1996 Louisville Cardinals football team

The 1996 Louisville Cardinals football team represented the University of Louisville as a member of the newly-formed Conference USA (C-USA) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach Ron Cooper, the Cardinals compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 2–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in C-USA. The team played home games in Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.

1996 Louisville Cardinals football
Conference	Conference USA
Record	5–6 (2–3 C–USA)
Head coach	Ron Cooper (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Bret Ingalls (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Everett Withers (2nd season)
Home stadium	Cardinal Stadium
Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 Conference USA football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	6:30 pm	at Kentucky*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (Governor's Cup)		W 38–14	59,384	[1]
September 7	3:30 pm	at No. 7 Penn State*	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	L 7–24	95,670
September 14	3:30 pm	Baylor*	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY	FSN	L 13–14	38,756
September 21	1:00 pm	at Michigan State*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 30–20	70,311
September 28		Southern Miss	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY		L 7–24	36,462	[2]
October 12		at Tulane	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 23–20	17,561	[3]
October 19	2:00 pm	Northern Illinois	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY		W 27–3	36,467
October 26		Cincinnati	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY (The Keg of Nails)		L 7–10
November 2		Memphis	Cardinal Stadium Louisville, KY (rivalry)		W 13–10	33,512
November 9	1:30 pm	at No. 8 North Carolina*	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC		L 10–28	46,000	[4]
November 16		at Houston	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		L 7–38	19,651
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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Roster

1996 Louisville Cardinals football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 7 Chris Redman Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 13 Sam Madison Sr LB 52 Tyrus McCloud Sr DE 51 Carl Powell Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Ron Cooper Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt