After not fielding a team during the previous year, 1896 featured Georgia Tech's fourth season of football.

[1] Over the summer, newly elected Georgia Tech President Lyman Hall developed plans to pay more attention to athletes than the school had done previously.

He initiated the hiring of new professors including one specifically to be placed in charge of training the football and baseball teams.

Wood, a formal football captain at Central University, was selected for the role and arrived on campus on September 15.

The fervor led to high expectations for the upcoming season and many students arrived at school early to begin training.

While Tech performed adequately against its lesser opponents, its easy defeat by Auburn showed that it was not ready to play against the power football schools of the south.

Mercer continued to have the upper hand and took the ball within six inches of the Tech goal, but a costly fumble stopped the attack.

Eventually, Georgia Tech was able to school a touchdown of their own and its successful extra points would decide the game 6-4.

While Georgia Tech won a close contest on a controversial extra point attempt, Auburn had easily beaten Mercer 46-0 in only a forty-minute match.

Georgia Tech had trouble moving the ball against Auburn and only came within ten yards of a touchdown one time.

[7] As it turned out, only a small crowd came to the game, but they brought self-made instruments that "made the air hideous with unearthly noises".

[12] Georgia Tech won the toss and deferred to Mercer who promptly fumbled the ball on its first play from scrimmage.

Spectacularly, the Mercer halfback, Glass, pulled the ball out of Ogletree's hands and ran the length of the field for a touchdown.

Mercer was able to steadily move the ball at the beginning of the half and Glass scored another touchdown after a few minutes.

An earlier event featuring a local performing a "daring" bike ride into the lake, caused the kickoff to be delayed.