# 1996 Northwestern Wildcats football team

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 |
| September 7 | 5:30 pm | at Wake Forest* | No. 13 | Groves StadiumWinston-Salem, NC | SCC | L 27–28 | 21,749 |
| September 14 | 2:30 pm | at Duke* | | Wallace Wade StadiumDurham, NC | ABC | W 38–13 | 29,321 |
| September 21 | 11:30 am | Ohio* | | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | SCC | W 28–7 | 38,148 |
| September 28 | 11:30 am | at Indiana | No. 25 | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN | ESPN | W 35–17 | 36,714 |
| October 5 | 11:30 am | No. 6 Michigan | No. 22 | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL (rivalry) | ESPN | W 17–16 | 48,187 |
| October 12 | 11:30 am | Minnesota | No. 15 | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | ESPN2 | W 26–24 | 35,848 |
| October 19 | 11:30 am | at Wisconsin | No. 14 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison WI | ESPN2 | W 34–30 | 79,576 |
| October 26 | 11:00 am | Illinois | No. 11 | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL (rivalry) | ESPN Plus | W 27–24 | 48,187 |
| November 2 | 2:30 pm | at No. 15 Penn State | No. 11 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA | ABC | L 9–34 | 96,596 |
| November 9 | 2:30 pm | at No. 23 Iowa | No. 18 | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | ABC | W 40–13 | 70,397 |
| November 16 | 1:00 pm | Purdue | No. 13 | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | | W 27–24 | 41,178 |
| January 1 | 12:00 pm | vs. No. 9 Tennessee* | No. 11 | Florida Citrus BowlOrlando, FL (Florida Citrus Bowl) | ABC | L 28–48 | 63,467 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||||

## Rankings

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

## Game summaries
### Wisconsin

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Wildcats | 7 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 34 |
| Badgers | 10 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 30 |

### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Wildcats | 3 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 40 |
| Hawkeyes | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |

### Florida Citrus Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Volunteers | 21 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 48 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 28 |

## 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

| 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 |