| 1996Northwestern Wildcats football | |
|---|---|
Big Ten co-champion | |
Florida Citrus Bowl, L 28–48 vs.Tennessee | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 16 |
| AP | No. 15 |
| Record | 9–3 (7–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Greg Meyer (5th season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Ron Vanderlinden (5th season) |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Dyche Stadium |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2Ohio State + | 7 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15Northwestern + | 7 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7Penn State | 6 | – | 2 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18Iowa | 6 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20Michigan | 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team representedNorthwestern University in the1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Under head coachGary Barnett, Northwestern finished the season with a 9–3 record. The Wildcats won a share of theBig Ten Conference title. They faced off againstTennessee in theFlorida Citrus Bowl, where the Wildcats lost, 48–28.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 7 | 5:30 pm | atWake Forest* | No. 13 | SCC | L 27–28 | 21,749 | [2] | |
| September 14 | 2:30 pm | atDuke* | ABC | W 38–13 | 29,321 | [3] | ||
| September 21 | 11:30 am | Ohio* | SCC | W 28–7 | 38,148 | |||
| September 28 | 11:30 am | atIndiana | No. 25 | ESPN | W 35–17 | 36,714 | ||
| October 5 | 11:30 am | No. 6Michigan | No. 22 |
| ESPN | W 17–16 | 48,187 | |
| October 12 | 11:30 am | Minnesota | No. 15 |
| ESPN2 | W 26–24 | 35,848 | |
| October 19 | 11:30 am | atWisconsin | No. 14 | ESPN2 | W 34–30 | 79,576 | ||
| October 26 | 11:00 am | Illinois | No. 11 |
| ESPN Plus | W 27–24 | 48,187 | |
| November 2 | 2:30 pm | at No. 15Penn State | No. 11 | ABC | L 9–34 | 96,596 | ||
| November 9 | 2:30 pm | at No. 23Iowa | No. 18 | ABC | W 40–13 | 70,397 | ||
| November 16 | 1:00 pm | Purdue | No. 13 |
| W 27–24 | 41,178 | ||
| January 1 | 12:00 pm | vs. No. 9Tennessee* | No. 11 | ABC | L 28–48 | 63,467 | [4] | |
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| 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 | |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| •Wildcats | 7 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 34 |
| Badgers | 10 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 30 |
| 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 |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| •Wildcats | 3 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 40 |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| 1 | 0:52 | NW | Brian Gowins 23-yard field goal | NW 3–0 |
| 2 | 10:27 | NW | Darren Drexler 23-yard pass from D'wayne Bates (Brian Gowins kick) | NW 10–0 |
| 2 | 6:48 | IOWA | Tim Dwight 29-yard pass from Matt Sherman (Zach Bromert kick) | NW 10–7 |
| 2 | 0:00 | NW | Brian Gowins 22-yard field goal | NW 13–7 |
| 3 | 6:32 | NW | Darnell Autry 9-yard run (two point conversion failed) | NW 19–7 |
| 3 | 1:42 | NW | Darnell Autry 15-yard pass from Steve Schnur (Brian Gowins kick) | NW 26–7 |
| 4 | 14:53 | NW | Darnell Autry 41-yard run (Brian Gowins kick) | NW 33–7 |
| 4 | 12:19 | IOWA | Tavian Banks 10-yard pass from Matt Sherman (two-point conversion failed) | NW 33–13 |
| 4 | 7:31 | NW | Darnell Autry 18-yard run (Brian Gowins kick) | NW 40–13 |
Darnell Autry ran for 240 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Wildcats won back-to-back games against Iowa for the first time since 1966–67.[7]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| •Volunteers | 21 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 48 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| 1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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| Special teams
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| 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 |