1996 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

1996 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	6–5 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Brad Scott (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	John Eason (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Fast Break
Defensive coordinator	Wally Burnham (3rd season)
Home stadium	Williams–Brice Stadium

1996 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 1 Florida x$		8	–	0					12	–	1
No. 9 Tennessee		7	–	1					10	–	2
South Carolina		4	–	4					6	–	5
Kentucky		3	–	5					4	–	7
Georgia		3	–	5					5	–	6
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					2	–	9
Western Division
No. 11 Alabama xy		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 12 LSU x		6	–	2					10	–	2
No. 24 Auburn		4	–	4					8	–	4
Mississippi State		3	–	5					5	–	6
Ole Miss		2	–	6					5	–	6
Arkansas		2	–	6					4	–	7
Championship: Florida 45, Alabama 30
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Gamecocks were led by third-year head coach Brad Scott and played their home games in Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

In 1996, South Carolina finished with a winning record of 6–5, highlighted by an upset over archrival No. 22 Clemson on the road,^[1] their third victory against the Tigers in five years.^[2] Running back Duce Staley had the fourth highest single-season rushing total in program history until then.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	7:00 p.m.	UCF*	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		W 33–14	76,411	[4]
September 14	7:45 p.m.	Georgia	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (rivalry)	ESPN	W 23–14	82,950	[5]
September 21	7:00 p.m.	East Carolina*	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		L 7–23	79,806	[6]
September 28	12:30 p.m.	Mississippi State	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	L 10–14	75,014	[7]
October 5	3:30 p.m.	at No. 20 Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	CBS	L 24–28	84,107	[8]
October 12	7:00 p.m.	at Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY		W 25–14	50,500	[9]
October 19	1:00 p.m.	Arkansas	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		W 23–17	79,419	[10]
October 26	2:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	PPV	W 27–0	36,583	[11]
November 2	12:30 p.m.	No. 6 Tennessee	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (rivalry)	JPS	L 14–31	82,808	[12]
November 16	7:45 p.m.	at No. 1 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN	L 25–52	85,701	[13]
November 23	5:30 p.m.	at No. 22 Clemson*	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 34–31	82,929	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[15]

Roster

1996 South Carolina Gamecocks football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 21 Zola Davis So WR 81 Ben Fleming Fr QB 16 Joey Unitas  So RB 22 Duce Staley Sr QB 1 Anthony Wright  So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 95 John Abraham Fr DB 28 Chris Abrams Sr LB 58 Corey Atkins  Fr LB 52 Shane Burnham Jr LB 45 James McDougald Jr DE 89 Maynard Caldwell Sr DB 5 Terry Cousin Sr DB 12 Arthuro Freeman So LB 18 Darren Hambrick Jr LB 92 Ryan Koop Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 14 Reed Morton Sr	Head coach Brad Scott Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

References

1. "1996 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
2. "Winsipedia - Clemson Tigers vs. South Carolina Gamecocks football series history". Winsipedia. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
3. "Kevin Long, the Gamecocks' first 1,000-yard rusher, has died". Yahoo Sports. September 11, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
4. "UCF stops bleeding in 2nd half". The Orlando Sentinel. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Gamecocks spur Dawgs, win by nine". The Index-Journal. September 15, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Harley runs over USC". The Greenville News. September 22, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Blitzing Bulldogs drop Wright, South Carolina". The Charlotte Observer. September 29, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Fumble seals fate for USC". Anderson Independent-Mail. October 6, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Gamecocks rally to beat Cats, 25–14". Messenger-Inquirer. October 13, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Staley's second half lifts Gamecocks". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. October 20, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Gamecocks zero in on Vandy". The Greenville News. October 27, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "USC earns respect, not win". The Charlotte Observer. November 3, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Carolina swamped by Gators in second half". Anderson Independent-Mail. November 17, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Clemson rally falls short, 34–31". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 24, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "1996 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 10, 2024.