# 1996 Army Cadets football team

The 1996 Army Cadets football team was an American football team that represented the United States Military Academy in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their sixth season under head coach Bob Sutton, the Cadets compiled a 10–2 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 379 to 224. In the annual Army–Navy Game, the Cadets defeated Navy, 28–24. They also lost to Auburn, 32–29, in the 1996 Independence Bowl. This would be Army's last winning season until 2010.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 14 | 1:30 p.m. | Ohio | | Michie StadiumWest Point, NY | | W 37–20 | 30,500 |
| September 21 | 12:00 p.m. | Duke | | Michie StadiumWest Point, NY | HTS | W 35–17 | 36,049 |
| September 28 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. North Texas | | Texas StadiumIrving, TX | | W 27–10 | 20,413 |
| October 5 | 1:30 p.m. | Yale | | Michie StadiumWest Point, NY | | W 39–13 | 40,776 |
| October 12 | 1:00 p.m. | at Rutgers | | Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ | | W 42–21 | 19,101 |
| October 19 | 1:30 p.m. | Tulane | | Michie StadiumWest Point, NY | | W 34–10 | 35,971 |
| October 26 | 1:00 p.m. | at Miami (OH) | | Yager StadiumOxford, OH | | W 27–7 | 16,543 |
| November 2 | 1:30 p.m. | Lafayette | | Michie StadiumWest Point, NY | | W 41–21 | 39,269 |
| November 9 | 3:30 p.m. | Air Force | | Michie StadiumWest Point, NY (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) | ABC | W 23–7 | 41,251 |
| November 16 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 19 Syracuse | No. 22 | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ESPN | L 17–42 | 49,257 |
| December 7 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. Navy | No. 23 | Veterans StadiumPhiladelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game) | CBS | W 28–24 | 69,238 |
| December 31 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. Auburn | No. 24 | Independence StadiumShreveport, LA (Independence Bowl) | ESPN | L 29–32 | 41,366 |
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | 24 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Coaches | — | | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 23 | — | 24 | 23 | 24 | 24 |

## Game summaries
### Vs. Navy

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Army | 3 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 28 |
| Navy | 0 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
at Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Date: December 7
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Rain
* Game attendance: 69,238
* TV announcers (CBS): Sean McDonough, Terry Donahue, and Michele Tafoya
Game information :
Army
McAda 5/10, 116 Yds 15 Rush, 134 Yds, TD
Williams 1 Rec, 43 Yds
Navy
McCoy 6/14, 107 Yds, TD, INT
Nelson 18 Rush, 74 Yds
Heaven 2 Rec, 67 Yds :
President Bill Clinton became the first sitting U.S. president to attend game since 1974.
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | ARMY | NAVY |
| 1 | 0:00 | | | | Army | 22-yard field goal by Parker | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | 9:33 | | | | Navy | McGrew 7-yard touchdown run, Vanderhorst kick good | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | 5:54 | | | | Navy | Butts 7-yard touchdown reception from McCoy, Vanderhorst kick good | 3 | 14 |
| 2 | 5:14 | | | | Navy | McCoy 7-yard touchdown run, Vanderhorst kick good | 3 | 21 |
| 2 | 2:39 | | | | Army | McAda 44-yard touchdown run, Parker kick good | 10 | 21 |
| 2 | 0:39 | | | | Army | 35-yard field goal by Parker | 13 | 21 |
| 3 | 14:03 | | | | Army | Williams 81-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed | 19 | 21 |
| 3 | 5:43 | | | | Army | Perry 3-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed | 25 | 21 |
| 3 | 0:02 | | | | Navy | 31-yard field goal by Vanderhorst | 25 | 24 |
| 4 | 6:35 | | | | Army | 20-yard field goal by Parker | 28 | 24 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 28 | 24 |

### Vs. Auburn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #24 Cadets | 0 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 29 |
| Tigers | 10 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 32 |

## Radio

| Flagship station | Play–by–play | Color commentator | Sideline reporter | Studio host |
| WABC–AM 770 | | | | |
Some games were broadcast on WPLJ–FM 95.5 because of broadcast conflict with the New York Yankees.