1996 NCAA Division I-A football season

American college football season August 2023 December 2025 1996 File:NCAA primary logo 1980.svg 111http://www.jhowell.net/cf/cf1996.htm 1996 NCAA Division IA Football Power Ratings www.jhowell.net 23 March 2018 Nebraskahttp://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=769 Archived copy 2009-01-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20111002005812/http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=769 2011-10-02 dead 18 Bowl Alliance Championship 1997 Sugar Bowl Louisiana Superdome,New Orleans, Louisiana Florida (AP, Coaches, FWAA) Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel The 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Florida Gators being crowned National Champions after defeating rival Florida State in the Sugar Bowl, which was the season's designated Bowl Alliance national championship game. Florida had faced Florida State earlier in the year, when they were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, and lost 24–21. However, unranked Texas's upset of No. 3 Nebraska in the first ever Big 12 Championship Game set up the rematch of in-state rivals in New Orleans. In the Sugar Bowl, Florida's Heisman Trophy-winning senior quarterback Danny Wuerffel and head coach Steve Spurrier led the Gators to a 52–20 victory and their first national championship. Because the Pac-10 and Big Ten Conferences were not yet part of the Bowl Alliance, their champions met in the Rose Bowl as they had for decades. In 1996, these conference champions were potential national title contenders in No. 2 Arizona State and No. 4 Ohio State. In a close Rose Bowl contest, Arizona State's Jake Plummer ran for a touchdown with 1:40 left to play to give his team the lead, but Ohio State responded with its own touchdown drive led by backup quarterback Joe Germaine and won 20–17. Ohio State finished No. 2 in the final AP poll behind No. 1 Florida, and Arizona State finished No. 4 behind Florida State. The poll results helped push the Pac-10 and Big Ten to give up their Rose Bowl tradition. Before the 1998 season, they both agreed to join an expanded Bowl Championship Series (BCS) agreement, giving their programs a chance to play in a national championship game. Another controversy that led to the creation of the BCS was that No. 5 BYU was not invited to a major bowl game but were snubbed in favor of lower ranked teams from Bowl Alliance conferences. The 1996 season saw ongoing realignment of many conferences. One of the most notable developments was the creation of the Big 12 Conference, which consisted of programs from the old Big 8 along with four former members of the dissolved Southwest Conference, namely Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor. The Big 12 began play as a two division conference, with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State joining the South Division, breaking up the classic Nebraska–Oklahoma rivalry, but making the Texas–Oklahoma rivalry, known as the Red River Shootout into a conference game. The first Big 12 football game featured Texas Tech and Kansas State. Kansas State won by a score of 21–14. The 1996 season was also notable as it marked the end of ties in college football, as an overtime system was put into place across all of Division I. Though it has been modified slightly, the "Kansas Playoff" overtime rules have been used ever since. (The 1995 season also had overtime rules, but only for postseason games. These rules were first used in the 1995 Las Vegas Bowl between Toledo and Nevada.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FIokAAAAIBAJ&pg=4726%2C1488314 Moscow-Pullman Daily News Idaho-Washington Associated Press No more ties: NDAA D-I football adds tiebreakers February 17, 1996 4D) Rule changes The overtime system adopted in the 1995 season for bowl games was expanded for all Division I-A games. On punts and field goal attempts, the defense cannot touch the center/long snapper for one second after the snap. Violators are penalized 15 yards and an automatic first down. Officials were instructed to more strictly enforce intentional grounding rules. Conference realignment Four teams upgraded from Division I-AA prior to the season and one university dropped its football program. As such, the total number of Division I-A