1996 Syracuse Orangemen football team

American college football season

1996 Syracuse Orangemen football
Big East co-champion Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 30–17 vs. Houston
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 21
Record	9–3 (6–1 Big East)
Head coach	Paul Pasqualoni (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	George DeLeone (10th season)
Defensive coordinator	Norm Gerber (13th season)
Captain	Kevin Abrams, Harvey Pennypacker, Malcolm Thomas
Home stadium	Carrier Dome
Seasons← 1995 1997 →

1996 Big East Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 13 Virginia Tech +	6	–	1	10	–	2
No. 14 Miami (FL) +	6	–	1	9	–	3
No. 21 Syracuse +	6	–	1	9	–	3
West Virginia	4	–	3	8	–	4
Pittsburgh	3	–	4	4	–	7
Boston College	2	–	5	5	–	7
Rutgers	1	–	6	2	–	9
Temple	0	–	7	1	–	10

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University as a member of the Big East Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Paul Pasqualoni, the Orangemen compiled an overall record of 9–3 with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, sharing the Big East title with the Miami Hurricanes and the Virginia Tech Hokies. Syracuse was invited to the Liberty Bowl, where the Orangemen defeated Houston. The team played home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 7	6:00 pm	No. 24 North Carolina*	No. 9	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPN2	L 10–27	48,097
September 21	7:30 pm	at Minnesota*	No. 23	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	L 33–35	45,756
September 28	3:30 pm	No. 18 Virginia Tech		Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	CBS	W 52–21	49,069
October 5	12:00 pm	Rutgers		Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPN Plus	W 42–0	48,112
October 12	12:00 pm	Pittsburgh		Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	ESPN Plus	W 55–7	45,103
October 26	12:00 pm	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	CBS	W 45–17	44,500
November 2	3:30 pm	at No. 18 West Virginia		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	CBS	W 30–7	56,312
November 9	3:30 pm	at Tulane*	No. 24	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 31–7	13,537
November 16	6:00 pm	No. 22 Army*	No. 19	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPN	W 42–17	49,257
November 23	12:00 pm	at Temple	No. 16	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	ESPN Plus	W 36–15	4,312
November 30	3:30 pm	No. 23 Miami (FL)	No. 16	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	CBS	L 31–38	49,426
December 27	3:00 pm	vs. Houston*	No. 23	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ESPN	W 30–17	49,163
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

1996 Syracuse Orangemen football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`12`	Kevin Johnson	So
FB	`44`	Rob Konrad	So
QB	`5`	Donovan McNabb	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`4`	Kevin Abrams	Sr
LB	`26`	Mike Brown	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

2017 Syracuse football media guide pg. 151
"Heels' QB too tall an order for SU". Press & Sun-Bulletin. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Syracuse's ground assault halts Hokies". The Buffalo News. September 29, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Syracuse rips Mountaineers". The Roanoke Times. November 3, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Syracuse smothers Green Wave 31–7". Democrat and Chronicle. November 10, 1996. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
"McNabb regrets salute". The Sentinel. Syracuse, New York. Associated Press. November 20, 1996. p. 20. Retrieved January 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .

v t e Syracuse Orange football
Venues	Star Park (1889–1894) Old Oval (1895–1906) Archbold Stadium (1907–1978) Giants Stadium (1979) Rich Stadium (1979) Schoellkopf Field (1979) JMA Wireless Dome (1980–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Colgate Penn State Pittsburgh UConn West Virginia
Culture & lore	Otto the Orange Alma Mater "Down the Field" Marching band The Express: The Ernie Davis Story Scandal Syracuse Sports Network Highest-scoring game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders All-Century Team
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Big East Conference football champions
West Virginia (1993) Miami (FL) (1994) Miami (FL) & Virginia Tech (1995) Miami (FL) & Syracuse & Virginia Tech (1996) Syracuse (1997) Syracuse (1998) Virginia Tech (1999) Miami (FL) (2000) Miami (FL) (2001) Miami (FL) (2002) Miami (FL) & West Virginia (2003) Boston College & Pittsburgh & Syracuse & West Virginia (2004) West Virginia (2005) Louisville (2006) Connecticut & West Virginia (2007) Cincinnati (2008) Cincinnati (2009) Connecticut & Pittsburgh & West Virginia (2010) Cincinnati & Louisville & West Virginia (2011) Cincinnati & Louisville & Rutgers & Syracuse (2012)
National championships in bold

National championships in bold

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