1996 NCAA Division I-A football season

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 #1 and #2, and lost 24-21. However, unranked Texas's upset of #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.

1996 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams	111[1]
Preseason AP No. 1	Nebraska[2]
Post-season
Bowl games	18
Heisman Trophy	Danny Wuerffel (quarterback, Florida)
Bowl Alliance Championship
1997 Sugar Bowl
Site	Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Champion(s)	Florida
Division I-A football seasons
← 1995 1997 →

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 #2 Arizona State and #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 #2 in the final AP poll behind #1 Florida, and Arizona State finished #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 #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 renewing the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry, known as the Red River Shootout. The first Big 12 football game featured Texas Tech and Kansas State. Kansas State won by a score of 21–14.[3]

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, and they were not used since none of the affected games ended regulation play in a tie.[4])

Rule changes

• The overtime system adopted in the 1995 season for bowl games was expanded for all Division I-A games.[4]
• 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

Conference standings

1996 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 3 Florida State $   8 – 0         11 – 1   No. 10 North Carolina   6 – 2         10 – 2   Clemson   6 – 2         7 – 5   Virginia   5 – 3         7 – 5   Georgia Tech   4 – 4         5 – 6   Maryland   3 – 5         5 – 6   NC State   3 – 5         3 – 8   Wake Forest   1 – 7         3 – 8   Duke   0 – 8         0 – 11   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1996 Big 12 Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Northern Division No. 6 Nebraska x%   8 – 0         11 – 2   No. 8 Colorado   7 – 1         10 – 2   No. 17 Kansas State   6 – 2         9 – 3   Missouri   3 – 5         5 – 6   Kansas   2 – 6         4 – 7   Iowa State   1 – 7         2 – 9   Southern Division No. 23 Texas x$   6 – 2         8 – 5   Texas Tech   5 – 3         7 – 5   Texas A&M   4 – 4         6 – 6   Oklahoma   3 – 5         3 – 8   Oklahoma State   2 – 6         5 – 6   Baylor   1 – 7         4 – 7   Championship: Texas 37, Nebraska 27 x – Division champion/co-champions $ – Bowl Alliance representative as champion % – Bowl Alliance at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll	1996 Big East Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 13 Virginia Tech +   6 – 1         10 – 2   No. 14 Miami (FL) +   6 – 1         9 – 3   No. 21 Syracuse +   6 – 1         9 – 3   West Virginia   4 – 3         8 – 4   Pittsburgh   3 – 4         4 – 7   Boston College   2 – 5         5 – 7   Rutgers   1 – 6         2 – 9   Temple   0 – 7         1 – 10   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
1996 Big Ten Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 2 Ohio State +   7 – 1         11 – 1   No. 15 Northwestern +   7 – 1         9 – 3   No. 7 Penn State   6 – 2         11 – 2   No. 18 Iowa   6 – 2         9 – 3   No. 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	1996 Big West Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Nevada +   4 – 1         9 – 3   Utah State +   4 – 1         6 – 5   Idaho   3 – 2         6 – 5   North Texas   3 – 2         5 – 6   Boise State   1 – 4         2 – 10   New Mexico State   0 – 5         1 – 10   + – Conference co-champions	1996 Conference USA football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Southern Miss +   4 – 1         8 – 3   Houston +   4 – 1         7 – 5   Cincinnati   2 – 3         6 – 5   Louisville   2 – 3         5 – 6   Memphis   2 – 3         4 – 7   Tulane   1 – 4         2 – 9   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
1996 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Ball State $   7 – 1         8 – 4   Toledo   6 – 2         7 – 4   Miami   6 – 2         6 – 5   Ohio   5 – 3         6 – 6   Central Michigan   4 – 4         5 – 6   Akron   3 – 5         4 – 7   Bowling Green   3 – 5         4 – 7   Eastern Michigan   3 – 5         3 – 8   Western Michigan   2 – 6         2 – 9   Kent State   1 – 7         2 – 9   $ – Conference champion	1996 Pacific-10 Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 4 Arizona State $   8 – 0         11 – 1   No. 16 Washington   7 – 1         9 – 3   Stanford   5 – 3         7 – 5   UCLA   4 – 4         5 – 6   Oregon   3 – 5         6 – 5   California   3 – 5         6 – 6   USC   3 – 5         6 – 6   Arizona   3 – 5         5 – 6   Washington State   3 – 5         5 – 6   Oregon State   1 – 7         2 – 9   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1996 Southeastern Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Eastern Division No. 1 Florida x$   8 – 0         12 – 1   No. 9 Tennessee   7 – 1         10 – 2   South Carolina   4 – 4         6 – 5   Kentucky   3 – 5         4 – 7   Georgia   3 – 5         5 – 6   Vanderbilt   0 – 8         2 – 9   Western Division No. 11 Alabama xy   6 – 2         10 – 3   No. 12 LSU x   6 – 2         10 – 2   No. 24 Auburn   4 – 4         8 – 4   Mississippi State   3 – 5         5 – 6   Ole Miss   2 – 6         5 – 6   Arkansas   2 – 6         4 – 7   Championship: Florida 45, Alabama 30 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll
1996 Western Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Mountain Division No. 5 BYU x$   8 – 0         14 – 1   Utah   6 – 2         8 – 4   Rice   6 – 2         7 – 4   SMU   4 – 4         5 – 6   New Mexico   3 – 5         6 – 5   TCU   3 – 5         4 – 7   Tulsa   2 – 6         4 – 7   UTEP   0 – 8         2 – 9   Pacific Division No. 22 Wyoming x   7 – 1         10 – 2   San Diego State   6 – 2         8 – 3   Colorado State   6 – 2         7 – 5   Air Force   5 – 3         6 – 5   Fresno State   3 – 5         4 – 7   San Jose State   3 – 5         3 – 9   Hawaii   1 – 7         2 – 10   UNLV   1 – 8         1 – 11   Championship: BYU 28, Wyoming 25 ^OT $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1996 NCAA Division I-A independents football records Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   No. 25 Army   –         10 – 2   Navy   –         9 – 3   No. 19 Notre Dame   –         8 – 3   East Carolina   –         8 – 3   Louisiana Tech   –         6 – 5   UAB   –         5 – 6   UCF   –         5 – 6   Southwestern Louisiana   –         5 – 6   Northeast Louisiana   –         5 – 6   Arkansas State   –         4 – 7   Northern Illinois   –         1 – 10   Rankings from AP Poll

