1996 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

1996 Vanderbilt Commodores football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	2–9 (0–8 SEC)
Head coach	Rod Dowhower (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Woody Widenhofer (2nd season)
Home stadium	Vanderbilt Stadium
Seasons ←  1995 1997  →

1996 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
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 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores were led by head coach Rod Dowhower in his second season and finished with a record of two wins and nine losses (2–9 overall, 0–8 in the SEC). The team played their home games at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	7:00 p.m.	No. 6 Notre Dame *	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN	L 7–14	41,523	[1]
September 14	5:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	ESPN2	L 26–36	70,123	[2]
September 21	6:00 p.m.	Ole Miss	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)		L 9–20	40,820	[3]
October 5	7:00 p.m.	at No. 14 LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		L 0–35	80,142	[4]
October 12	2:30 p.m.	at North Texas *	Fouts Field Denton, TX		W 19–7	16,227	[5]
October 19	11:30 a.m.	at Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	JPS	L 2–13	80,757	[6]
October 26	1:00 p.m.	South Carolina	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	PPV	L 0–27	36,583	[7]
November 2	1:00 p.m.	UAB *	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN		W 31–15	30,153	[8]
November 9	11:30 a.m.	No. 1 Florida	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	JPS	L 21–28	40,249	[9]
November 16	11:30 a.m.	at Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	JPS	L 0–25	33,000	[10]
November 30	6:00 p.m.	No. 9 Tennessee	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	ESPN	L 7–14	40,289	[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[12]

Roster

1996 Vanderbilt Commodores football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 17 Damian Allen Jr C 51 Jim Anguiano So OT 75 Allen DeGraffenreid Sr RB 35 Marcus A. Williams Jr RB 23 Tyrone Yarbrough So WR 81 Todd Yoder Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 30 Damien Charley So CB 4 Corey Chavous Jr LB 49 Jamie Duncan Jr LB 34 Carlton Hall Jr SS 19 Eric Vance Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Rod Dowhower Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 1997-01-10

References

1. "ND's opening victory is ugly". The Indianapolis News. September 6, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Vanderbilt chances go out with the Tide". The Tennessean. September 15, 1996. Retrieved February 20, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Ole Miss adjusts to hold off Vanderbilt". The Commercial Appeal. September 22, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "LSU proves good as gold against Vanderbilt, 35–0". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 6, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Commodores win, finally". The Commercial Appeal. October 13, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "'Dogs top Vandy after slow start". Anderson Independent-Mail. October 20, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Gamecocks zero in on Vandy". The Greenville News. October 27, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "VU offense clicks just like in the days of Brown". The Tennessean. November 3, 1996. Retrieved December 13, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Gators fend off Vanderbilt". The Jackson Sun. November 10, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Kentucky ends drought against Vanderbilt 25–0". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 17, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "'Confused' UT slips past Vandy". The Daily News-Journal. December 1, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "1996 Vanderbilt Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 10, 2024.