sun Herald. October 27, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Southern Miss clinches share of title". The Courier-Journal. November 3, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Houston slows USM bid". Sun Herald. November 10, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Showdown is on track, FSU stays unbeaten with 54–14 victory". The Miami Herald. November 17, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.