# 1996 Washington Huskies football team

The 1996 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its fourth season under head coach Jim Lambright, the team compiled a 9–3 record, finished second in the Pacific-10 Conference, and outscored its opponents 391 to 254. Running back Corey Dillon was selected as the team's most valuable player. Seniors Ink Aleaga, John Fiala, Dave Janoski, and Bob Sapp were the team captains.
In his only season at UW, Seattle native Dillon set the team all-time single-season records for rushing yards (1,695 yards) and touchdowns scored (24). In the first quarter against San Jose State in mid-November, he rushed for 222 yards with two touchdowns, then went 83 yards on a pass for a third touchdown, setting NCAA records for both rushing yards and all-purpose yards (305) in one quarter. Dillon did not re-enter the non-conference game as the Huskies were comfortably ahead 25–0 by the end of the first quarter on a cold and rainy afternoon; the Dawgs led 43–3 at the half and won 53–10. For the third time, he was named the Pac-10 offensive player of the week, and was a third team All-American.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 7 | 7:00 p.m. | at No. 20 Arizona State | | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | FSN | L 42–45 | 73,379 |
| September 14 | 12:30 p.m. | No. 14 BYU* | | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | ABC | W 29–17 | 71,165 |
| September 21 | 12:30 p.m. | Arizona | No. 24 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | ABC | W 31–17 | 73,414 |
| October 5 | 3:30 p.m. | Stanford | No. 18 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | FSN | W 27–6 | 71,488 |
| October 12 | 11:30 a.m. | at No. 11 Notre Dame* | No. 16 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | L 20–54 | 59,075 |
| October 19 | 3:30 p.m. | UCLA | No. 25 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | FSN | W 41–21 | 70,444 |
| October 26 | 12:30 p.m. | at Oregon | No. 23 | Autzen StadiumEugene, OR (rivalry) | ABC | W 33–14 | 46,226 |
| November 2 | 12:30 p.m. | at USC | No. 21 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | ABC | W 21–10 | 60,039 |
| November 9 | 12:30 p.m. | Oregon State | No. 19 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | | W 42–3 | 71,072 |
| November 16 | 12:30 p.m. | San Jose State* | No. 15 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | | W 53–10 | 70,063 |
| November 23 | 3:30 p.m. | at Washington State | No. 12 | Martin StadiumPullman, WA (Apple Cup) | FX | W 31–24 $^{OT}$ | 37,600 |
| December 30 | 5:00 p.m. | vs. No. 8 Colorado* | No. 13 | Jack Murphy StadiumSan Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl) | ESPN | L 21–33 | 54,749 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific 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 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 25 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 16 |
| Coaches | 22 | | 23 | — | 23 | 21 | 18 | 16 | — | 24 | 23 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 15 |

## Game summaries
### At Arizona State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Washington | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 42 |
| Arizona St | 7 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 45 |
at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
* Date: September 21, 1996
* Game weather: 95 °F (35 °C)
* Game attendance: 73,379
Game information :
First quarter
ASU – Michael Martin 35-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 11:45. Arizona St 7–0. Drive:
WASH – Dave Janoski 67-yard punt return (kick good). Tie 7–7
Second quarter
WASH – Rashaan Shehee 6-yard run (kick good), 6:19. Washington 14–7. Drive:
ASU – Ricky Boyer 13-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 0:48. Tie 14–14. Drive:
Third quarter
WASH – Cameron Cleeland 36-yard pass from Shane Fortney (kick good). 'Washington 21–14. Drive:
ASU – Michael Martin 1-yard run (Robert Nycz kick). Tie 21–21. Drive:
ASU – Isaiah Mustafa recovered fumble in end zone (Robert Nycz kick), 3:07. Arizona St 28–21.
Fourth quarter
ASU – Terry Battle 7-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 14:31. Arizona St 35–21. Drive:
ASU – Steve Bush 1-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 12:01. Arizona St 42–21. Drive:
WASH – Brock Huard 10-yard run (kick good), 9:00. Arizona St 42–28. Drive:
WASH – Gerald Harris 67-yard pass from Brock Huard (kick good), 7:15. Arizona St 42–35. Drive:
WASH – Corey Dillon 8-yard run (kick good), 5:13. Tie 42–42. Drive:
ASU – Robert Nycz 38-yard field goal, 0:02. Arizona St 45–42. Drive:
Top passers
WASH – Brock Huard – 6/11, 143 yards, TD
ASU – Jake Plummer – 16/30, 186 yards, 3 TD
Top rushers
WASH
ASU
Top receivers
WASH
ASU :

## NFL draft

Three Huskies were selected in the 1997 NFL draft, which lasted seven rounds (240 selections).
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Corey Dillon | Running back | 2 | 43 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Bob Sapp | Guard | 3 | 69 | Chicago Bears |
| John Fiala | Linebacker | 6 | 166 | Miami Dolphins |