schools increased to 111. The Big 12 Conference began play this season after a merger between the Big 8 Conference and four members of the former Southwest Conference (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor). The new 12-member conference was divided into two, six-team divisions. Conference USA was formed prior to the season after a merger between two conferences that had previously not sponsored football, the Metro Conference and the Great Midwest Conference. Members of the new league included SWC member Houston (from the former Southwest Conference) and five long-time independents: Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, Southern Miss, and Tulane. C-USA was given a tie-in with the Liberty Bowl for its league champion. The Western Athletic Conference, in turn, accepted TCU, SMU, and Rice from the SWC, UNLV and San Jose State from the Big West, and independent Tulsa. These moves pushed the WAC's membership to 16 and resulted in the creation of two divisions (Pacific and Mountain) and a league championship game. The Big West Conference also saw Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois, and Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana–Lafayette) depart to become independents. All four teams had joined the Big West in football only in 1993, remaining in more geographically-appropriate conferences for other sports. Pacific dropped their football team after the 1995 season. The Tigers had been a member of the Big West. Four teams upgraded from Division I-AA prior to the season: Alabama–Birmingham (UAB), Boise State, Central Florida, and Idaho. Boise State, Idaho, and previously independent North Texas joined the Big West, while UAB and UCF became Division I-A independents. Conference changes School 1995 Conference 1996 Conference Alabama–Birmingham Blazers I-AA Independent I-A Independent Arkansas State Indians Big West I-A Independent Baylor Bears SWC Big 12 Boise State Broncos Big Sky (I-AA) Big West (I-A) Central Florida Knights I-AA Independent I-A Independent Colorado Buffaloes Big 8 Big 12 Cincinnati Bearcats I-A Independent Conference USA Houston Cougars SWC Conference USA Idaho Vandals Big Sky (I-AA) Big West (I-A) Iowa State Cyclones Big 8 Big 12 Kansas Jayhawks Big 8 Big 12 Kansas State Wildcats Big 8 Big 12 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Big West I-A Independent Louisville Cardinals I-A Independent Conference USA Memphis Tigers I-A Independent Conference USA Missouri Tigers Big 8 Big 12 Nebraska Cornhuskers Big 8 Big 12 North Texas Mean Green I-A Independent Big West Northern Illinois Huskies Big West I-A Independent Oklahoma Sooners Big 8 Big 12 Oklahoma State Cowboys Big 8 Big 12 Pacific Tigers Big West Dropped Program Rice Owls SWC WAC San Jose State Spartans Big West WAC SMU Mustangs SWC WAC Southern Miss Golden Eagles I-A Independent Conference USA Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Big West I-A Independent TCU Horned Frogs SWC WAC Texas Longhorns SWC Big 12 Texas A&M Aggies SWC Big 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders SWC Big 12 Tulane Green Wave I-A Independent Conference USA Tulsa Golden Hurricane I-A Independent WAC UNLV Rebels Big West WAC Regular season August–September Two-time defending champion Nebraska was heavily favored to win a third straight national title, and the Cornhuskers were followed in the preseason AP Poll by No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Florida, and No. 5 Colorado. August 31: No. 1 Nebraska and No. 3 Florida State had not begun their schedules. No. 2 Tennessee overwhelmed UNLV 62-3, No. 4 Florida defeated Southwestern Louisiana 55-21, and No. 5 Colorado beat Washington State 37-19. The top five remained the same in the next poll. September 7: No. 1 Nebraska opened with a 55-14 win over Michigan State, No. 2 Tennessee beat UCLA 35-20, No. 3 Florida State defeated Duke 44-7, No. 4 Florida prevailed 62-14 over Georgia Southern, and No. 5 Colorado won 48-34 at Colorado State. The top five again remained the same. September 14: The only top-five team active this weekend was No. 5 Colorado, who committed 14 penalties (one of which nullified a game-tying touchdown) in a 20-13 loss to No. 11 Michigan. No. 6 Penn State shut out Northern Illinois 49-0 and moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Florida, and