1996 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

The 1996 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Terry Shea, the Scarlet Knights compiled a 2–9 record, were outscored by opponents 380 to 143, and finished in seventh place in the Big East Conference.^[1] The team's statistical leaders included Mike Stephans with 918 passing yards, Chad Bosch with 523 rushing yards, and Steven Harper with 321 receiving yards.^[2]

1996 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	2–9 (1–6 Big East)
Head coach	Terry Shea (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Terry Shea (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Rod Sharpless (1st season)
Home stadium	Rutgers Stadium Giants Stadium
Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 Big East Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31		Villanova*	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ		W 38–28	27,307	[3]
September 7		Navy*	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ		L 6–10
September 12	8:00 pm	No. 10 Miami (FL)	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	ESPN	L 0–33	29,379
September 21	12:00 pm	at No. 18 Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN Plus	L 14–30	47,204	[4]
October 5	12:00 pm	at Syracuse	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPN Plus	L 0–42	48,112
October 12	1:00 pm	Army*	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ		L 21–42	19,101
October 19		at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		L 37–13
October 26		Temple	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ		W 28–17
November 9	12:00 pm	West Virginia	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ		L 14–55	21,024	[5]
November 23	1:30 pm	at No. 10 Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	NBC	L 0–62	59,075
November 30	12:00 pm	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		L 9–24	21,772
*Non-conference game Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[6]

Roster

1996 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 18 Darrell Buffington Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 10 Kevin Williams Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Terry Shea Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt