# 1996 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

The 1996 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented the Arizona State University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A college football season. The team's head coach was Bruce Snyder, who was coaching his fifth season with the Sun Devils and 17th season overall. Home games were played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. They participated as members of the Pacific-10 Conference.

## Regular season

In 1996, the Sun Devils went a surprising 11–1, highlighted by a 19–0 shutout of the number-one-ranked, two-time defending national champion, Nebraska Cornhuskers in Tempe, ending Nebraska's 26-game win streak. The upset win also gained a measure of revenge from the previous season, when they went into Lincoln and were not only defeated by a 77–28 margin, but were enraged after the eventual national champions threw a long touchdown pass in the game's final minutes. ASU quarterback Jake Plummer led the Sun Devils, propelling Arizona State into the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Had the Sun Devils won, they would have had a very good chance of winning at least a share of the national championship, as they would have been the only undefeated major-college team in the nation. The Sun Devils led 17–14 with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter, but surrendered a late touchdown to Ohio State, falling by a final score of 20–17. As it turned out, Florida State lost in the Sugar Bowl to the Florida Gators; had the Sun Devils won, they would have had a perfect 12–0 record while the Gators would have finished with one regular season loss (to the Seminoles).

### Schedule

The Sun Devils finished the regular season with an 11–0 record.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 7 | 7:00 pm | Washington | No. 20 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona | FSN | W 45–42 | 73,379 |
| September 14 | 7:00 pm | North Texas* | No. 18 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona | | W 52–7 | 46,173 |
| September 21 | 7:15 pm | No. 1 Nebraska* | No. 17 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona | FSN | W 19–0 | 74,089 |
| September 28 | 3:30 pm | Oregon | No. 6 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona | FSN | W 48–27 | 54,618 |
| October 5 | 7:00 pm | Boise State* | No. 5 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona | | W 56–7 | 49,018 |
| October 12 | 12:30 pm | at UCLA | No. 4 | Rose BowlPasadena, California | ABC | W 42–34 | 66,107 |
| October 19 | 12:30 pm | USC | No. 4 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona | ABC | W 48–35 $^{2OT}$ | 74,947 |
| October 26 | 12:30 pm | at Stanford | No. 4 | Stanford StadiumStanford, California | ABC | W 41–9 | 32,550 |
| November 2 | 2:00 pm | at Oregon State | No. 4 | Parker StadiumCorvallis, Oregon | | W 29–14 | 21,946 |
| November 9 | 4:30 pm | California | No. 4 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona | FSN | W 35–7 | 74,963 |
| November 23 | 4:30 pm | at Arizona | No. 4 | Arizona StadiumTucson, Arizona (Duel in the Desert) | FSN | W 56–14 | 59,920 |
| January 1, 1997 | 1:30 pm | vs. No. 4 Ohio State* | No. 2 | Rose BowlPasadena, California (Rose Bowl) | ABC | L 17–20 | 100,635 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||
Conference opponent not played this season: Washington State

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes :
| | 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 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 6 (1) | 5 (1) | 4 (1) | 4 (1) | 4 (1) | 4 (1) | 4 (1) | 4 (2) | 4 (2) | 3 (3) | 2 (5) | 2 (5) | 4 |
| Coaches Poll | — | — | — | 23 | 22 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 (3) | 2 (6) | 2 (5) | 4 |

## Game summaries
### Washington

| 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 :

### Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 1 Cornhuskers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • No. 17 Sun Devils | 9 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 19 |

### At UCLA

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 4 Sun Devils | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 42 |
| Bruins | 21 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 34 |

### At Oregon State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 4 Sun Devils | 6 | 3 | 13 | 7 | 29 |
| Beavers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |

### California

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Bears | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • No. 20 Sun Devils | 0 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 35 |

### At Arizona

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Arizona St | 7 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 56 |
| Arizona | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
* Date: November 23, 1996
* Game weather: Cloudy, 62 °F (17 °C)
* Game attendance: 59,920
* Recap/Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
ASU – Terry Battle 20-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 0:15. Arizona St 7–0. Drive: 3 plays, 34 yards, 0:59.
Second quarter
ASU – Terry Battle 4-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 12:17. Arizona St 14–0. Drive: 2 plays, 5 yards, 0:32.
ARIZ – Keith Smith 1-yard run (Matt Peyton kick), 8:20. Arizona St 14–7. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:57.
ASU – Keith Poole 27-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 7:13. Arizona St 21–7. Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:07.
ASU – Terry Battle 1-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 1:17. Arizona St 28–7. Drive: 6 plays, 73 yards, 1:45.
Third quarter
ASU – Keith Poole 40-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 10:22. Arizona St 35–7. Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards, 2:30.
ASU – Steve Bush 10-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 0:39. Arizona St 42–7. Drive: 8 plays, 53 yards, 3:24.
Fourth quarter
ARIZ – Mikal Smith 98-yard interception return (Matt Peyton kick), 12:18. Arizona St 42–14.
ASU – Marlon Farlow 1-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 10:47. Arizona St 49–14. Drive: 5 plays, 56 yards, 1:31.
ASU – Marlon Farlow 8-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 1:06. Arizona St 56–14. Drive: 11 plays, 85 yards, 7:27.
Top passers
ASU – Jake Plummer – 10/19, 201 yards, 3 TD, 2 int
ARIZ – Keith Smith – 6/15, 91 yards, INT
Top rushers
ASU – Terry Battle – 23 rushes, 143 yards, 3 TD
ARIZ – Leon Callen – 6 rushes, 19 yards
Top receivers
ASU – Keith Poole – 4 receptions, 123 yards, 2 TD
ARIZ – Jeremy McDaniel – 2 receptions, 54 yards :
* Bruce Snyder's 100th career win
* Terry Battle passes 1,000 yards rushing for the season (ASU – 450 rush yards)

### Vs. Ohio State (Rose Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 4 Buckeyes | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| No. 2 Sun Devils | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |

## Awards and honors

* Jake Plummer – Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year, Third in Heisman Trophy balloting
* Bruce Snyder – Paul "Bear" Bryant Award

## 1996 team players in the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1997 NFL draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Juan Roque | Tackle | 2 | 35 | Detroit Lions |
| Jake Plummer | Quarterback | 2 | 42 | Arizona Cardinals |
| Derek M. Smith | Outside Linebacker | 3 | 80 | Washington Redskins |
| Derrick Rodgers | Outside Linebacker | 3 | 92 | Miami Dolphins |
| Keith Poole | Wide receiver | 4 | 116 | New Orleans Saints |
| Scott Von der Ahe | Linebacker | 6 | 182 | Indianapolis Colts |
| Shawn Swayda | Defensive tackle | 6 | 196 | Chicago Bears |
| Terry Battle | Running back | 7 | 206 | Detroit Lions |