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1996 Nebraska

11–⁠2 (8–⁠0 Big 12), coached by Tom Osborne, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 1996, game by game: won vs. Michigan State 55–14; lost at No. 17 Arizona State 0–19; won vs. Colorado State 65–9; won at No. 16 Kansas State 39–3; won vs. Baylor 49–0; won at Texas Tech 24–10; won vs. Kansas 63–7; won at Oklahoma 73–21; won vs. Missouri 51–7; won at Iowa State 49–14; won vs. No. 5 Colorado 17–12; lost vs. No. 20 Texas 27–37; won vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech 41–21+56−19Won 55–14 vs. Michigan State+41Michigan StateLost 0–19 at No. 17 Arizona State-19No. 17 Arizona StateWon 65–9 vs. Colorado State+56Colorado StateWon 39–3 at No. 16 Kansas State+36No. 16 Kansas StateWon 49–0 vs. Baylor+49BaylorWon 24–10 at Texas Tech+14Texas TechWon 63–7 vs. Kansas+56KansasWon 73–21 at Oklahoma+52OklahomaWon 51–7 vs. Missouri+44MissouriWon 49–14 at Iowa State+35Iowa StateWon 17–12 vs. No. 5 Colorado+5No. 5 ColoradoLost 27–37 vs. No. 20 Texas-10No. 20 TexasWon 41–21 vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech+20No. 10 Virginia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vsMichigan StateW 55–⁠1482%
Sep 21at17Arizona StateL 0–⁠1972%
Sep 28vsColorado StateW 65–⁠980%
Oct 5at16Kansas StateW 39–⁠351%
Oct 12vsBaylorW 49–⁠084%
Oct 19atTexas TechW 24–⁠1061%
Oct 26vsKansasW 63–⁠783%
Nov 2atOklahomaW 73–⁠2187%
Nov 9vsMissouriW 51–⁠794%
Nov 16atIowa StateW 49–⁠1491%
Nov 29vs5ColoradoW 17–⁠1267%
Dec 7Bowls & playoffvs20TexasBig 12 Championship GameL 27–⁠3773%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs10Virginia TechOrange BowlW 41–⁠2160%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Virginia Tech 41–⁠21 in the Orange Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; first in the Big 12.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Big 12 North champions8–⁠0 in the conference

2 consensus All-AmericansAaron Taylor, C/OG; Grant Wistrom, DE

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Big 12
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 1
Points
553–⁠174
Coach
Tom Osborne
Elo
1838 +74 this season
SP+ rating
34.6 No. 2 of 111; offense No. 2, defense No. 8
SRS
31.3 No. 1 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Charlie McBride
Offense
I formation
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 1Michael Booker DBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 2Jared Tomich DENew Orleans Saints
Rd 2Mike Minter DBCarolina Panthers
Rd 3Adam Treu OGOakland Raiders
Rd 4Chris Dishman OGArizona Cardinals
Rd 5Jamel Williams DBWashington Redskins
Rd 5Eric Stokes DBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Jon Hesse LBJacksonville Jaguars

All-Big 12

7 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

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 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska8–⁠011–⁠26
Colorado7–⁠110–⁠28
Kansas State6–⁠29–⁠317
Texas6–⁠28–⁠523
Texas Tech5–⁠37–⁠5
Texas A&M4–⁠46–⁠6
Missouri3–⁠55–⁠6
Oklahoma3–⁠53–⁠8
Oklahoma State2–⁠65–⁠6
Kansas2–⁠64–⁠7
Baylor1–⁠74–⁠7
Iowa State1–⁠72–⁠9

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