๐Ÿˆ The 1996 college football season

The champion and its path, the poll race week by week, the honours, the best games and every conference table.

Source: Citizen of Nowhere college football database ยท 11 conferences ยท 18 bowls
Jump to any season1869โ€“2026
1996season

1996 national champion

Named by the selectors, with the road it took.

National champion
12-1Final AP #1AP, USA-CNN
HeismanDanny WuerffelFlorida

The path, Florida12-1

  1. Aug 30vs
    SW Louisiana
    W55-21
  2. Sep 7vs
    Georgia Southern
    W62-14
  3. Sep 21at
    #2Tennessee
    W35-29
  4. Sep 28vs
    Kentucky
    W65-0
  5. Oct 5at
    Arkansas
    W42-7
  6. Oct 12vs
    #12LSU
    W56-13
  7. Oct 19vs
    #16Auburn
    W51-10
  8. Nov 2at
    Georgia
    W47-7
  9. Nov 9at
    Vanderbilt
    W28-21
  10. Nov 16vs
    South Carolina
    W52-25
  11. Nov 30at
    #2Florida State
    L21-24
  12. Dec 7vs
    #15Alabama
    W45-30
    SEC Championship Game
  13. Jan 2vs
    #1Florida State
    W52-20
    Sugar Bowl

The 1996 title game

The game that settled the title, then the rest of the major bowls.

Bowl Alliance

Title game ยท 1 game
National championship
#3Florida52โœ“
Jan 2 ยท Louisiana Superdome

The other major bowls

The 1996 poll race

Rank by poll week, 1 at the top, or Elo by week. A poll line breaks where a team was unranked.

How this is measured
The final top five and the champion are drawn in team colours; everyone else is muted until you tap a line or pick a team. The grid under a poll chart has the same ranks, team by week, so a rank can be read as a number as well as a height. Where the College Football Playoff or BCS ranking also ran, switch between it and the AP poll. The Elo view plots each team's rating on the poll dates for the teams that finished in the Elo top 15 or were ranked at any point, and its Show filter works the same way.
FloridaOhio StateFlorida StateArizona StateBYU36 teams ranked at some point ยท tap or drag for that week ยท tap a line to lock it
  • Conference title week
  • Break before bowls
  • Bowl season

Tap or drag on the chart to read a team's rank in any week.

AP rank, team by week

TeamAug1226Sep18152229Oct6132027Nov3101724Dec18Jan3final
Florida444441111111111431
Ohio State9910874322222226542
Florida State333332233333332113
Arizona State20202018176544444443224
BYU191614242119181513121087655
Nebraska111118755555554366
Penn State1177653410101715141178877
Colorado555512121099877665788
Tennessee2222299766661299999
North Carolina2412111115131198871313131210
Alabama15131413131413877101081515151611
LSU191817202117141217131211171819171712
Virginia Tech16141519181825211717111013
Miami (FL)1211111010108612252221182523191914
Northwestern18151325221514111118131111101115
Washington2421181625232119151212121316
Kansas State21212117161616222116141391414141417
Iowa22222221192025232422212118
Notre Dame66699511118191917141010181819
Michigan1412121187614131099162118161520
Syracuse10109232324191616222321
Wyoming252423181716232021202222
Texas888761323252023
Auburn1716181514222018162224222024
Army2224232425
West Virginia23191715121823252425
Virginia23242322201912202014161524192025
Clemson2522
Southern Mississippi24232025
Utah24242120
California2119
Georgia Tech2322
USC7171916151517
Kansas2425242220
Oregon25
Texas A&M13232525

Tap a rank to read it and highlight that team on the chart above.

Movers

AP rank on Aug 12 against the final AP rank. NR is not ranked.

Risers

Fallers

1996 final polls

The last ranking of the season in each poll.

