1996–97 NCAA football bowl games
| 1996–97 NCAA football bowl games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Number of bowl games per state.
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| Season | 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regular season | August 24–December 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of bowls | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl games | December 19, 1996 – January 2, 1997 |
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| National Championship | 1997 Sugar Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location of Championship |
Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana |
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| Champions | Florida Gators | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Bowl Record by Conference | |||
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| Conference | Bowls | Record | Final AP Poll |
| Big Ten | 7 | 4–3 (0.571) | 5 |
| SEC | 5 | 5–0 (1.000) | 5 |
| Big 12 | 5 | 2–3 (0.400) | 4 |
| Big East | 4 | 2–2 (0.500) | 3 |
| ACC | 4 | 1–3 (0.250) | 2 |
| Pac-10 | 4 | 1–3 (0.250) | 2 |
| Independents | 2 | 1–1 (0.500) | 2 |
| WAC | 2 | 1–1 (0.500) | 2 |
| Big West | 1 | 1–0 (1.000) | 0 |
| Conference USA | 1 | 0–1 (0.000) | 0 |
| MAC | 1 | 0–1 (0.000) | 0 |
The 1996-97 NCAA College Football Bowl Games post-season schedule followed the 1996 NCAA Division I-A regular football season in college football and contained 18 bowl games. This started with the 4th annual Las Vegas Bowl and ended with the 1997 Sugar Bowl. The Sugar Bowl served as the Bowl Alliance national championship game for the 1996 season and occurred in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Featuring a rematch between the #1 Florida State Seminoles and the #3 Florida Gators, the Gators reversed the outcome of their regular season game with the Seminoles to capture both the AP and Bowl Alliance championships.
Over 100 thousand spectators were present at the 83rd Rose Bowl game, a contest that would pit the Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes against the undefeated Pac-10 champion Arizona State Sun Devils. This traditional Big 10/Pac-10 match-up prevented the second-ranked Sun Devils from facing the first-ranked Florida State Seminoles in the Sugar Bowl. However, if Arizona State was to win the Rose Bowl and the Seminoles were to lose the Sugar Bowl, the Sun Devils would be left the lone unbeaten team in major college football, giving them a legitimate claim to the AP national title. Unfortunately for Arizona State, this was not to be. A tightly fought game throughout, Arizona State led the game 17-14 late in the fourth quarter, but would fail to prevent Joe Germaine from leading his Buckeyes to a last-minute score and a 20-17 victory. Arizona State's loss paved the way for the formerly #3 Florida Gators, who would win the Sugar Bowl, to win both the Bowl Alliance and AP championships.
The second of two Orange Bowls to take place in 1996 and the 63rd to ever occur, this New Year's Eve match-up would feature the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Big 12 runners-up and major at-large team, and the Virginia Tech Hokies, champions of the Big East Conference. The 63rd Orange Bowl was the first and only Orange Bowl to be held before New Year's Day. Being two-time defending national champions, Nebraska came into the game 17-point favorites. Through the first half, it seemed as though Virginia Tech may upset the point spread, as Nebraska led only 17-14 at halftime. However, Nebraska began to express its superiority during the third quarter, scoring the game's final 17 points and eventually winning by a score of 41-21.
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