1996 Michigan State
6–6 (5–3 Big Ten), coached by Nick Saban. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Eastern Michigan 47–0Sep 28
By 47 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs Purdue | W 52–14 | 61% |
| Sep 7 | at 1Nebraska | L 14–55 | 18% |
| Sep 21 | vs Louisville | L 20–30 | 58% |
| Sep 28 | vs Eastern Michigan | W 47–0 | 68% |
| Oct 5 | at Iowa | L 30–37 | 40% |
| Oct 12 | vs Illinois | W 42–14 | 61% |
| Oct 19 | at Minnesota | W 27–9 | 55% |
| Oct 26 | vs Wisconsin | W 30–13 | 61% |
| Nov 2 | at 9Michigan | L 29–45 | 28% |
| Nov 9 | vs Indiana | W 38–15 | 79% |
| Nov 23 | at 7Penn State | L 29–32 | 22% |
| Dec 31Bowls & playoff | vs StanfordSun Bowl | L 0–38 | 57% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Stanford 38–0 in the Sun Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 63rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).
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
- 6–6
- Conference
- 5–3 tied for 5th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 358–302
- Coach
- Nick Saban
- Elo
- 1542 +18 this season
- SP+ rating
- 12.4 No. 28 of 111; offense No. 20, defense No. 48
- SRS
- 10.3 No. 25 of 111 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- —
- Offensive coordinator
- Gary Tranquill
- Defensive coordinator
- Dean Pees
- Captains
- Duane Goulbourne, Ike Reese and Chris Smith
- Most valuable player
- Duane Goulbourne
- Offense
- Pro set
- Defense
- 4–3
Drafted in 1997
The 1997 draft| Rd 4 | Derrick Mason WR | Tennessee Oilers |
| Rd 6 | Nigea Carter WR | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
All-Big Ten
3 second teamSecond team
Todd SchultzQBMedia-2
Flozell AdamsOTCoaches-2; Media-2
Derrick MasonWRCoaches-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| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ohio State | 7–1 | 11–1 | 2 |
 Northwestern | 7–1 | 9–3 | 15 |
| Penn State | 6–2 | 11–2 | 7 |
| Iowa | 6–2 | 9–3 | 18 |
| Michigan | 5–3 | 8–4 | 20 |
| 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 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.