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1996 Penn State

11–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Joe Paterno, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 1996, game by game: won vs. No. 7 USC 24–7; won vs. Louisville 24–7; won vs. Northern Illinois 49–0; won vs. Temple 41–0; won at Wisconsin 23–20; lost at No. 3 Ohio State 7–38; won vs. Purdue 31–14; lost vs. Iowa 20–21; won at Indiana 48–26; won vs. No. 11 Northwestern 34–9; won at No. 16 Michigan 29–17; won vs. Michigan State 32–29; won vs. No. 20 Texas 38–15+49−31Won 24–7 vs. No. 7 USC+17No. 7 USCWon 24–7 vs. Louisville+17LouisvilleWon 49–0 vs. Northern Illinois+49Northern Illino…Won 41–0 vs. Temple+41TempleWon 23–20 at Wisconsin+3WisconsinLost 7–38 at No. 3 Ohio State-31No. 3 Ohio StateWon 31–14 vs. Purdue+17PurdueLost 20–21 vs. Iowa-1IowaWon 48–26 at Indiana+22IndianaWon 34–9 vs. No. 11 Northwestern+25No. 11 NorthwesternWon 29–17 at No. 16 Michigan+12No. 16 MichiganWon 32–29 vs. Michigan State+3Michigan StateWon 38–15 vs. No. 20 Texas+23No. 20 Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 25vs7USCW 24–⁠756%
Sep 7vsLouisvilleW 24–⁠775%
Sep 14vsNorthern IllinoisW 49–⁠093%
Sep 21vsTempleW 41–⁠088%
Sep 28atWisconsinW 23–⁠2062%
Oct 5at3Ohio StateL 7–⁠3844%
Oct 12vsPurdueW 31–⁠1483%
Oct 19vsIowaL 20–⁠2173%
Oct 26atIndianaW 48–⁠2678%
Nov 2vs11NorthwesternW 34–⁠963%
Nov 16at16MichiganW 29–⁠1749%
Nov 23vsMichigan StateW 32–⁠2978%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs20TexasFiesta BowlW 38–⁠1556%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Texas 38–⁠15 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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
11–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 3
Points
400–⁠203
Coach
Joe Paterno
Elo
1789 +123 this season
SP+ rating
22.7 No. 11 of 111; offense No. 24, defense No. 10
SRS
18.7 No. 11 of 111 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Fran Ganter
Defensive coordinator
Jerry Sandusky
Captains
Kim Herring, Brandon Noble, Wally Richardson and Barry Tielsch
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1997

The 1997 draft
Rd 2Kim Herring DBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 3Brett Conway KGreen Bay Packers
Rd 7Wally Richardson QBBaltimore Ravens

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Keith OlsommerTECoaches-2; Media-2
  • Brandon NobleDLCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Aaron CollinsLBCoaches-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.