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1996 Northern Illinois

1–⁠10, coached by Joe Novak.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 1996, game by game: lost at Maryland 6–30; lost vs. Western Illinois 0–17; lost at No. 6 Penn State 0–49; won at Arkansas State 31–30; lost vs. UTEP 6–37; lost vs. North Texas 21–24; lost at Louisville 3–27; lost vs. Akron 17–34; lost vs. Louisiana Tech 14–40; lost at Louisiana 31–45; lost at Oregon State 28–67+7−49Lost 6–30 at Maryland-24MarylandLost 0–17 vs. Western Illinois-17Western IllinoisLost 0–49 at No. 6 Penn State-49No. 6 Penn StateWon 31–30 at Arkansas State+1Arkansas StateLost 6–37 vs. UTEP-31UTEPLost 21–24 vs. North Texas-3North TexasLost 3–27 at Louisville-24LouisvilleLost 17–34 vs. Akron-17AkronLost 14–40 vs. Louisiana Tech-26Louisiana TechLost 31–45 at Louisiana-14LouisianaLost 28–67 at Oregon State-39Oregon State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atMarylandL 6–⁠3026%
Sep 7vsWestern IllinoisL 0–⁠1766%
Sep 14at6Penn StateL 0–⁠497%
Sep 21atArkansas StateW 31–⁠3033%
Sep 28vsUTEPL 6–⁠3753%
Oct 5vsNorth TexasL 21–⁠2455%
Oct 19atLouisvilleL 3–⁠2712%
Oct 26vsAkronL 17–⁠3451%
Nov 2vsLouisiana TechL 14–⁠4025%
Nov 9atLouisianaL 31–⁠4515%
Nov 16atOregon StateL 28–⁠6726%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oregon State 67–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
1–⁠10
Conference
—
AP final
Unranked
Points
157–⁠400
Coach
Joe Novak
Elo
1177 −178 this season
SP+ rating
-36.0 No. 111 of 111; offense No. 110, defense No. 108
SRS
−30.4 No. 111 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Mike Mallory
Captains
Mandel Hester and Mitch Jacoby
Most valuable player
Mandel Hester and Mitch Jacoby