1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team

1996 Northwestern Wildcats football
Big Ten Co-Champions
Florida Citrus Bowl vs. Tennessee, L 48–28
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#16
AP	#15
1996 record	9–3 (7–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Gary Barnett
Home stadium	Dyche Stadium (Capacity: 48,187)

1996 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#2 Ohio State +		7	–	1					11	–	1
#15 Northwestern +		7	–	1					9	–	3
#7 Penn State		6	–	2					11	–	2
#18 Iowa		6	–	2					9	–	3
#20 Michigan		5	–	3					8	–	4
Michigan State		5	–	3					6	–	6
Wisconsin		3	–	5					8	–	5
Purdue		2	–	6					3	–	8
Minnesota		1	–	7					4	–	7
Indiana		1	–	7					3	–	8
Illinois		1	–	7					2	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A college football season.

Season

Northwestern finished the season with a 9–3 record. Under head coach Gary Barnett, the Wildcats won a share of the Big Ten title for the second straight year. They faced off against Tennessee in the Florida Citrus Bowl where the Wilcats' season came to an abrupt halt with a 48–28 loss.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 6	5:30 PM	at Wake Forest*	#13	Groves Stadium • Winston-Salem, NC	SCC	L 27–28	21,749
September 14	2:30 PM	at Duke*		Wallace Wade Stadium • Durham, NC	ABC	W 38–13	29,321
September 21	11:30 AM	Ohio*		Dyche Stadium • Evanston, IL	SCC	W 28–7	38,148
September 28	11:30 AM	Indiana	#25	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ESPN	W 35–17	36,714
October 5	11:30 AM	#6 Michigan	#22	Dyche Stadium • Evanston, IL	ABC	W 17–16	48,187
October 12	11:30 AM	Minnesota	#15	Dyche Stadium • Evanston, IL	ESPN2	W 26–24	35,848
October 19	11:30 AM	at Wisconsin	#14	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	ESPN2	W 34–30	79,576
October 26	11:00 AM	Illinois	#11	Dyche Stadium • Evanston, IL	ESPN+	W 27–24	48,187
November 2	2:30 PM	at #15 Penn State	#11	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ABC	L 9–34	96,596
November 9	2:30 PM	at #23 Iowa	#18	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	ABC	W 40–13	70,397
November 16	1:00 PM	Purdue	#13	Dyche Stadium • Evanston, IL		W 27–24	41,178
January 1	12:00 PM	vs. #9 Tennessee*	#11	Florida Citrus Bowl • Orlando, FL (Florida Citrus Bowl)	ABC	L 28–48	63,467
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

^[1]

Season summary

Wisconsin

#14 Northwestern at Wisconsin

1 2 3 4 Total • Northwestern 7 7 6 14 34 Wisconsin 10 3 3 14 30 Date: October 19 Location: Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin Game attendance: 79,576 Game weather: Sunny TV announcers (ESPN): Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson

Scoring summary 1 13:44 WIS Bob Adamov recovered fumble in end zone (John Hall kick) Wisconsin 7-0 1 9:08 NW Darnell Autry 20-yard run (Brian Gowins kick) Tie 7-7 1 3:53 WIS John Hall 50-yard field goal Wisconsin 10-7 2 9:15 WIS John Hall 29-yard field goal Wisconsin 13-7 2 3:59 NW D'Wayne Bates 12-yard pass from Steve Schnur (Brian Gowins kick) Northwestern 14-13 3 9:58 WIS John Hall 21-yard field goal Wisconsin 16-14 3 4:38 NW Adrian Autry 14-yard run (two-point conversion failed) Northwestern 20-16 4 14:57 WIS Ron Dayne 7-yard run (John Hall kick) Wisconsin 23-20 4 13:31 WIS Cecil Martin 2-yard run (John Hall kick) Wisconsin 30-20 4 5:02 NW Adrian Autry 2-yard run (Brian Gowins kick) Wisconsin 30-27 4 :37 NW D'Wayne Bates 20-yard pass from Steve Schnur (Brian Gowins kick) Northwestern 34-30

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Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Darnell Autry	Running back	4	105	Chicago Bears
Tim Scharf	Linebacker	6	164	New York Jets
Hudhaifa Ismaeli	Defensive back	7	203	Miami Dolphins

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References

1. http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=100&season=1996
2. USA Today
3. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1997.htm