The 1996 season was legendary coach Gene Stallings’ last in Tuscaloosa, and it was moderately successful. The Tide won the SEC West with a 6-2 conference slate and lost to eventual national champion Florida in the SEC Championship Game, before closing out the season with an Outback Bowl victory over Michigan for a 10-3 final record. The shining moment of the season came in November when the Tide made the biennial trip to Baton Rouge.
Dennis Riddle was Alabama’s featured back that season and he was a good one, amassing more than 1300 yards from scrimmage and 14 TDs.