1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team
American college football season
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The 1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Under head coach Gary Barnett, Northwestern finished the season with a 9–3 record.[2] The Wildcats won a share of the Big Ten Conference title. They faced off against Tennessee in the Florida Citrus Bowl, where the Wildcats lost, 48–28.
| 1996 Northwestern Wildcats football | |
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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 |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | [3] | |
| September 14 | 2:30 pm | at Duke* | ABC | W 38–13 | 29,321 | [4] | ||
| 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 |
| 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 | at Wisconsin | 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. 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 |
| W 27–24 | 41,178 | ||
| January 1 | 12:00 pm | vs. No. 9 Tennessee* | No. 11 | ABC | L 28–48 | 63,467 | [5] | |
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Rankings
Game summaries
at Wake Forest
at Duke
Ohio
at Indiana
No. 6 Michigan
Minnesota
at Wisconsin
#14 Northwestern at Wisconsin
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Wildcats | 7 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 34 |
| Badgers | 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
| 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 |
Illinois
Penn State
at No. 23 Iowa
#18 Northwestern at #23 Iowa
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Wildcats | 3 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 40 |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
- Date: November 9
- Location: Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA
- Game attendance: 70,397
- Television network: ABC
| 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]
Purdue
vs. No. 9 Tennessee (Florida Citrus Bowl)
#9 Tennessee vs. #11 Northwestern
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Volunteers | 21 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 48 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
- Date: January 1
- Location: Florida Citrus Bowl • Orland, FL
- Game attendance: 63,467
- Game weather: 79°, Partly Cloudy, Calm
- Television network: ABC
Roster
| 1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Awards and honors
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 |