CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1996 Michigan

8–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Lloyd Carr, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1996, game by game: won vs. Illinois 20–8; won at No. 5 Colorado 20–13; won vs. Boston College 20–14; won vs. UCLA 38–9; lost at No. 22 Northwestern 16–17; won vs. Indiana 27–20; won at Minnesota 44–10; won vs. Michigan State 45–29; lost at Purdue 3–9; lost vs. No. 11 Penn State 17–29; won at No. 2 Ohio State 13–9; lost vs. No. 16 Alabama 14–17+34−12Won 20–8 vs. Illinois+12IllinoisWon 20–13 at No. 5 Colorado+7No. 5 ColoradoWon 20–14 vs. Boston College+6Boston CollegeWon 38–9 vs. UCLA+29UCLALost 16–17 at No. 22 Northwestern-1No. 22 NorthwesternWon 27–20 vs. Indiana+7IndianaWon 44–10 at Minnesota+34MinnesotaWon 45–29 vs. Michigan State+16Michigan StateLost 3–9 at Purdue-6PurdueLost 17–29 vs. No. 11 Penn State-12No. 11 Penn StateWon 13–9 at No. 2 Ohio State+4No. 2 Ohio StateLost 14–17 vs. No. 16 Alabama-3No. 16 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsIllinoisW 20–⁠867%
Sep 14at5ColoradoW 20–⁠1333%
Sep 21vsBoston CollegeW 20–⁠1481%
Sep 28vsUCLAW 38–⁠973%
Oct 5at22NorthwesternL 16–⁠1749%
Oct 19vsIndianaW 27–⁠2086%
Oct 26atMinnesotaW 44–⁠1076%
Nov 2vsMichigan StateW 45–⁠2972%
Nov 9atPurdueL 3–⁠978%
Nov 16vs11Penn StateL 17–⁠2951%
Nov 23at2Ohio StateW 13–⁠924%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs16AlabamaOutback BowlL 14–⁠1749%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 17–⁠14 in the Outback Bowl; No. 20 in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 67th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Consensus All-AmericanJarrett Irons, LB

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 6
Points
277–⁠184
Coach
Lloyd Carr
Elo
1670 +51 this season
SP+ rating
18.6 No. 17 of 111; offense No. 59, defense No. 3
SRS
15.2 No. 15 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Fred Jackson
Defensive coordinator
Greg Mattison
Captains
Jarrett Irons and Rod Payne
Most valuable player
Rod Payne

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 3Rod Payne CCincinnati Bengals
Rd 4Damon Denson OGNew England Patriots
Rd 7William Carr DTCincinnati Bengals

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Zack AdamiOGCoaches-2
  • David BowensDLCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Marcus RayDBCoaches-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.