1996 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1996 Penn State Nittany Lions football
1996 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy; Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 38–15 vs. Texas
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 7
Record	11–2 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Joe Paterno (31st season);
Offensive coordinator	Fran Ganter (13th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (20th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
	Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

The 1996 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season.^[1] The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

1996 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 2 Ohio State +	7	–	1	11	–	1
No. 15 Northwestern +	7	–	1	9	–	3
No. 7 Penn State	6	–	2	11	–	2
No. 18 Iowa	6	–	2	9	–	3
No. 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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 25	2:00 p.m.	vs. No. 7 USC*	No. 11	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic)	ABC	W 24–7	77,716
September 7	3:30 p.m.	Louisville*	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	W 24–7	95,670
September 14	12:00 p.m.	Northern Illinois*	No. 6	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN Plus	W 49–0	95,589
September 21	12:00 p.m.	vs. Temple*	No. 5	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ	ESPN Plus	W 41–0	24,847
September 28	3:30 p.m.	at Wisconsin	No. 3	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ABC	W 23–20	79,607
October 5	3:30 p.m.	at No. 3 Ohio State	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry, College GameDay)	ABC	L 7–38	94,241
October 12	12:30 p.m.	Purdue	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN	W 31–14	96,653
October 19	12:30 p.m.	Iowa	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ESPN2	L 20–21	96,230
October 26	12:30 p.m.	at Indiana	No. 17	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ESPN	W 48–26	37,354
November 2	3:30 p.m.	No. 11 Northwestern	No. 15	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	W 34–9	96,596
November 16	12:00 p.m.	at No. 16 Michigan	No. 11	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ABC	W 29–17	105,898
November 23	3:30 p.m.	Michigan State	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 32–29	96,263
January 1, 1997	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 20 Texas*	No. 7	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	CBS	W 38–15	65,106
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

1996 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OT	`78`	John Blick	Fr
WR	`11`	Chris Campbell	Sr
OL	`53`	Jim Dudley	Fr
RB	`39`	Curtis Enis	So
WR	`83`	Joe Jurevicius	Jr
QB	`9`	Mike McQueary	Jr
G	`64`	Phil Ostrowski	Jr
QB	`14`	Wally Richardson	Sr
QB	`16`	Kevin Thompson	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`6`	Aaron Collins	Jr
S	`3`	Kim Herring	Sr
SS	`4`	Derek Fox	Fr
LB	`44`	Jim Nelson	Jr
CB	`27`	David Macklin	Fr
LB	`98`	Matt Rhule	So
DB	`45`	Jon Sandusky	Fr
DE	`5`	Brad Scioli	So
LB	`43`	Brandon Short	Fr
DE	`91`	Chris Snyder	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`20`	Brett Conway	Sr
P	`28`	Darrell Kania	Sr

Three Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1997 NFL Draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
2nd	28	58	Kim Herring	Free safety	Baltimore Ravens
3rd	30	90	Brett Conway	Placekicker	Green Bay Packers
7th	33	234	Wally Richardson	Quarterback	Baltimore Ravens

1996 Penn State Nittany Lions football

Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 38–15 vs. Texas
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 7
Record	11–2 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Joe Paterno (31st season)
Offensive coordinator	Fran Ganter (13th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Jerry Sandusky (20th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
Seasons ← 1995 1997 →