No. 5 Penn State. September 19–21: No. 1 Nebraska took a 26-game winning streak into their matchup with No. 17 Arizona State, a team they had defeated by 49 points the previous year. However, the Sun Devils completely neutralized the Cornhuskers’ offense in a 19-0 shutout win, Nebraska’s first loss since the 1993 national title game. In a matchup of SEC contenders, No. 4 Florida took a 35-0 second-quarter lead over No. 2 Tennessee and held off a Volunteers comeback for a 35-29 victory. No. 3 Florida State won 51-17 at North Carolina State, No. 5 Penn State shut out Temple 41-0, No. 7 Ohio State blanked Pittsburgh 72-0, and No. 9 Notre Dame beat No. 6 Texas 27-24 on a field goal as time expired. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Notre Dame. September 28: No. 1 Florida dominated Kentucky 65-0, and No. 2 Florida State shut out No. 11 North Carolina 13-0. No. 3 Penn State earned a 23-20 win at Wisconsin, but No. 4 Ohio State was more impressive in a 29-16 victory at No. 5 Notre Dame. No. 6 Arizona State beat Oregon 48-27 to move into the top five: No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Penn State, and No. 5 Arizona State. October October 5: No. 1 Florida won 42-7 at Arkansas, and No. 2 Florida State defeated Clemson 34-3. In their second top-five matchup in two weeks, No. 3 Ohio State looked dominant in a 38-7 rout of No. 4 Penn State. No. 5 Arizona State beat Boise State 56-7, and No. 7 Nebraska overwhelmed No. 16 Kansas State 39-3 to move back into the top five: No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Arizona State, and No. 5 Nebraska. October 12: No. 1 Florida defeated No. 12 LSU 56-13. After two straight wins over highly-ranked opponents, No. 2 Ohio State needed a fourth-quarter comeback to escape unranked Wisconsin 17-14. No. 3 Florida State visited No. 6 Miami and beat their rivals 34-16. No. 4 Arizona State came back from a 21-point deficit to win 42-34 at UCLA. No. 5 Nebraska shut out Baylor 49-0, and the top five remained the same in the next poll. October 19: No. 1 Florida dominated another ranked SEC opponent, winning 51-10 over No. 16 Auburn. No. 2 Ohio State won 42-14 at Purdue. No. 3 Florida State was idle. No. 4 Arizona State fell behind again and again in their game against USC but made three game-tying drives in regulation and another one in overtime. After taking their first lead of the game in double overtime, the Sun Devils put the game away with an 85-yard fumble return for a 48-35 final score. No. 5 Nebraska defeated Texas Tech 24-10, and the top five again remained the same. October 26: No. 1 Florida was idle. No. 2 Ohio State visited No. 20 Iowa for a 38-26 win. No. 3 Florida State faced No. 14 Virginia, who had defeated them in a major upset the previous year, and the Seminoles got their revenge with a 31-24 victory. No. 4 Arizona State won 41-9 at Stanford, and No. 5 Nebraska beat Kansas 63-7. The top five again remained the same. November–December November 2: No. 1 Florida defeated Georgia 47-7, No. 2 Ohio State blanked Minnesota 45-0, No. 3 Florida State won 49-3 at Georgia Tech, No. 4 Arizona State visited Oregon State for a 29-14 victory, and No. 5 Nebraska blasted Oklahoma 73-21. The top five were the same yet again. November 9: With all of the top-ranking teams on long winning streaks, several conference races were effectively over by early November. No. 1 Florida had an unexpectedly hard time with last-place Vanderbilt, but held on for a 28-21 win which clinched the SEC Eastern Division title for the Gators. No. 2 Ohio State posted their second straight shutout, 48-0 at Illinois. No. 3 Florida State wrapped up the ACC title with a 44-7 victory at Wake Forest, while No. 4 Arizona State earned the Pac-10 crown with a 35-7 defeat of California. No. 5 Nebraska beat Missouri 51-7, and the top five continued to stay the same. November 16: No. 1 Florida defeated South Carolina 52-25, No. 2 Ohio State clinched the Big Ten title with a 27-17 win at Indiana, and No. 3 Florida State beat No. 25 Southern Mississippi 54-14. No. 4 Arizona State was idle, while No. 5 Nebraska won 49-14 at Iowa State. The top five remained unchanged for the fifth consecutive week. November 23: No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Florida State were idle as they prepared for