1996 final pollsAP, Coaches, Elo

AP and Coaches

Jan 3 final
APTeamCRec
1
FloridaAPCTitle
112-1
2211-1
3311-1
4411-1
5514-1
6611-2
7711-2
8810-2
9910-2
101010-2
111110-3
121310-2
131210-2
14149-3
15169-3
16159-3
17179-3
18189-3
19218-3
20208-4
21199-3
222210-2
23238-5
24258-4
252410-2

Elo top 25

rating, z
1Florida2098 ยท z +2.4
2Nebraska2025 ยท z +2.1
3Penn State1991 ยท z +2.0
4Florida State1974 ยท z +1.9
5Ohio State1968 ยท z +1.9
6Colorado1960 ยท z +1.8
7Tennessee1928 ยท z +1.7
8Arizona State1898 ยท z +1.6
9Virginia Tech1847 ยท z +1.4
10Alabama1844 ยท z +1.4
11Texas1841 ยท z +1.4
12BYU1841 ยท z +1.4
13Washington1804 ยท z +1.2
14Syracuse1801 ยท z +1.2
15North Carolina1797 ยท z +1.2
16Michigan1795 ยท z +1.2
17Kansas State1792 ยท z +1.2
18Northwestern1784 ยท z +1.1
19Iowa1776 ยท z +1.1
20Miami (FL)1776 ยท z +1.1
21Notre Dame1769 ยท z +1.1
22LSU1764 ยท z +1.1
23East Carolina1727 ยท z +0.9
24Stanford1691 ยท z +0.8
25Auburn1691 ยท z +0.8

APAP championCCoaches championTitleTitle game winner

1996 conference championship games

The title game of each conference that played one, by date. The percentage is the winner's pre-game Elo win chance.

1996 conference championship games3 games, Dec 7

The 1996 honours

The Heisman vote and the major awards side by side, then the All-Americans.

The 1996 honoursHeisman: Danny Wuerffel

Heisman Trophy voting

1
Danny Wuerffel
QB ยท Florida
1,363
points
2
Troy Davis
RB ยท Iowa State
1,174
points
3
Jake Plummer
QB ยท Arizona State
685
points
4
Orlando Pace
OL ยท Ohio State
599
points

Major awards

Bruce Snyder
AFCA Coach of the Year Award ยท Coach ยท Arizona State
Pat Fitzgerald
Bronko Nagurski Award ยท LB ยท Northwestern
Pat Fitzgerald
Chuck Bednarik Award ยท D ยท Northwestern
Danny Wuerffel
Davey O'Brien Award ยท QB ยท Florida
Matt Russell
Dick Butkus Award ยท LB ยท Colorado
Show all 14 awards
Byron Hanspard
Doak Walker Award ยท RB ยท Texas Tech
Marcus Harris
Fred Biletnikoff Award ยท WR ยท Wyoming
Lawrence Wright
Jim Thorpe Award ยท DB ยท Florida
Danny Wuerffel
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award ยท QB ยท Florida
Marc Primanti
Lou Groza Award ยท PK ยท North Carolina State
Danny Wuerffel
Maxwell Award ยท QB ยท Florida
Orlando Pace
Outland Trophy ยท OT ยท Ohio State
Orlando Pace
Vince Lombardi/Rotary Award ยท OT ยท Ohio State
Danny Wuerffel
Walter Camp Award ยท QB ยท Florida

Consensus All-Americans

A star marks a unanimous selection.

QB
RB
WR
Show all 11 positions
TE
OL
C
DL
LB
DB
P
PK

The best games of 1996

The ten best games of the season by Game Score. Switch to the Elo score for a second opinion.

How this is measured
Game score is the college football workbook's own rating of how good a game was; it weighs a lot more than the margin. The Elo score is a second view built from the ratings alone: the two teams' average pre-game Elo, plus stakes (150 for the national championship game, 90 for a playoff game or a major bowl, 40 for another bowl or a conference title game, 15 for a rivalry), plus up to 60 for a close finish and 15 for overtime. The Elo view takes its own top ten from every game between major teams. Sort by any column.
The best games of 199610 games
Rank by
1
24-21 ยท 1996-11-30 ยท Elo score 2090
1.50
game score
2
52-20 ยท Sugar Bowl ยท 1997-01-02 ยท Elo score 2201
1.28
game score
3
20-17 ยท Rose Bowl ยท 1997-01-01 ยท Elo score 2074
1.11
game score
4
17-12 ยท 1996-11-29 ยท Elo score 2043
0.85
game score
5
35-29 ยท 1996-09-21 ยท Elo score 1967
0.83
game score
6
#5BYU beat #14Kansas State
19-15 ยท Cotton Bowl ยท 1997-01-01 ยท Elo score 1905
0.79
game score
7
#6BYU beat #20Wyoming
28-25 OT ยท WAC Championship Game ยท 1996-12-07 ยท Elo score 1810
0.74
game score
8
34-16 ยท 1996-10-12 ยท Elo score 1888
0.72
game score
9
20-13 ยท 1996-10-26 ยท Elo score 1925
0.67
game score
10
13-9 ยท 1996-11-23 ยท Elo score 1946
0.63
game score

Upsets of 1996

The results the ratings gave the winner the least chance of, lowest first.