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	#3 Florida State	ACC	Florida St. 24, Florida 21	November 30
15	Florida State	ACC	#3 Nebraska	Big 12	Texas 37, Nebraska 27	December 7
16	Florida State	ACC	#3 Florida	SEC	Florida 52, Florida State 20	January 1

Bowl games

Main article: 1996–97 NCAA football bowl games

Sugar Bowl	#3 Florida	52	#1 Florida St.	20	1/2/97
Rose Bowl:	#4 Ohio St.	20	#2 Arizona St.	17	1/1/97
Cotton Bowl Classic:	#5 Brigham Young	19	#14 Kansas St.	15	1/1/97
Fiesta Bowl:	#7 Penn State	38	#20 Texas	15	1/1/97
Florida Citrus Bowl:	#9 Tennessee	48	#11 Northwestern	28	1/1/97
Gator Bowl:	#12 North Carolina	20	#25 West Virginia	13	1/1/97
Outback Bowl:	#16 Alabama	17	#15 Michigan	14	1/1/97
Peach Bowl	#17 LSU	10	Clemson	7	1/1/97
Orange Bowl:	#6 Nebraska	41	#10 Virginia Tech	21	12/31/96
Sun Bowl:	Stanford	38	Michigan State	0	12/31/96
Independence Bowl	Auburn	32	#24 Army	29	12/31/96
Holiday Bowl:	#8 Colorado	33	#13 Washington	21	12/30/96
Alamo Bowl:	#21 Iowa	27	Texas Tech	0	12/29/96
Carquest Bowl	#19 Miami (FL)	31	Virginia	21	12/27/96
Liberty Bowl	#23 Syracuse	30	Houston	17	12/27/96
Copper Bowl:	Wisconsin	38	Utah	10	12/27/96
Aloha Bowl	Navy	42	California	38	12/25/96
Las Vegas Bowl	Nevada	18	Ball State	15	12/18/96

Final AP Poll

Main article: 1996 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

1. Florida
2. Ohio St.
3. Florida St.
4. Arizona St.
5. BYU
6. Nebraska
7. Penn St.
8. Colorado
9. Tennessee
10. North Carolina
11. Alabama
12. LSU
13. Virginia Tech
14. Miami (FL)
15. Northwestern
16. Washington
17. Kansas St.
18. Iowa
19. Notre Dame
20. Michigan
21. Syracuse
22. Wyoming
23. Texas
24. Auburn
25. 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

Main article: 1996 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

1. Florida
2. Ohio St.
3. Florida St.
4. Arizona St.
5. Brigham Young
6. Nebraska
7. Penn St.
8. Colorado
9. Tennessee
10. North Carolina
11. Alabama
12. Virginia Tech
13. LSU
14. Miami (FL)
15. Washington
16. Northwestern
17. Kansas St.
18. Iowa
19. Syracuse
20. Michigan
21. Notre Dame
22. Wyoming
23. Texas
24. Army
25. Auburn

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the Most Outstanding Player of the year
Winner: Danny Wuerffel, Florida, Quarterback (1363 points)

• 2. Troy Davis, Iowa St., RB (1174 points)
• 3. Jake Plummer, Arizona St., QB (685 points)
• 4. Orlando Pace, Ohio St., OT (599 points)
• 5. Warrick Dunn, Florida St., RB (341 points)

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, Florida
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award - Bruce Snyder, Arizona St.

References

1. "1996 NCAA Division IA Football Power Ratings". www.jhowell.net. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2009-01-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. DeLassus, David. "Kansas State University football records--1996". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
4. "No more ties: NDAA D-I football adds tiebreakers". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). Associated Press. February 17, 1996. p. 4D.