1996 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1996 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Gator Bowl, L 13–20 vs. North Carolina
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	8–4 (4–3 Big East)
Head coach	Don Nehlen (17th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dan Simrell (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Steve Dunlap (5th season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field
Seasons ←  1995 1997  →

1996 Big East Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 13 Virginia Tech +		6	–	1					10	–	2
No. 14 Miami (FL) +		6	–	1					9	–	3
No. 21 Syracuse +		6	–	1					9	–	3
West Virginia		4	–	3					8	–	4
Pittsburgh		3	–	4					4	–	7
Boston College		2	–	5					5	–	7
Rutgers		1	–	6					2	–	9
Temple		0	–	7					1	–	10
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 104th overall and 6th season as a member of the Big East Conference (Big East). The team was led by head coach Don Nehlen, in his 17th year, and played their home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of eight wins and four losses (8–4 overall, 4–3 in the Big East) and with a loss in the Gator Bowl against North Carolina.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	7:30 p.m.	at Pittsburgh		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (Backyard Brawl)	ESPN	W 34–0	54,612	[1]
September 7	12:00 p.m.	Western Michigan *		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	ESPN	W 34–9	47,938	[2]
September 14	12:00 p.m.	East Carolina *		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	ESPN Plus	W 10–9	50,129	[3]
September 21	7:00 p.m.	at Purdue *		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 20–6	40,642	[4]
September 28	6:00 p.m.	Maryland *	No. 23	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 13–0	54,542	[5]
October 5	3:30 p.m.	Boston College	No. 19	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	CBS	W 34–17	58,307	[6]
October 19	1:30 p.m.	at Temple	No. 15	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA		W 30–10	12,546	[7]
October 26	7:00 p.m.	No. 25 Miami (FL)	No. 12	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	ESPN	L 7–10	66,948	[8]
November 2	3:30 p.m.	Syracuse	No. 18	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	CBS	L 7–30	56,312	[9]
November 9	12:00 p.m.	at Rutgers		Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ		W 55–14	21,024	[10]
November 23	12:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Virginia Tech	No. 23	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 14–31	50,086	[11]
January 1	12:30 p.m.	vs. No. 12 North Carolina *	No. 25	Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	NBC	L 13–20	52,103	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[13]

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	—	—	—	—	—	23	19	17	15	12	18	—	—	23	25	24	25	—
Coaches	—		—	—	—	23	19	15	14	11	17	—	24	21	25	24	25	—

Roster

1996 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 8 Chad Johnston Sr QB 10 Marc Bulger Fr QB 17 Ja'Juan Seider Fr RB 20 Amos Zereoue Fr TE 82 Anthony Becht Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 23 Mike Logan Sr LB 57 Gary Stills So DT 78 Henry Slay Jr LB 91 Bernard Russ Sr DT 92 John Thornton So LB 98 Kevin Landolt So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Don Nehlen Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "WVU stomps Pitt". Indiana Gazette. September 1, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "West Virginia rushes past Western Michigan". Detroit Free Press. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "West Virginia wins, 10–9, after East Carolina fails on 2-point play". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 15, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Purdue's offense feels mountain of W. Va. pressure". The Indianapolis Star. September 22, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Double-zero; Mountaineers blank Maryland while keeping the loss column empty". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 29, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Eagles have no answer". The Boston Globe. October 6, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Only victory Temple finds in moral". Courier-Post. October 20, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Blocked punt revives 'Canes' fortunes 10–7". Fort Myers News-Press. October 27, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Syracuse rips Mountaineers". The Roanoke Times. November 3, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "West Virginia blasts Rutgers". The Record. November 10, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Virginia Tech stays in Big East title chase". The Charlotte Observer. 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 West Virginia Mountaineers Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 10, 2024.