1996 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Gator Bowl, L 13–20 vs. North Carolina
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record8–4 (4–3 Big East)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDan Simrell (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorSteve Dunlap (5th season)
Home stadiumMountaineer Field
(Capacity: 63,500)
Seasons
← 1995
1997 →
1996 Big East Conference football standings
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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 317:30 p.m.at PittsburghESPNW 34–054,612
September 7NoonWestern Michigan*ESPNW 34–947,938
September 14NoonEast Carolina*
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia
ESPN+W 10–950,129
September 217:00 p.m.at Purdue*W 20–640,624
September 286:00 p.m.Maryland*No. 23
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia (rivalry)
ESPN2W 13–054,542
October 53:30 p.m.Boston CollegeNo. 19
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia
CBSW 34–1758,307
October 191:30 p.m.at TempleNo. 15W 30–1012,546
October 267:00 p.m.No. 25 Miami (FL)No. 12
  • Mountaineer Field
  • Morgantown, West Virginia
ESPNL 7–1066,948
November 23:30 p.m.SyracuseNo. 18
CBSL 7–3056,312
November 9Noonat RutgersW 55–1421,024
November 23Noonat No. 17 Virginia TechNo. 23ESPN2L 14–3150,086
January 112:30 p.m.vs. No. 12 North Carolina*No. 25NBCL 13–2052,103
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

See also: 1996 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP23191715121823252425
Coaches2319151411172421252425

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
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References