1996 Toledo Rockets football team

1996 Toledo Rockets football
1996 Toledo Rockets football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	7–4 (6–2 MAC)
Head coach	Gary Pinkel (6th season);
Offensive coordinator	Mike Dunbar (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Tom Amstutz (3rd season)
Home stadium	Glass Bowl
	Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

The 1996 Toledo Rockets football team was an American football team that represented the University of Toledo in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their sixth season under head coach Gary Pinkel, the Rockets compiled a 7–4 record (6–2 against MAC opponents), finished in a tie for second place in the MAC, and were outscored by all opponents by a combined total of 259 to 210.^[1]

1996 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Ball State $	7	–	1	8	–	4
Toledo	6	–	2	7	–	4
Miami (OH)	6	–	2	6	–	5
Ohio	5	–	3	6	–	6
Central Michigan	4	–	4	5	–	6
Akron	3	–	5	4	–	7
Bowling Green	3	–	5	4	–	7
Eastern Michigan	3	–	5	3	–	8
Western Michigan	2	–	6	2	–	9
Kent State	1	–	7	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion

The team's statistical leaders included Ryan Huzjak with 2,058 passing yards, Kevin Kidd with 453 rushing yards, and James Spriggs with 754 receiving yards.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	Indiana*	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	L 6–40	25,540
September 14	at Akron	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 27–10
September 21	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	W 24–7
September 28	Weber State*	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	W 31–24
October 5	Bowling Green	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH (rivalry)	W 24–16
October 19	at Louisiana Tech*	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	L 20–61	17,052	^[3]
October 26	Western Michigan	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	W 10–7 ^OT
November 2	Miami (OH)	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	L 7–27
November 9	Central Michigan	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	W 23–20
November 16	at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN	L 14–24
November 24	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	W 24–23
*Non-conference game

Roster

1996 Toledo Rockets football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense60 Paul Dalmas OG 6-3 280 Sr63 Jovan Ilich OL 6-2 270 Fr. Chicago, Ill. 89 Isaiah Jackson TE 6-4 225 So. Massillon, Ohio 84 Brock Kreitzburg FL 6-2 185 So. Akron, Ohio 71 Mike Lenix C 6-6 260 Jr. Toledo, Ohio 74 Chris Williams OT 6-6 290 Jr. Akron, Ohio 21 J.D. Williams TB 5-9 161 So. Palatine, Ill. 8 Vince Wilson HB 6-1 181 Sr. Santa Fe Springs, Calif. 1 Justin Wooley FB 5-11 215 So

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`4`	Chris Hall	Jr
QB	`10`	Ryan Huzjak	Sr
WR	`9`	Nate Jackson	Fr
OL	`61`	Jeff Ling	Fr
WR	`25`	David Livingston	So

Defense 58 John Brown DT 6-1 220 So. Bethesda, Ohio 15 Todd Burch CB 6-0 180 Fr. Warren, Ohio 57 Loren Burkey DE 6-3 236 Jr98 Rudy Lomberger DL 6-3 253 Fr. Schererville, Ind. 22 Philip Martin CB 5-9 170 Fr. Detroit, Mich. 30 Marcus Matthews LB 5-11 185 Jr. Akron, Ohio 54 Matt Vaillant LB 6-2 225 So. Toledo, Ohio