The 1996 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

for the 1996–97 college football season, competing in the Western Division in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

Gene Stallings Eugene Clifton Stallings Jr. (born March 2, 1935) is a retired American football player and coach. He played college football at Texas A&M University (1954–1956), where he was one of the "Junction Boys", and later served as the head coach at ...

led the Crimson Tide to a 10–3 record in his final year with the program. The team played their home games at

Bryant–Denny Stadium Bryant–Denny Stadium is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States, on the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. It is the home field of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Open ...

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population o ...

, and

Legion Field Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ho ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. Alabama's loss to Mississippi State broke a 15-game winning streak Alabama had in the series and was their first loss to the Bulldogs since a dramatic upset MSU posted over the #1 ranked Tide in 1980. Following a victory in the annual

Iron Bowl The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferen ...

on November 23, head coach Gene Stallings announced his retirement, which would go into effect at the end of the season.

Schedule

Coaching staff

Game summaries

Bowling Green

Alabama wins its sixth straight season opener over newly Division 1 opponent Bowling Green.

Southern Miss

Alabama would hold Southern Miss to 104 yards of offense to win for the sixth straight year over the Golden Eagles.

Vanderbilt

In the first home game at Bryant-Denny Stadium for 1996, a shootout would unfold as the Crimson Tide would use a 21 point 3rd quarter to beat the Commodores.

Arkansas

A defensive struggle goes the Crimson Tide way as they avenge their loss of a year ago to Arkansas.

Kentucky

Former Alabama coach

Bill Curry William Alexander Curry (born October 21, 1942) is a retired American football coach and former player. Most recently, Curry was the head coach at Georgia State University, which began competing in college football in 2010. Previously, Curry s ...

returned to Tuscaloosa for the first time since leaving Alabama for Kentucky in 1989. Despite being heavy underdogs, Curry's Wildcats forced a 7-7 tie at halftime which brought a chorus of boos from the homecoming crowd. The Crimson Tide then would use a 28 point third quarter to beat Kentucky.

North Carolina State

Despite giving up a season high 418 yards of offense, The Crimson Tide survived on the road to stay undefeated.

Ole Miss

The Crimson Tide put its most complete game together to date in 1996 to roll to a shutout win of Ole Miss.

Tennessee

Tennessee used 14 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to beat Alabama for the second year in a row and for the first time in Knoxville since 1984.

LSU

For the second time in three weeks, Alabama defense would shut out its opponent. The Crimson tide offense went through one man Redshirt Freshman

Shaun Alexander Shaun Edward Alexander (born August 30, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the ...

rushed for a School record 291 yards and all four Alabama touchdowns.

Mississippi State

For the first time since 1980, Alabama would lose to Mississippi State in one of the biggest upset of the

era.

Auburn

After the game, head coach

announced his resignation effective at the end of the season.

Florida

Alabama would be in its fourth SEC Championship game in five seasons and once again would face Florida, as they had the previous three meetings. The Gators would use nearly 500 yards of offense to win its fourth straight SEC title, a record that still holds to this day.

Michigan

Two 4th quarter touchdowns proved to be enough as Alabama would win its 10th game of the season and the 70th and final for

as head coach.

References

{{Alabama Crimson Tide football navbox

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

Alabama Crimson Tide football seasons ReliaQuest Bowl champion seasons

Alabama Crimson Tide football The Alabama Crimson Tide football program represents the University of Alabama (variously Alabama, UA, or Bama) in the sport of American football. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Ass ...