1996 Utah Utes football team

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. The team played home games at Robert Rice Stadium in Salt Lake City.

1996 Utah Utes football
Copper Bowl, L 10–38 vs. Wisconsin
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Division	Mountain Division
Record	8–4 (6–2 WAC)
Head coach	Ron McBride (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Fred Graves (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Kyle Whittingham (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Robert Rice Stadium

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

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. 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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 pm	at Utah State*		Romney Stadium Logan, UT (Battle of the Brothers)		L 17–20	30,257
September 7	5:00 pm	at Stanford*		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	ABC	W 17–10	34,587
September 14	6:00 pm	at SMU		Ownby Stadium Dallas, TX	KJZZ	W 21–17	22,614
September 21	7:00 pm	Fresno State		Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT		W 45–17	32,539
September 28	7:00 pm	No. 20 Kansas*		Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	ESPN2	W 45–42	32,519
October 5	1:00 pm	at UTEP	No. 24	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX		W 34–27	28,271
October 19	12:00 pm	TCU	No. 24	Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT		W 21–7	28,786
October 26	12:00 pm	Tulsa	No. 21	Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT		W 45–19	29,047
November 2	1:00 pm	at Rice	No. 20	Rice Stadium Houston, TX		L 10–51	23,250
November 9	8:00 pm	at New Mexico		University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	ESPN2	W 31–24	22,241
November 23	10:30 am	No. 8 BYU		Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (Holy War)	ESPN	L 17–37	35,378
December 27	7:00 pm	vs. Wisconsin*		Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ (Copper Bowl)	ESPN	L 10–38	42,122
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Rankings

See also: 1996 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	24	—	24	21	20	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—		—	—	—	—	24	—	25	22	19	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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 DL Richard Seals	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Ron McBride Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

CFL draft

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