# 1996 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

The 1996 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University as a member of Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by first-year head coach Bob Pruett, the Thundering Herd compiled an overall record of 15–0 with mark of 8–0 in conference play, winning the SoCon title. Marshall advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship playoffs, where they beat Delaware in the first round, Furman in the quarterfinals, Northern Iowa in the semifinals, and Montana in the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game to win the program's second NCAA Division I-AA title. 1996 was Marshall's final season competing at the NCAA Division I-AA level as they moved to NCAA Division I-A competition and joined the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 1997.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 7 | 7:00 pm | Howard* | No. 1 | Marshall University StadiumHuntington, WV | | W 55–27 | 26,054 |
| September 14 | 7:00 pm | West Virginia State* | No. 1 | Marshall University StadiumHuntington, WV | | W 42–7 | 21,851 |
| September 21 | 3:30 pm | at No. 13 Georgia Southern | No. 1 | Paulson StadiumStatesboro, GA | WSAZ | W 29–13 | 13,977 |
| September 28 | 7:00 pm | No. 12 Western Kentucky* | No. 1 | Marshall University StadiumHuntington, WV | | W 37–3 | 20,755 |
| October 5 | 7:00 pm | Chattanooga | No. 1 | Marshall University StadiumHuntington, WV | WSAZ | W 45–0 | 22,078 |
| October 12 | 1:00 pm | at VMI | No. 1 | Alumni Memorial FieldLexington, VA | | W 45–20 | 9,165 |
| October 19 | 7:00 pm | Western Carolina | No. 1 | Marshall University StadiumHuntington, WV | WSAZ | W 56–21 | 19,330 |
| October 26 | 1:00 pm | at No. 20 Appalachian State | No. 1 | Kidd Brewer StadiumBoone, NC | SS | W 24–10 | 23,458 |
| November 2 | 1:00 pm | The Citadel | No. 1 | Marshall University StadiumHuntington, WV | WSAZ | W 56–25 | 21,038 |
| November 9 | 2:00 pm | at No. 7 East Tennessee State | No. 1 | Memorial CenterJohnson City, TN | WSAZ | W 34–10 | 13,131 |
| November 16 | 1:00 pm | No. 12 Furman | No. 1 | Marshall University StadiumHuntington, WV | | W 42–17 | 22,615 |
| November 30 | 1:00 pm | No. 11 Delaware* | No. 1 | Marshall University StadiumHuntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA First Round) | WSAZ | W 59–14 | 15,429 |
| December 7 | 1:00 pm | No. 13 Furman | No. 1 | Marshall University StadiumHuntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal) | WSAZ | W 54–0 | 14,096 |
| December 14 | 1:00 pm | No. 3 Northern Iowa* | No. 1 | Marshall University StadiumHuntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal) | WSAZ | W 31–14 | 14,414 |
| December 21 | 2:00 pm | No. 2 Montana* | No. 1 | Marshall University StadiumHuntington, WV (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game) | ESPN | W 49–29 | 30,052 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Game summaries
### Howard

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bison | 10 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
| • Thundering Herd | 10 | 14 | 24 | 7 | 55 |

### West Virginia State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Yellow Jackets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Thundering Herd | 21 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 42 |

### at Georgia Southern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Thundering Herd | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 29 |
| Eagles | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 13 |

### Western Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hilltoppers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Thundering Herd | 10 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 37 |

### Chattanooga

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mocs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Thundering Herd | 17 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 45 |

### at VMI

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Thundering Herd | 21 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 45 |
| Keydets | 7 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 20 |

### Western Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Catamounts | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| • Thundering Herd | 28 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 56 |

### at Appalachian State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Thundering Herd | 7 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 24 |
| Mountaineers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### The Citadel

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 25 |
| • Thundering Herd | 7 | 14 | 14 | 21 | 56 |

### at East Tennessee State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Thundering Herd | 0 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 34 |
| Buccaneers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |

### Furman

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Paladins | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| • Thundering Herd | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 42 |

### Delaware (Division I-AA First Round Playoff Game)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Fightin' Blue Hens | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • Thundering Herd | 7 | 14 | 24 | 14 | 59 |
Randy Moss caught 8 passes (3 TD) for a school record 288 yards.

### Furman (Division I-AA Quarterfinal Playoff Game)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Paladins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Thundering Herd | 14 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 54 |

### Northern Iowa (Division I-AA Semifinal Playoff Game)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| • Thundering Herd | 7 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 31 |

### Montana (Division I-AA National Championship)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Grizzlies | 0 | 6 | 0 | 23 | 29 |
| • Thundering Herd | 14 | 9 | 16 | 10 | 49 |
Randy Moss hauled in 9 passes for 220 yards and 4 TD as the Thundering Herd avenged the previous season's loss to Montana in the title game.