How this is measured
Win chance is the winner's pre-game probability from the site's college football Elo ratings, home field included, so 3% means the winner would be expected to win about one time in thirty. Games against lower-level opponents count and carry a tag for the level (FCS, Division II and so on). Where the AP poll had ranks, the rank line is shown as context. Elo gap is the loser's pre-game rating minus the winner's.
Upsets of 199610 upsets
1
21-17 ยท 1996-11-09 ยท Unranked over #6
3.5%
win chance
2
44-42 ยท 1996-11-16
5.3%
win chance
3
Eastern IllinoisFCS beat Western Michigan
28-20 ยท 1996-08-29
6.4%
win chance
4
17-16 ยท 1996-11-16 ยท Unranked over #8
7.4%
win chance
5
28-27 ยท 1996-09-07 ยท Unranked over #13
8.3%
win chance
6
10-7 ยท 1996-10-19
9.0%
win chance
7
23-10 ยท 1996-09-07
9.5%
win chance
8
Oklahoma beat #25Texas
30-27 ยท 1996-10-12 ยท Unranked over #25
9.6%
win chance
9
Tulsa beat #19Iowa
27-20 ยท 1996-09-21 ยท Unranked over #19
9.8%
win chance
10
34-14 ยท 1996-08-30
11%
win chance

1996 standings by conference

Every conference at once: conference and overall record, and the final AP rank. A star marks the conference champion.

1996 standings by conference11 groups

Atlantic Coast

9 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Florida Stateโ˜… conference champion8-011-1#3
2North Carolina6-210-2#10
3Clemson6-27-5
4Virginia5-37-5
5Georgia Tech4-45-6
6Maryland3-55-6
7North Carolina State3-53-8
8Wake Forest1-73-8
9Duke0-80-11

Big 12

12 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
North
1Nebraska8-011-2#6
2Colorado7-110-2#8
3Kansas State6-29-3#17
4Missouri3-55-6
5Kansas2-64-7
6Iowa State1-72-9
South
1Texasโ˜… conference champion6-28-5#23
2Texas Tech5-37-5
3Texas A&M4-46-6
4Oklahoma3-53-8
5Oklahoma State2-65-6
6Baylor1-74-7

Big East

8 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Virginia Techโ˜… conference champion6-110-2#13
2Miami (FL)โ˜… conference champion6-19-3#14
3Syracuseโ˜… conference champion6-19-3#21
4West Virginia4-38-4
5Pittsburgh3-44-7
6Boston College2-55-7
7Rutgers1-62-9
8Temple0-71-10

Big Ten

11 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Ohio Stateโ˜… conference champion7-111-1#2
2Northwesternโ˜… conference champion7-19-3#15
3Penn State6-211-2#7
4Iowa6-29-3#18
5Michigan5-38-4#20
6Michigan State5-36-6
7Wisconsin3-58-5
8Purdue2-63-8
9Minnesota1-74-7
10Indiana1-73-8
11Illinois1-72-9

Big West

6 teams
#TeamConfAll
1Nevadaโ˜… conference champion4-19-3
2Utah Stateโ˜… conference champion4-16-5
3Idaho3-26-5
4North Texas3-25-6
5Boise State1-42-10
6New Mexico State0-51-10

Conference USA

6 teams
#TeamConfAll
1Southern Mississippiโ˜… conference champion4-18-3
2Houstonโ˜… conference champion4-17-5
3Cincinnati2-36-5
4Louisville2-35-6
5Memphis2-34-7
6Tulane1-42-9

