1996 Texas Longhorns football team

1996 Texas Longhorns football
Big 12 champion Big 12 South champion
Big 12 Championship Game, W 37–27 vs. Nebraska
Fiesta Bowl, L 15–38 vs. Penn State
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Division	South Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 23
AP	No. 23
Record	8–5 (6–2 Big 12)
Head coach	John Mackovic (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Gene Dahlquist (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Gary Darnell (3rd season)
Home stadium	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium

1996 Big 12 Conference football standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 6 Nebraska x%		8	–	0					11	–	2
No. 8 Colorado		7	–	1					10	–	2
No. 17 Kansas State		6	–	2					9	–	3
Missouri		3	–	5					5	–	6
Kansas		2	–	6					4	–	7
Iowa State		1	–	7					2	–	9
South Division
No. 23 Texas x$		6	–	2					8	–	5
Texas Tech		5	–	3					7	–	5
Texas A&M		4	–	4					6	–	6
Oklahoma		3	–	5					3	–	8
Oklahoma State		2	–	6					5	–	6
Baylor		1	–	7					4	–	7
Championship: Texas 37, Nebraska 27
x – Division champion/co-champions $ – Bowl Alliance representative as champion % – Bowl Alliance at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin as a member South Division of the newly-formed Big 12 Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach John Mackovic, the Longhorns compiled an overall record of 8–5 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, winning the Big 12's South Division title. Texas advanced to the Big 12 Championship Game, where the Longhorns upset Nebraska to secure the Big 12 Conference title. Texas was invited to the Fiesta Bowl, losing there to Penn State. The team played home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Missouri	No. 8	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	FSN	W 40–10	70,613
September 7	6:00 p.m.	New Mexico State*	No. 8	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	PPV	W 41–7	69,762
September 21	11:00 a.m.	No. 9 Notre Dame*	No. 6	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	ABC	L 24–27	83,312
September 28	6:30 p.m.	at No. 19 Virginia*	No. 13	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ESPN	L 13–37	45,100
October 5	6:00 p.m.	Oklahoma State	No. 23	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	FSN	W 71–14	67,414
October 12	2:30 p.m.	vs. Oklahoma	No. 25	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	ABC	L 27–30 OT	75,587
October 26	1:30 p.m.	at No. 8 Colorado		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	ABC	L 24–28	51,100
November 2	2:30 p.m.	Baylor		Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	ABC	W 28–23	75,482
November 9	6:00 p.m.	at Texas Tech		Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)	FSN	W 38–32	50,607
November 16	11:30 a.m.	at Kansas		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	FSN	W 38–17	30,500
November 29	10:00 a.m.	Texas A&M		Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	ABC	W 51–15	81,887
December 7	12:00 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Nebraska		Trans World Dome St. Louis, MO (Big 12 Championship Game)	ABC	W 37–27	63,109
January 1, 1997	7:30 p.m.	vs. No. 7 Penn State*	No. 20	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	CBS	L 15–38	65,106
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

Vs. Nebraska

Nebraska vs Texas

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Cornhuskers	7	10	7	3	27
• Longhorns	7	13	3	14	37

• Date: December 7
• Location: Trans World Dome, St. Louis, Missouri
• Game attendance: 63,109

Main article: 1996 Big 12 Championship Game

See also: 1996 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Roster

1996 Texas Longhorns football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 79 Ben Adams So WR 83 Mike Adams Sr QB 5 James Brown Jr RB 33 Priest Holmes Sr WR 8 Wane McGarity So G 69 Dan Neil Sr QB 9 Ryan O'Neill So C 63 Blake Powers Jr OL 66 Cory Quye Fr WR 22 Michael Watson So WR 1 John White So RB 11 Ricky Williams So QB 13 Bryan Willingham Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class NG 96 Chris Akins Jr CB 2 Taje Allen Sr FS 16 Chris Carter Sr CB 30 Bryant Westbrook Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 4 Phil Dawson Jr	Head coach John Mackovic Coordinators/assistant coaches Rusty Whitt (GA) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 1997-01-26