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1996 Iowa

9–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Hayden Fry, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 1996, game by game: won vs. Arizona 21–20; won vs. Iowa State 38–13; lost at Tulsa 20–27; won vs. Michigan State 37–30; won at Indiana 31–10; won at No. 10 Penn State 21–20; lost vs. No. 2 Ohio State 26–38; won at Illinois 31–21; lost vs. No. 18 Northwestern 13–40; won vs. Wisconsin 31–0; won at Minnesota 43–24; won vs. Texas Tech 27–0+31−27Won 21–20 vs. Arizona+1ArizonaWon 38–13 vs. Iowa State+25Iowa StateLost 20–27 at Tulsa-7TulsaWon 37–30 vs. Michigan State+7Michigan StateWon 31–10 at Indiana+21IndianaWon 21–20 at No. 10 Penn State+1No. 10 Penn StateLost 26–38 vs. No. 2 Ohio State-12No. 2 Ohio StateWon 31–21 at Illinois+10IllinoisLost 13–40 vs. No. 18 Northwestern-27No. 18 NorthwesternWon 31–0 vs. Wisconsin+31WisconsinWon 43–24 at Minnesota+19MinnesotaWon 27–0 vs. Texas Tech+27Texas Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vsArizonaW 21–⁠2059%
Sep 14vsIowa StateW 38–⁠1380%
Sep 21atTulsaL 20–⁠2771%
Oct 5vsMichigan StateW 37–⁠3060%
Oct 12atIndianaW 31–⁠1059%
Oct 19at10Penn StateW 21–⁠2027%
Oct 26vs2Ohio StateL 26–⁠3835%
Nov 2atIllinoisW 31–⁠2159%
Nov 9vs18NorthwesternL 13–⁠4052%
Nov 16vsWisconsinW 31–⁠060%
Nov 23atMinnesotaW 43–⁠2469%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsTexas TechAlamo BowlW 27–⁠045%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Texas Tech 27–⁠0 in the Alamo Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 22
  2. Wk 2: 22
  3. Wk 3: 22
  4. Wk 4: 21
  5. Wk 5: 19
  6. Wk 10: 20
  7. Wk 11: 25
  8. Wk 12: 23
  9. Wk 14: 24
  10. Wk 15: 22
  11. Wk 16: 21
  12. Wk 17: 21
  13. Final: 18

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1996.

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 18
Points
339–⁠243
Coach
Hayden Fry
Elo
1651 +86 this season
SP+ rating
17.4 No. 19 of 111; offense No. 30, defense No. 19
SRS
14.5 No. 17 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Don Patterson
Defensive coordinator
Bob Elliott
Captains
Bill Ennis-Inge, Tom Knight, Sedrick Shaw and Ross Verba
Most valuable player
Tim Dwight and Damien Robinson

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 1Tommy Knight DBArizona Cardinals
Rd 1Ross Verba OTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 3Sedrick Shaw RBNew England Patriots
Rd 4Damien Robinson DBPhiladelphia Eagles

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Matt ShermanQBCoaches-2
  • Tim DwightWRCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Tom KnightDBCoaches-2; Media-2

From Wikipedia’s 1996 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1996 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠111–⁠12
Northwestern7–⁠19–⁠315
Penn State6–⁠211–⁠27
Iowa6–⁠29–⁠318
Michigan5–⁠38–⁠420
Michigan State5–⁠36–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠58–⁠5
Purdue2–⁠63–⁠8
Minnesota1–⁠74–⁠7
Indiana1–⁠73–⁠8
Illinois1–⁠72–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.