their upcoming game against each other. For the third time in four years, No. 2 Ohio State was undefeated going into their season-ending contest with archrival Michigan. In both 1993 and 1995, the Wolverines had spoiled the Buckeyes’ perfect record—and the result was the same in 1996, as No. 21 Michigan held OSU without a touchdown in a 13-9 come-from-behind victory which dropped Ohio State coach John Cooper’s career record against Michigan to 1-7-1. No. 4 Arizona State, soon to be the Buckeyes’ opponent in the Rose Bowl, did manage to complete a perfect regular season with a 56-14 win at Arizona. No. 5 Nebraska and No. 6 Colorado, who would play each other the following week, were both idle. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Arizona State, No. 4 Nebraska, and No. 5 Colorado. November 29–30: No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Florida State, both undefeated, met with a spot in the national title game seemingly on the line. The Seminoles jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and held off a late Gators comeback to earn a 24-21 victory. No. 3 Arizona State, the only other undefeated team, had finished their schedule. No. 4 Nebraska and No. 5 Colorado, both with one loss, faced each other for the championship of the new Big 12 Northern Division, and the Cornhuskers prevailed 17-12 on a rain-soaked field. The next poll featured No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Arizona State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Florida, and No. 5 Ohio State. No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Arizona State, the only two undefeated teams at the end of the regular season, could not play each other for the national title; as the winner of the Pac-10, Arizona State was contractually obligated to meet Big Ten champ Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. In previous years, No. 3 Nebraska would have been the next team in line to face Florida State. However, due to the recent merger between the Big 8 and SWC, the Cornhuskers needed to play one more game before heading into the bowls. In the first-ever Big 12 Championship Game on December 7, Nebraska faced off against Texas. The unranked Longhorns trailed in the fourth quarter, but scored two late touchdowns to pull off a 37-27 upset. Later that day, No. 4 Florida beat No. 11 Alabama, 45–30, in the SEC Championship Game to move back ahead of Nebraska in the final pre-bowl poll. No. 6 Brigham Young, with a 28-25 overtime defeat of No. 20 Wyoming in the WAC Championship Game, also moved up: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 Arizona State, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Brigham Young. Therefore, just a month after their previous meeting, Florida State and Florida were set for a rematch in the Sugar Bowl. The Rose Bowl between Arizona State and Ohio State would also have national title implications, especially if the Seminoles lost and the Sun Devils won. The major games were rounded out by No. 5 Brigham Young and No. 14 Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl, No. 6 Nebraska and No. 10 Virginia Tech in the Orange, and No. 7 Penn State and No. 20 Texas in the Fiesta. Conference standings I-AA team wins over I-A teams Italics denotes I-AA teams. no no August 29 no 25 (I-AA) Eastern Illinois Western Michigan Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, Michigan no 28–20 FCS wins vs. FBS teams: All-time victories, upsets, wins vs. ranked teams https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/fcs-wins-vs-fbs-teams-all-time-victories-upsets NCAA.com September 7, 2025 October 2, 2025 September 7 no 2 (I-AA) Montana Oregon State Parker Stadium Corvallis, Oregon no 35–14 28,166 September 7 no Western Illinois Northern Illinois Huskie Stadium DeKalb, Illinois no 17–0 21,370 September 14 no Eastern Washington Boise State Bronco Stadium Boise, Idaho no 27–21 18,595 September 21 no Cal State Northridge New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, New Mexico no 33–0 12,259 September 28 no 22 (I-AA) Northwestern State Boise State Bronco Stadium Boise, Idaho no 20–16 18,893 September 28 no Idaho Southwest Texas State Bobcat Stadium San Marcos, Texas no 21–27 7,047 Bowl Alliance first and seconds The Bowl Alliance did not include the Pacific-10 and Big 10 