American Football Database
American Football Database
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1996 Wisconsin Badgers football
Copper Bowl Champions
Copper Bowl, W 38–10 vs. Utah
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1996 record8–5 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coachBarry Alvarez (7th season)
Home stadiumCamp Randall Stadium
(Capacity: 76,129)
Seasons
← 1995
1997 →
1996 Big Ten football standings
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#2/2 Ohio State §   7 1         11 1  
#15/16 Northwestern §   7 1         9 3  
#7/7 Penn State   6 2         11 2  
#18/18 Iowa   6 2         9 3  
#20/20 Michigan   5 3         8 4  
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  
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

The 1996 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Regular season[]

Schedule and results[]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 7* 11:30 AM Eastern Michigan Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI ESPN2 W 24–3   74,279
September 14* 9:00 PM at UNLV Sam Boyd StadiumWhitney, NV W 52–17   40,091
September 21* 11:30 AM Stanford Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI ESPN2 W 14–0   77,894
September 28 2:30 PM #3 Penn State Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI ABC L 20–23   79,607
October 12 2:30 PM at #2 Ohio State Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH ABC L 14–17   94,215
October 19† 11:30 AM #14 Northwestern Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI ESPN L 30–34   79,576
October 26 11:30 AM at Michigan State Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI ESPN2 L 13–30   69,217
November 2 11:30 AM Purdue Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI ESPN W 33–25   78,330
November 9 11:20 AM Minnesota Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI (Paul Bunyan's Axe) ESPN+ W 45–28   78,006
November 16 11:30 AM at Iowa Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA ESPN L 0–31   66,570
November 23 1:00 PM at Illinois Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL W 35–15   37,814
November 30* 11:00 PM at Hawaii Aloha StadiumHonolulu, HI W 59–10   26,819
December 27* 8:00 PM vs. Utah Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ (Copper Bowl) ESPN W 38–10   42,122
*Non-Conference Game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

[1]

Season Summary[]

Wisconsin started off quickly in 1996, winning their first three games against Eastern Michigan, UNLV, and Stanford. However, the Badgers then encountered far stiffer opposition against Penn State, Ohio State, Northwestern, and Michigan State. In the Northwestern game, Wisconsin RB Ron Dayne stunningly fumbled with just under a minute remaining. Northwestern recovered and scored the winning touchdown, sealing Wisconsin's third consecutive loss. The Badgers lost their fourth straight game the next week, falling 30–13 to Michigan State.

The Badgers snapped their four-game losing streak with consecutive wins against Purdue and rival Minnesota, before suffering a humiliating 31–0 loss at the hands of Hayden Fry's Iowa Hawkeyes. After falling to 5–5, the Badgers would win the final games on their regular season slate by beating Illinois and Hawaii, earning a bid to the Copper Bowl. The Badgers defeated the Utah Utes 38–10 in the 1996 Copper Bowl.

Wisconsin RB Ron Dayne ran for over 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns in the 1996 season, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year Honors in the process.

Regular starters[]

Position Player
Quarterback Mike Samuel
Running Back Ron Dayne
Fullback Cecil Martin/Aaron Gibson
Wide Receiver Donald Hayes
Wide Receiver Tony Simmons
Tight End Kevin Lyles
Left Tackle Chris McIntosh
Left Guard Jamie Vanderveldt
Center Derek Engler
Right Guard Cayetano Castro
Right Tackle Jerry Wunsch
Position Player
Defensive End Tarek Saleh
Defensive Tackle Neil Miklusak
Defensive Tackle Rod Spiller
Defensive End Bryan Jurewicz
Outside Linebacker Daryl Carter
Inside Linebacker Pete Monty
Outside Linebacker David Lysek
Cornerback Cyrill Weems
Free Safety Kevin Huntley
Strong Safety Bob Adamov
Cornerback Jason Suttle

Team players selected in the 1997 NFL Draft[]

Player Position Round Overall Selection NFL Team
Jerry Wunsch Guard 2 37 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Pete Monty Linebacker 4 103 New York Giants
Tarek Saleh Linebacker 4 122 Carolina Panthers

[2]

References[]

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