1996 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team

1996 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football
1996 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football
Conference USA co-champion
Conference	Conference USA
Record	8–3 (4–1 C-USA)
Head coach	Jeff Bower (7th season);
Offensive coordinator	Norman Joseph (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	John Thompson (5th season)
Base defense	Multiple
Home stadium	M. M. Roberts Stadium
	Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 Conference USA football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Houston +	4	–	1	7	–	5
Southern Miss +	4	–	1	8	–	3
Cincinnati	2	–	3	6	–	5
Louisville	2	–	3	5	–	6
Memphis	2	–	3	4	–	7
Tulane	1	–	4	2	–	9

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team represented the University of Southern Mississippi in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Golden Eagles were led by seventh-year head coach Jeff Bower and played their home games at M. M. Roberts Stadium. In the inaugural season of Conference USA, Southern Miss claimed a share of the conference championship with Houston after finishing 4–1 in conference, and 8–3 overall.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	at Georgia*		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	W 11–7	81,067	^[2]
September 7	at No. 14 Alabama*		Legion Field Birmingham, AL	L 10–20	82,338	^[3]
September 14	Utah State*		M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	W 31–24	24,307	^[4]
September 21	Southwestern Louisiana*		M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	W 52–27	23,169	^[5]
September 28	at Louisville		Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	W 24–7	36,462	^[6]
October 10	at East Carolina*		Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	W 28–7	34,480	^[7]
October 19	Memphis		M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS (Black and Blue Bowl)	W 16–0	25,601	^[8]
October 26	at Tulane	No. 24	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (rivalry)	W 31–28	20,394	^[9]
November 2	at Cincinnati	No. 23	M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	W 21–17	25,241	^[10]
November 9	at Houston	No. 20	Robertson Stadium Houston, TX	L 49–56	18,107	^[11]
November 16	at No. 3 Florida State*	No. 25	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 14–54	77,280	^[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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	23	20	25	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	24	22	—	—	—	—	—	—

Roster

1996 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
TE	`86`	Matt Coghlan	Jr
WR	`80`	Todd Pinkston	Fr
OL	`79`	Brian Bell	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`24`	Terrence Parrish	Fr
DB	`20`	Perry Phenix	So
DL	`99`	Quantrelis Phillips	Jr
DE	`53`	Adalius Thomas	Fr
CB	`3`	Rod Thomas	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Jeff Bower

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Dave Wommack – Defensive backs

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

References

^ "1996 Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
^ "Donnan's debut a dud". Ledger-Enquirer. September 1, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "No offense: Alabama 20, USM 10". Hattiesburg American. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Interception spells doom for the Ags". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 15, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Golden Eagles pound Cajuns". The Crowley Post-Signal. September 22, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mistakes cost Cards against Eagles". Messenger-Inquirer. September 29, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Eagles take wing, 28–7". The Clarion-Ledger. October 11, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "USM hurls shutout at Tigers". The Commercial Appeal. October 20, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Eagles nearly lose game". Sun Herald. October 27, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Southern Miss clinches share of title". The Courier-Journal. November 3, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Houston slows USM bid". Sun Herald. November 10, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Showdown is on track, FSU stays unbeaten with 54–14 victory". The Miami Herald. November 17, 1996. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.