conferences, whose champions played in the Rose Bowl. Thus, Arizona State and Ohio State (who met in the Rose Bowl) were excluded from the Bowl Alliance championship. WEEKS First Conf. Second Conf. Event Date PRE-4 Nebraska Big 12 Tennessee SEC Arizona St. 19, Nebraska 0 September 21 5-6 Florida SEC Florida State ACC Ohio State 38, Penn State 7 October 5 7-14 Florida SEC No. 3 Florida State ACC Florida St. 24, Florida 21 November 30 15 Florida State ACC No. 3 Nebraska Big 12 Texas 37, Nebraska 27 December 7 16 Florida State ACC No. 3 Florida SEC Florida 52, Florida State 20 January 1 Bowl games 1996–97 NCAA football bowl games Sugar Bowl No. 3 Florida 52 No. 1 Florida St. 20 1/2/97Rose Bowl: No. 4 Ohio State 20 No. 2 Arizona St. 17 1/1/97Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 5 Brigham Young 19 No. 14 Kansas St. 15 1/1/97Fiesta Bowl: No. 7 Penn State 38 No. 20 Texas 15 1/1/971997 Florida Citrus Bowl Florida Citrus Bowl Florida Citrus Bowl: No. 9 Tennessee 48 No. 11 Northwestern 28 1/1/971997 Gator Bowl Gator Bowl Gator Bowl: No. 12 North Carolina 20No. 25 West Virginia 13 1/1/97Outback Bowl: No. 16 Alabama 17No. 15 Michigan 14 1/1/97Orange Bowl: No. 6 Nebraska 41 No. 10 Virginia Tech 21 12/31/96Sun Bowl: Stanford 38 Michigan State 0 12/31/96 1996 Independence Bowl Independence Bowl Independence Bowl Auburn 32 No. 24 Army 29 12/31/96Holiday Bowl: No. 8 Colorado 33 No. 13 Washington 21 12/30/96Alamo Bowl: No. 21 Iowa 27 Texas Tech 0 12/29/961996 Peach Bowl Peach Bowl Peach BowlNo. 17 LSU 10 Clemson 7 12/28/961996 Carquest Bowl Carquest Bowl Carquest BowlNo. 19 Miami (FL) 31 Virginia 21 12/27/961996 Liberty Bowl Liberty Bowl Liberty BowlNo. 23 Syracuse 30 Houston 17 12/27/96Copper Bowl: Wisconsin 38Utah 10 12/27/96Aloha Bowl Navy 42 California 38 12/25/96Las Vegas Bowl Nevada 18 Ball State 15 12/18/96 Final AP Poll 1996 NCAA Division I-A football rankings Florida Ohio St. Florida St. Arizona St. BYU Nebraska Penn St. Colorado Tennessee North Carolina Alabama LSU Virginia Tech Miami (FL) Northwestern Washington Kansas St. Iowa Notre Dame Michigan Syracuse Wyoming Texas Auburn Army Others receiving votes: 26. West Virginia; 27. East Carolina; 28. Southern Mississippi; 29. Stanford; 30. Wisconsin; 31. San Diego St.; 32. Virginia; 33. Clemson Final Coaches Poll 1996 NCAA Division I-A football rankings Florida Ohio St. Florida St. Arizona St. Brigham Young Nebraska Penn St. Colorado Tennessee North Carolina Alabama Virginia Tech LSU Miami (FL) Washington Northwestern Kansas St. Iowa Syracuse Michigan Notre Dame Wyoming Texas Army Auburn Heisman Trophy voting The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total Danny Wuerffel Florida QB 300 158 147 1,363 Troy Davis Iowa State RB 209 206 135 1,174 Jake Plummer Arizona State QB 116 113 111 685 Orlando Pace Ohio State OT 87 101 136 599 Warrick Dunn Florida State RB 40 76 69 341 Byron Hanspard Texas Tech RB 15 68 70 251 Darnell Autry Northwestern RB 9 10 20 85 Peyton Manning Tennessee QB 4 23 23 81 Marcus Harris Wyoming WR 7 7 18 53 Beau Morgan Air Force QB 3 3 11 26 Other major awards Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) - Danny Wuerffel, Florida Walter Camp Award (Player of the Year) - Danny Wuerffel, Florida Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) - Danny Wuerffel, Florida Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Senior Quarterback) - Danny Wuerffel, Florida Doak Walker Award (Running Back) - Byron Hanspard, Texas Tech Fred Biletnikoff Award (Wide Receiver) - Marcus Harris, Wyoming Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Defensive Player) - Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker) - Matt Russell, Colorado Lombardi Award (Lineman or Linebacker) - Orlando Pace, Ohio State Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) - Orlando Pace, OT, Ohio State Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back) - Lawrence Wright, Florida Lou Groza Award (Placekicker) - Tony DeGiovanni, University of Miami Paul "Bear" Bryant Award - Bruce Snyder, Arizona St. Attendances Average home attendance top 3: Rank Team Average 1 Michigan Wolverines 105,932 2 Tennessee Volunteers 105,418 3 Penn State Nittany Lions 96,167 Source:Football Records https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/Attend.pdf ATTENDANCE RECORDS References