American college football season
The 1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A college football season. Under head coach Gary Barnett, Northwestern finished the season with a 9–3 record. The Wildcats won a share of the Big Ten Conference title for the second straight year. They faced off against Tennessee in the Florida Citrus Bowl, where the Wildcats lost, 48–28.
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
---|
September 7 | 5:30 pm | at Wake Forest* | No. 13 | | SCC | L 27–28 | 21,749 | [2] |
September 14 | 2:30 pm | at Duke* | | | ABC | W 38–13 | 29,321 | [3] |
September 21 | 11:30 am | Ohio* | | | SCC | W 28–7 | 38,148 | |
September 28 | 11:30 am | at Indiana | No. 25 | | ESPN | W 35–17 | 36,714 | |
October 5 | 11:30 am | No. 6 Michigan | No. 22 | - Dyche Stadium
- Evanston, IL (rivalry)
| ESPN | W 17–16 | 48,187 | |
October 12 | 11:30 am | Minnesota | No. 15 | - Dyche Stadium
- Evanston, IL
| ESPN2 | W 26–24 | 35,848 | |
October 19 | 11:30 am | at Wisconsin | No. 14 | | ESPN2 | W 34–30 | 79,576 | |
October 26 | 11:00 am | Illinois | No. 11 | - Dyche Stadium
- Evanston, IL (rivalry)
| ESPN Plus | W 27–24 | 48,187 | |
November 2 | 2:30 pm | at No. 15 Penn State | No. 11 | | ABC | L 9–34 | 96,596 | |
November 9 | 2:30 pm | at No. 23 Iowa | No. 18 | | ABC | W 40–13 | 70,397 | |
November 16 | 1:00 pm | Purdue | No. 13 | - Dyche Stadium
- Evanston, IL
| | W 27–24 | 41,178 | |
January 1 | 12:00 pm | vs. No. 9 Tennessee* | No. 11 | | ABC | L 28–48 | 63,467 | [4] |
- *Non-conference game
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Central time
|
Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked | Week |
---|
Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
---|
AP | 18 | 15 | 13 | — | — | 25 | 22 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 15 |
---|
Coaches | 19 | | 18 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 16 |
---|
[5]
Game summaries
Wake Forest
Duke
Ohio
Indiana
Michigan
Minnesota
Wisconsin
#14 Northwestern at Wisconsin
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Wildcats |
7 |
7 | 6 | 14 |
34 |
Badgers |
10 |
3 | 3 | 14 |
30 |
|
|
|
[6]
Illinois
Penn State
Iowa
#18 Northwestern at #23 Iowa
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Wildcats |
3 |
10 | 13 | 14 |
40 |
Hawkeyes |
0 |
7 | 0 | 6 |
13 |
|
|
|
[7]
Purdue
Florida Citrus Bowl
#9 Tennessee vs. #11 Northwestern
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Volunteers |
21 |
10 | 7 | 10 |
48 |
Wildcats |
0 |
21 | 0 | 7 |
28 |
|
Roster
1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
|
Players
|
Coaches
|
Offense
|
Defense
|
Special teams
|
- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster
|
Awards and honors
Team players drafted into the NFL
[8]
References
- ^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 149. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ "Wake Forest shocks Cats". The Daily Herald. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sweet return trip; With something to prove, NU delivers". Chicago Tribune. September 15, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cats a lemon in Citrus". Chicago Tribune. January 2, 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Northwestern 1996 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ "Northwestern vs. Wisconsin". USA Today. October 19, 1996. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ "Northwestern vs. Iowa". USA Today. November 9, 1996. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
- ^ "1997 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
|
---|
Venues | |
---|
Bowls & rivalries | |
---|
Culture and lore | |
---|
People | |
---|
Seasons | |
---|
|
---|
Western Conference | |
---|
Big Ten | |
---|
Big Nine | |
---|
Big Ten | |
---|
National championships in bold |
Recent Comments