1996 Utah Utes football
Copper Bowl, L 10–38 vs. Wisconsin
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
DivisionMountain Division
Record8–4 (6–2 WAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorFred Graves (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorKyle Whittingham (2nd season)
Home stadiumRobert Rice Stadium (32,500)
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 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah as a member of the Mountain Division of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh season under head coach Ron McBride, the Utes compiled an overall record of 8–4 record with a mark of 6–2 against conference opponents, tying for second place in the WAC's Mountain Division. Utah was invited the Copper Bowl, where they lost to Wisconsin. The Utes outscored their opponents 313 to 309.[1] The team played home games at Robert Rice Stadium in Salt Lake City.

Utah open the season with a loss at Utah State, but won the next seven game and climbed to a No. 20 ranking in the AP Poll. The winning-streak came to a halt when the Utes suffered their worst loss in six years, to the Rice Owls, giving up 496 yards rushing.[2] Utah lost three of their final four games, allowing a total 1,439 yards rushing in these four games (359.75 average per game), including a 38–10 loss to the Wisconsin in the Copper Bowl.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 317:00 pmat Utah State*
L 17–2030,257
September 75:00 pmat Stanford*
ABCW 17–1034,587
September 146:00 pmat SMU
KJZZW 21–1722,614
September 217:00 pmFresno State
W 45–1732,539
September 287:00 pmNo. 20 Kansas*
  • Rice Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
ESPN2W 45–4232,519
October 51:00 pmat UTEPNo. 24
W 34–2728,271
October 1912:00 pmTCUNo. 24
  • Rice Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
W 21–728,786
October 2612:00 pmTulsadaggerNo. 21
  • Rice Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
W 45–1929,047
November 21:00 pmat RiceNo. 20
L 10–5123,250
November 98:00 pmat New Mexico
ESPN2W 31–2422,241
November 2310:30 amNo. 8 BYU
  • Rice Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT (Holy War)
ESPNL 17–3735,378
December 277:00 pmvs. Wisconsin*
ESPNL 10–3842,122
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Mountain time

[3][4]

Rankings

See also: 1996 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP——————24—242120———————
Coaches—————24—252219———————

Roster

1996 Utah Utes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 1 Kevin Dyson  Jr
WR 11 David Kozlowski Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

After the season

CFL Draft

Chad Folk was selected first overall in the 1997 CFL Draft.

References

  1. ^ "1996 Utah Utes Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  2. ^ "Game Recap". November 2, 1996. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  3. ^ "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
  4. ^ "1996 results". Utah Official Athletic Site. Archived from the original on December 18, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
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