Mid-American

10 teams
#TeamConfAll
1Ball Stateโ˜… conference champion7-18-4
2Toledo6-27-4
3Miami (OH)6-26-5
4Ohio5-36-6
5Central Michigan4-45-6
6Akron3-54-7
7Bowling Green3-54-7
8Eastern Michigan3-53-8
9Western Michigan2-62-9
10Kent State1-72-9

Pacific-10

10 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Arizona Stateโ˜… conference champion8-011-1#4
2Washington7-19-3#16
3Stanford5-37-5
4UCLA4-45-6
5Oregon3-56-5
6California3-56-6
7USC3-56-6
8Arizona3-55-6
9Washington State3-55-6
10Oregon State1-72-9

Southeastern

12 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
Eastern
1Floridaโ˜… conference champion8-012-1#1
2Tennessee7-110-2#9
3South Carolina4-46-5
4Georgia3-55-6
5Kentucky3-54-7
6Vanderbilt0-82-9
Western
1LSU6-210-2#12
2Alabama6-210-3#11
3Auburn4-48-4#24
4Mississippi State3-55-6
5Mississippi2-65-6
6Arkansas2-64-7

Western Athletic

16 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
Mountain
1BYUโ˜… conference champion9-014-1#5
2Utah6-28-4
3Rice6-27-4
4SMU4-45-6
5New Mexico3-56-5
6TCU3-54-7
7Tulsa2-64-7
8UTEP0-82-9
Pacific
1Wyoming7-110-2#22
2San Diego State6-28-3
3Colorado State6-27-5
4Air Force5-36-5
5Fresno State3-54-7
6San Jose State3-53-9
7Hawaii1-72-10
8UNLV1-81-11

Independent

11 teams
#TeamConfAllAP
1Army-10-2#25
2Navy-9-3
3East Carolina-8-3
4Notre Dame-8-3#19
5Louisiana Tech-6-5
6Central Florida-5-6
7Northeast Louisiana-5-6
8SW Louisiana-5-6
9UAB-5-6
10Arkansas State-4-7
11Northern Illinois-1-10

1996 bowls

One line per game, latest first. A tag marks the playoff and the other major bowls.

1996 bowls18 bowls
Jan 2#3Florida52#1Florida State20Sugar BowlTitle game
Jan 1#9Tennessee48#11Northwestern28Citrus Bowl
Jan 1#5BYU19#14Kansas State15Cotton Bowl
Jan 1#7Penn State38#20Texas15Fiesta BowlMajor
Jan 1#12North Carolina20#25West Virginia13Gator Bowl
Jan 1#16Alabama17#15Michigan14Outback Bowl
Jan 1#4Ohio State20#2Arizona State17Rose BowlMajor
Dec 31Auburn32#24Army29Independence Bowl
Dec 31#6Nebraska41#10Virginia Tech21Orange BowlMajor
Dec 31Stanford38Michigan State0Sun Bowl
Dec 30#8Colorado33#13Washington21Holiday Bowl
Dec 29#21Iowa27Texas Tech0Alamo Bowl
Dec 28#17LSU10Clemson7Peach Bowl
Dec 27#19Miami (FL)31Virginia21Carquest Bowl
Dec 27Wisconsin38Utah10Copper Bowl
Show all 18 bowls
Dec 27#23Syracuse30Houston17Liberty Bowl
Dec 25Navy42California38Aloha Bowl
Dec 19Nevada18Ball State15Las Vegas Bowl

Where these numbers come from

Enough to disbelieve this page on purpose rather than by accident.

Champions, polls, standings, bowls, honours and games are read from the Citizen of Nowhere college football database, built from its own workbook one season at a time. Team colours and crests are the current programsโ€™, so a school is drawn the way it looks today even where it played under another name.

The AP poll begins in 1936, so earlier seasons have no poll race and no final poll, but they do have an Elo race, and their champions are those the selectors named. Before 1992 there was no title game, so those seasons list the major bowls instead; from 1992 the title game is shown with the other major bowls, and from 2014 the playoff bracket. Where the database has no entry for a section, the section is left out rather than shown empty.

Elo ratings, the upsets and the best games come from the siteโ€™s college football Elo, which rates every game since 1869 and counts games against lower-level opponents. Each seasonโ€™s ratings are shown on a scale where the average major team ends the season at 1500; z is the distance from that average in standard deviations.