1996 NCAA Division I FBS football season

1996 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams	111
Preseason AP #1	Nebraska Cornhuskers
Post-season
Bowl games	18
Heisman Trophy	Danny Wuerffel, Florida QB
Bowl Alliance Championship
1997 Sugar Bowl
Site	Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Winner	Florida Gators
Division I-A football seasons
← 1995 1997 →

1996 ACC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#3 Florida State $		8	–	0					11	–	1
#10 North Carolina		6	–	2					10	–	2
Clemson		6	–	2					7	–	5
Virginia		5	–	3					7	–	5
Georgia Tech		4	–	4					5	–	6
Maryland		3	–	5					5	–	6
NC State		3	–	5					3	–	8
Wake Forest		1	–	7					3	–	8
Duke		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1996 Big East football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#13 Virginia Tech +		6	–	1					10	–	2
#14 Miami (FL) +		6	–	1					9	–	3
#21 Syracuse +		6	–	1					9	–	3
West Virginia		4	–	3					8	–	4
Pittsburgh		3	–	4					4	–	7
Boston College		2	–	5					5	–	7
Rutgers		1	–	6					2	–	9
Temple		0	–	7					1	–	10
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1996 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#2 Ohio State +		7	–	1					11	–	1
#15 Northwestern +		7	–	1					9	–	3
#7 Penn State		6	–	2					11	–	2
#18 Iowa		6	–	2					9	–	3
#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

1996 Big 12 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Northern Division
#6 Nebraska x%		8	–	0					11	–	2
#8 Colorado		7	–	1					10	–	2
#17 Kansas State		6	–	2					9	–	3
Missouri		3	–	5					5	–	6
Kansas		2	–	6					4	–	7
Iowa State		1	–	7					2	–	9
Southern Division
#23 Texas x$		6	–	2					8	–	5
Texas Tech		5	–	3					7	–	5
Texas A&M		4	–	4					6	–	6
Oklahoma		3	–	5					3	–	8
Oklahoma State		2	–	6					5	–	6
Baylor		1	–	7					4	–	7
Championship: Texas 37, Nebraska 27
† – Bowl Alliance representative as champion ‡ – Bowl Alliance at-large representative x – Division champion Rankings from AP Poll

1996 Big West Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Nevada +		4	–	1					9	–	3
Utah State +		4	–	1					6	–	5
Idaho		3	–	2					6	–	5
North Texas		3	–	2					5	–	6
Boise State		1	–	4					2	–	10
New Mexico State		0	–	5					1	–	10
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1996 Conference USA football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Southern Miss +		4	–	1					8	–	3
Houston +		4	–	1					7	–	5
Cincinnati		2	–	3					6	–	5
Louisville		2	–	3					5	–	6
Memphis		2	–	3					4	–	7
Tulane		1	–	4					2	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

1996 Mid-American Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Ball State $		7	–	1					8	–	4
Toledo		6	–	2					7	–	4
Miami		6	–	2					6	–	5
Ohio		5	–	3					6	–	6
Central Michigan		4	–	4					5	–	6
Akron		3	–	5					4	–	7
Bowling Green		3	–	5					4	–	7
Eastern Michigan		3	–	5					3	–	8
Western Michigan		2	–	6					2	–	9
Kent State		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1996 Pacific-10 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#4 Arizona State $		8	–	0					11	–	1
#16 Washington		7	–	1					9	–	3
Stanford		5	–	3					7	–	5
UCLA		4	–	4					5	–	6
Oregon		3	–	5					6	–	5
California		3	–	5					6	–	6
USC		3	–	5					6	–	6
Arizona		3	–	5					5	–	6
Washington State		3	–	5					5	–	6
Oregon State		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1996 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
#1 Florida x$		8	–	0					12	–	1
#9 Tennessee		7	–	1					10	–	2
South Carolina		4	–	4					6	–	5
Kentucky		3	–	5					4	–	7
Georgia		3	–	5					5	–	6
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					2	–	9
Western Division
#11 Alabama xy		6	–	2					10	–	3
#12 LSU x		6	–	2					10	–	2
#24 Auburn		4	–	4					8	–	4
Mississippi State		3	–	5					5	–	6
Ole Miss		2	–	6					5	–	6
Arkansas		2	–	6					4	–	7
Championship: Florida 45, Alabama 30
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Florida Gators crowned National Champions, but not as unanimously as the Bowl Alliance would have hoped.

Florida defeated Florida State in the Sugar Bowl, which was the designated National Championship that year. Florida had faced Florida State earlier in the year, when they were ranked #1 and #2, and lost. Were it not for Texas beating Nebraska, then #3, in the first ever Big 12 Championship Game, Florida wouldn't have even been in the bowl game.

And even once they were there, it wasn't certain a victory would mean a national championship. The Rose Bowl game featured #2 Arizona State and #4 Ohio State. Florida St. and Arizona St. were the only unbeatens going into bowl season, so a Rose Bowl victory would give the Sun Devils a legitimate chance on winning the title. This scenario looked plausible as Arizona State's Jake Plummer scored with 1:40 left to play in the game, making the score 17-14. But Ohio State's backup quarterback Joe Germaine marched down the field to pull out a heart stopping 20-17 win.

On the one hand, this meant the national title game the following night would produce an incontrovertible champion. On the other hand, it left doubt to whether or not Ohio State deserved a stake in the national title, as evidenced by the team's 1½ first place votes in the final AP poll. The Pac-10 and Big Ten could no longer afford to hold on to tradition while the rest of the country wanted a clear national champion. Reading the writing on the wall, they would soon join the national championship series with the other major conferences.

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