1996 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

1996 Georgia Southern Eagles football
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	4–7 (2–6 SoCon)
Head coach	Frank Ellwood (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Daryl Dickey (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Tommy Spangler (7th season)
Home stadium	Paulson Stadium

1996 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 Marshall $^		8	–	0					15	–	0
No. T–8 East Tennessee State ^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 13 Furman ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 25 Appalachian State		5	–	3					7	–	4
The Citadel		3	–	5					4	–	7
Georgia Southern		2	–	6					4	–	7
VMI		2	–	6					3	–	8
Chattanooga		2	–	6					3	–	8
Western Carolina		1	–	7					4	–	7
$ – Conference champion Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1996 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by Frank Ellwood in his first and only season as head coach, the Eagles compiled an overall record of 4–7 with a conference mark of 2–6, tying for sixth place in the SoCon. Georgia Southern played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31		at South Carolina State*	No. 18	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC		W 21–14	9,526
September 7		at No. 4 (I-A) Florida*	No. 14	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	SS	L 14–62	84,962	[1]
September 21	3:30 pm	No. 1 Marshall	No. 13	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	WSAZ	L 13–29	13,977
September 28		at Chattanooga	No. 23	Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN		L 21–23	6,324
October 5		VMI	No. 25	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA		W 20–17	12,041	[2]
October 12		at Western Carolina		E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC		W 38–28	7,678
October 19		Appalachian State		Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (rivalry)		L 28–35	11,074	[3]
October 26		at The Citadel		Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC		L 20–35	9,427
November 2		No. 9 East Tennessee State		Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA		L 14–17	12,611
November 9		at Furman		Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC		L 14–21	11,616	[4]
November 16		Liberty*		Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA		W 45–14	10,959	[5]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[6]

References

1. "Gators cruise 62–14". Fort Myers News-Press. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Georgia Southern 20, VMI 17". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 6, 1996. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "QB swap stops Ga. Southern". The Atlanta Constitution. October 20, 1996. Retrieved November 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "QB's record day carries Furman". The State. November 10, 1996. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Georgia Southern ends season with win over Liberty". The Macon Telegraph. November 17, 1996. Retrieved April 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "1996 Football Schedule". CFBDataWarehouse.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2017.