1996 UC Davis Aggies football team

The 1996 UC Davis football team represented the University of California, Davis as an independent during the 1996 NCAA Division II football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Bob Biggs, UC Davis compiled an overall record of 8–5. 1996 was the 27th consecutive winning season for the Aggies. UC Davis was ranked No. 17 in the NCAA Division II poll at the end of the regular season and advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs, where they upset top-ranked Texas A&M–Kingsville in Kingsville, Texas in the first round. In the quarterfinals, the Aggies upset ninth-ranked Central Oklahoma at home. In the semifinals, they were defeated by sixth-ranked Carson–Newman in Jefferson City, Tennessee. The team outscored its opponents 369 to 240 for the season. The Aggies played home games at Toomey Field in Davis, California.

1996 UC Davis Aggies football
NCAA Division II Semifinal, L 26–29 at Carson–Newman
Conference	Independent
Record	8–5
Head coach	Bob Biggs (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Moroski (4th season)
Home stadium	Toomey Field
Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 NCAA Division II independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Saint Joseph's (IN)			–						9	–	2
No. 17 UC Davis ^			–						8	–	5
Albany			–						7	–	3
New Haven			–						7	–	3
Southern Connecticut State			–						7	–	4
American International			–						6	–	4
Pace			–						6	–	4
Mercyhurst			–						4	–	5
Mississippi College			–						4	–	6
Western New Mexico			–						3	–	6
Wayne State (NE)			–						3	–	7
Quincy			–						1	–	8
^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14		at Cal State Northridge	No. 16	North Campus Stadium Northridge, CA	L 31–56	4,264	^[1]
September 21		Sacramento State		Toomey Field Davis, CA (Causeway Classic)	L 24–27	11,140	^[2]
September 28		at Chico State		University Stadium Chico, CA	W 20–6	6,325–7,130	^[3]
October 5		at Humboldt State	No. 20	Redwood Bowl Arcata, CA	W 50–13	4,232
October 12		at Portland State	No. 17	Civic Stadium Portland, OR	L 27–32	7,738	^[4]
October 19		Western New Mexico		Toomey Field Davis, CA	W 29–3	7,738
October 26		Saint Mary's	No. 17	Toomey Field Davis, CA	W 31–10	7,840
November 2		at Cal Poly	No. 12	Mustang Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA (rivalry)	L 13–17	8,216
November 9		at Sonoma State	No. 17	Cossacks Stadium^[note 1] Rohnert Park, CA	W 49–7	1,205
November 16		Southern Utah	No. 17	Toomey Field Davis, CA	W 26–19	2,250
November 23	11:00 a.m.	at No. 1 Texas A&M–Kingsville	No. 17	Javelina Stadium Kingsville, TX (NCAA Division II First Round)	W 17–14	8,500	^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]
November 30	1:00 p.m.	No. 9 Central Oklahoma	No. 17	Toomey Field Davis, CA (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)	W 26–7	7,339	^[9]^[10]^[11]
December 7	10:00 a.m.	at No. 6 Carson–Newman	No. 17	Burke–Tarr Stadium Jefferson City, TN (NCAA Division II Semifinal)	L 26–29	3,214	^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[16][17][18]

Notes

1. Seawolf Stadium was known as Cossacks Stadium until 2002 when the University changed the mascot from Cossacks to Seawolves.

References

1. Jeff Fletcher (September 15, 1996). "Romines Takes Davis Defense for Long Ride". The Los Angeles Times (Valley ed.). p. C10. Retrieved June 15, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. 
2. "Hornet Sports.com: Football (UC Davis)" (PDF). Retrieved April 24, 2017.
3. "Final 1996 Division II Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
4. "Fumbles thwart UC Davis' upset bid". The Sacramento Bee. October 13, 1996. Retrieved October 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Wellnicki, Galen (November 23, 1996). "Javelinas quarterback part of winning blend". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. C1. Retrieved May 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
6. Wellnicki, Galen (November 23, 1996). "Javs (continued)". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. C10. Retrieved May 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
7. Wellnicki, Galen (November 24, 1996). "UC-Davis details Javelinas". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. C1. Retrieved May 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
8. Wellnicki, Galen (November 24, 1996). "Javelinas (continued)". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. p. C5. Retrieved May 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
9. Voet, Gary (November 30, 1996). "Overconfidence isn't a problem today for Aggies". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. C6. Retrieved May 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
10. Voet, Gary (December 1, 1996). "Aggies jump ahead early in gaining semifinal spot". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. C1. Retrieved May 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
11. Voet, Gary (December 1, 1996). "Aggies: Grieb throws three touchdown passes (continued)". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. C10. Retrieved May 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
12. Voet, Gary (December 7, 1996). "Here's a taste of West Coast". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. E6. Retrieved May 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
13. Voet, Gary (December 8, 1996). "Aggie Agony". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. C1. Retrieved May 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
14. Voet, Gary (December 8, 1996). "Aggies: National bid comes to end (continued)". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. C10. Retrieved May 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
15. "Carson-Newman 29, UC Davis 26". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. December 8, 1996. p. C15. Retrieved May 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
16. "Final 1996 Division II Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
17. . Archived from the original on May 15, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2017.
18. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 8, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2017.