1996 LSU Tigers football team

1996 LSU Tigers football
SEC Western Division co-champion Peach Bowl champion
Peach Bowl, W 10–7 vs. Clemson Tigers
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 12
1996 record	10–2 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Gerry DiNardo (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Morris Watts (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Carl Reese (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Tiger Stadium (Capacity: 79,940)
Seasons

1996 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
#1 Florida x†		8	–	0					12	–	1
#9 Tennessee		7	–	1					10	–	2
South Carolina		4	–	4					6	–	5
Georgia		3	–	5					5	–	6
Kentucky		3	–	5					4	–	7
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					2	–	9
Western Division
#11 Alabama xy		6	–	2					10	–	3
#12 LSU x		6	–	2					10	–	2
#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 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. LSU finished with a 10–2 overall record (6–2 in SEC play) after defeating Clemson Tigers, 10–7, in the Peach Bowl. It was Gerry DiNardo's second season as head coach and the Tigers built upon the previous year's success with their first ten-win season and bowl win since 1987. The Tigers tied for the SEC West title with Alabama, but had lost to the Tide 26–0 in Baton Rouge in a game that was notable for being Shaun Alexander's breakout performance.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 7	7:00 p.m.	Houston*	No. 17	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 35–34	80,303
September 21	6:30 p.m.	at No. 14 Auburn	No. 21	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (Tiger Bowl)	ESPN	W 19–15	85,214
September 28	7:00 p.m.	New Mexico State	No. 17	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 63–7	77,676
October 5	7:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt	No. 14	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 35–0	80,142
October 12	11:00 a.m.	at No. 1 Florida	No. 12	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	L 13–56	85,567
October 19	7:00 p.m.	Kentucky	No. 17	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 41–14	79,660
October 26	11:30 a.m.	Mississippi State	No. 13	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	JPS	W 28–20	79,594
November 9	6:30 p.m.	No. 10 Alabama	No. 11	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry) (College GameDay)	ESPN	L 0–26	80,290
November 16	2:00 p.m.	at Ole Miss	No. 17	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (Magnolia Bowl)	PPV	W 39–7	44,436
November 23	7:00 p.m.	Tulane*	No. 18	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (Battle for the Rag)		W 35–17	78,966
November 29	1:30 p.m.	at Arkansas	No. 19	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR (Battle for the Golden Boot)	CBS	W 17–7	22,329
December 28	8:00 p.m.	vs. Clemson*	No. 17	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl)	ESPN	W 10–7	63,622
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

1996 LSU Tigers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TB 1 Sharp, JermaineJermaine Sharp 7.0 !Sr RB 3 Faulk, KevinKevin Faulk 3.0 !So TE 47 LaFleur, DavidDavid LaFleur 7.0 !Sr G 66 Faneca, AlanAlan Faneca 10px 2.5 !So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 94 McFarland, AnthonyAnthony McFarland 3.0 !So DE 98 Miller, ArnoldArnold Miller 3.0 !So DE 99 Watkins, DavidDavid Watkins 1.0 !Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Gerry DiNardo Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster