1996 Northwestern 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	Gary Barnett (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Ron Vanderlinden (5th season)
Captains	Justin Chabot^[1] Pat Fitzgerald Mike McGrew Steve Schnur
Home stadium	Dyche Stadium
Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
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

The 1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A college football season. Under head coach Gary Barnett, Northwestern finished the season with a 9–3 record. The Wildcats won a share of the Big Ten Conference title for the second straight year. They faced off against Tennessee in the Florida Citrus Bowl, where the Wildcats lost, 48–28.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	5:30 pm	at Wake Forest*	No. 13	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	SCC	L 27–28	21,749	^[2]
September 14	2:30 pm	at Duke*		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ABC	W 38–13	29,321	^[3]
September 21	11:30 am	Ohio*		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	SCC	W 28–7	38,148
September 28	11:30 am	at Indiana	No. 25	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ESPN	W 35–17	36,714
October 5	11:30 am	No. 6 Michigan	No. 22	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 17–16	48,187
October 12	11:30 am	Minnesota	No. 15	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	ESPN2	W 26–24	35,848
October 19	11:30 am	at Wisconsin	No. 14	Camp Randall Stadium Madison WI	ESPN2	W 34–30	79,576
October 26	11:00 am	Illinois	No. 11	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	ESPN Plus	W 27–24	48,187
November 2	2:30 pm	at No. 15 Penn State	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	L 9–34	96,596
November 9	2:30 pm	at No. 23 Iowa	No. 18	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ABC	W 40–13	70,397
November 16	1:00 pm	Purdue	No. 13	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 27–24	41,178
January 1	12:00 pm	vs. No. 9 Tennessee*	No. 11	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL (Florida Citrus Bowl)	ABC	L 28–48	63,467	^[4]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

Further information: 1996 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
	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

^[5]

Game summaries

Wake Forest

Duke

Ohio

Indiana

Michigan

Minnesota

Wisconsin

#14 Northwestern at Wisconsin

	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

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

^[6]

Illinois

Penn State

Iowa

#18 Northwestern at #23 Iowa

	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

Scoring summary

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

^[7]

Purdue

Florida Citrus Bowl

#9 Tennessee vs. #11 Northwestern

	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

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`32`	Adrian Autry	Jr
RB	`24`	Darnell Autry	Jr
WR	`5`	D'Wayne Bates	So
G	`61`	Justin Chabot (C)	Sr
QB	`8`	Tim Hughes	Sr
OT	`74`	Paul Janus	Sr
WR	`22`	Brian Musso	Jr
QB	`10`	Steve Schnur (C)	Sr
WR	`25`	Jeff Swenson	Jr
TE	`84`	Jay Tant	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
SS	`33`	Eric Collier	Sr
DE	`36`	Casey Dailey	Jr
LB	`51`	Pat Fitzgerald (C)	Sr
LB	`55`	Barry Gardner	So
CB	`3`	Hudhaifa Ismaeli	Jr
LB	`44`	Keith Lozowski	Sr
DT	`94`	Joe Reiff	Sr
DT	`95`	Matt Rice	Sr
DT	`96`	Ray Robey	Sr
LB	`59`	Jason Ross	Jr
LB	`52`	Tim Scharf	Sr
DE	`90`	Thor Schmidt	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P	`14`	Paul Burton	Sr
K	`13`	Brian Gowins	Jr

Head coach

Gary Barnett

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Awards and honors

Linebacker Pat Fitzgerald: Chuck Bednarik Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
Head coach Gary Barnett: Big Ten Coach of the Year

Team players drafted into the NFL

Main article: 1997 NFL Draft

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

^[8]

References

^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 149. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^ "Wake Forest shocks Cats". The Daily Herald. September 8, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Sweet return trip; With something to prove, NU delivers". Chicago Tribune. September 15, 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Cats a lemon in Citrus". Chicago Tribune. January 2, 1997. Retrieved February 10, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Northwestern 1996 AP Football Rankings". collegepollarchive.com. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
^ "Northwestern vs. Wisconsin". USA Today. October 19, 1996. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
^ "Northwestern vs. Iowa". USA Today. November 9, 1996. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
^ "1997 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved June 23, 2019.

v t e Northwestern Wildcats football
Venues	Northwestern Field (1905–1925) Ryan Field (1926–2023)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois Michigan: George Jewett Trophy Notre Dame
Culture and lore	Willie the Wildcat "Go U Northwestern" Marching band 2006 Michigan State game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1876 1877–1881 1882 1883–1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906–1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

v t e Big Ten Conference football champions
Western Conference	Wisconsin (1896) Wisconsin (1897) Michigan (1898) Chicago (1899) Iowa & Minnesota (1900) Michigan & Wisconsin (1901) Michigan (1902) Michigan, Minnesota, & Northwestern (1903) Michigan & Minnesota (1904) Chicago (1905) Michigan, Minnesota, & Wisconsin (1906) Chicago (1907) Chicago (1908) Minnesota (1909) Illinois & Minnesota (1910) Minnesota (1911) Wisconsin (1912) Chicago (1913) Illinois (1914) Illinois & Minnesota (1915) Ohio State (1916)
Big Ten	Ohio State (1917) Illinois, Michigan, & Purdue (1918) Illinois (1919) Ohio State (1920) Iowa (1921) Chicago, Iowa, & Michigan (1922) Illinois & Michigan (1923) Chicago (1924) Michigan (1925) Michigan & Northwestern (1926) Illinois & Minnesota (1927) Illinois (1928) Purdue (1929) Michigan & Northwestern (1930) Purdue, Michigan & Northwestern (1931) Michigan & Purdue (1932) Michigan & Minnesota (1933) Minnesota (1934) Minnesota & Ohio State (1935) Northwestern (1936) Minnesota (1937) Minnesota (1938) Ohio State (1939) Minnesota (1940) Minnesota (1941) Ohio State (1942) Michigan & Purdue (1943) Ohio State (1944) Indiana (1945)
Big Nine	Illinois (1946) Michigan (1947) Michigan (1948) Michigan & Ohio State (1949)
Big Ten	Michigan (1950) Illinois (1951) Purdue & Wisconsin (1952) Illinois & Michigan State (1953) Ohio State (1954) Ohio State (1955) Iowa (1956) Ohio State (1957) Iowa (1958) Wisconsin (1959) Minnesota & Iowa (1960) Ohio State (1961) Wisconsin (1962) Illinois (1963) Michigan (1964) Michigan State (1965) Michigan State (1966) Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue (1967) Ohio State (1968) Michigan & Ohio State (1969) Ohio State (1970) Michigan (1971) Michigan & Ohio State (1972) Michigan & Ohio State (1973) Michigan & Ohio State (1974) Ohio State (1975) Michigan & Ohio State (1976) Michigan & Ohio State (1977) Michigan & Michigan State (1978) Ohio State (1979) Michigan (1980) Iowa & Ohio State (1981) Michigan (1982) Illinois (1983) Ohio State (1984) Iowa (1985) Michigan & Ohio State (1986) Michigan State (1987) Michigan (1988) Michigan (1989) Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, & Michigan State (1990) Michigan (1991) Michigan (1992) Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993) Penn State (1994) Northwestern (1995) Ohio State & Northwestern (1996) Michigan (1997) Michigan, Ohio State, & Wisconsin (1998) Wisconsin (1999) Michigan, Northwestern, & Purdue (2000) Illinois (2001) Ohio State & Iowa (2002) Michigan (2003) Iowa & Michigan (2004) Ohio State & Penn State (2005) Ohio State (2006) Ohio State (2007) Ohio State & Penn State (2008) Ohio State (2009) Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010) Wisconsin (2011) Wisconsin (2012) Michigan State (2013) Ohio State (2014) Michigan State (2015) Penn State (2016) Ohio State (2017) Ohio State (2018) Ohio State (2019) Ohio State (2020) Michigan (2021) Michigan (2022) Michigan (2023)
National championships in bold