1996 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

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Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 6

1996 Big 12 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
North Division
No. 6 Nebraska x%	8	–	0	11	–	2
No. 8 Colorado	7	–	1	10	–	2
No. 17 Kansas State	6	–	2	9	–	3
Missouri	3	–	5	5	–	6
Kansas	2	–	6	4	–	7
Iowa State	1	–	7	2	–	9
South Division
No. 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
x – Division champion/co-champions $ – Bowl Alliance representative as champion % – Bowl Alliance at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

This was the first season for Nebraska in the Big 12 Conference, which took on that name after adding four schools from the disbanded Southwest Conference; the conference had been known as the Big Eight Conference since 1964, and was the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association before that. Nebraska was placed in the North Division with the four other Midwest schools in the conference, plus Colorado, all of which were in the conference prior to 1996; the Oklahoma schools joined with the former SWC members (all of which were in Texas) to form the South Division.

Nebraska participated in the very first Big 12 Championship Game by winning the North Division. They were upset by the unranked winners of the South Division, Texas. They still played in an Alliance bowl, the Orange Bowl, where they beat Virginia Tech.

Schedule

^[1]

September 711:00 AMMichigan State*No. 1

ABCW 55–14 75,590 September 219:15 PMat No. 17 Arizona State*No. 1

FSNL 0–19 74,089 September 2811:30 AMColorado State*No. 8

Memorial Stadium
Lincoln, Nebraska

ABCW 65–9 75,575 October 511:30 AMat No. 16 Kansas StateNo. 7

ABCW 39–3 43,916 October 121:00 PMBaylorNo. 5

Memorial Stadium
Lincoln, Nebraska

W 49–0 75,478 October 192:30 PMat Texas TechNo. 5

ABCW 24–10 51,344 October 266:00 PMKansasNo. 5

Memorial Stadium
Lincoln, Nebraska

FSNW 63–7 75,158 November 211:00 AMat OklahomaNo. 5

ABCW 73–21 75,004 November 91:00 PMMissouriNo. 5

Memorial Stadium
Lincoln, Nebraska (Rivalry)

W 51–7 75,133 November 161:00 PMat Iowa StateNo. 5

W 49–14 47,850 November 291:30 PMNo. 5 ColoradoNo. 4

Memorial Stadium
Lincoln, Nebraska (Rivalry)

ABCW 17–12 75,695 December 712:00 PMvs. TexasNo. 3

ABCL 27–37 63,109 December 317:00 PMvs. No. 10 Virginia Tech*No. 6

CBSW 41–21 51,212

Template:CFB Schedule End

Roster and coaching staff

1996 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
FB	`38`	Dan Alexander	Fr
OT	`70`	Eric Anderson	Jr
WB	`35`	Sean Applegate	Fr
RB		Rod Baker	Fr
C	`57`	Matt Baldwin	Fr
OL		Sasho Becvarovski	Fr
IB	`21`	Damon Benning	Sr
SE		Tom Beveridge	Fr
WB	`14`	Lance Brown	So
TE	`90`	Tim Carpenter	Jr
SE	`6`	Kenny Cheatham	So
QB	`9`	Monte Christo	So
OT	`68`	Jeff Clausen	Fr
FB	`42`	Josh Cobb	So
TE	`83`	T.J. DeBates	Fr
C		Chris Deitloff	Fr
OL		Billy Diekmann	Fr
G	`75`	Chris Dishman	Sr
OL		Trenton Douglas	Fr
SE		J.R. Edwards	Fr
IB	`22`	Chad Eicher	Jr
IB	`4`	DeAngelo Evans	Fr
OL		Justin Ferrell	Fr
SE	`87`	Demond Finister	Fr
QB		Clint Finley	Fr
SE	`88`	Craig Fischer	Fr
SE		Tim Frame	Fr
QB	`7`	Scott Frost	Jr
OT	`53`	Lonnie Fulton	Fr
WB		Mike Gentile	Fr
OT	`72`	Ben Gessford	So
WB		John Gibson	Fr
IB	`30`	Ahman Green	So
SE	`80`	Billy Haafke	So
TE		Chris Hastings	Fr
C	`54`	Aaron Havlovic	Fr
SE	`82`	Ryan Held	Jr
OT	`74`	Kyle Henson	So
C	`59`	Josh Heskew	Jr
OL		Russ Hochstein	Fr
SE	`5`	Brendan Holbein	Sr
G	`66`	Joe Horst	Jr
G	`62`	Matt Hoskinson	Jr
TE	`88`	Sheldon Jackson	So
TE	`34`	Vershan Jackson	Jr
G	`52`	Marcus Johnson	Fr
OT	`69`	Adam Julch	Fr
FB	`22`	Ben Kingston	So
TE	`83`	Chad Kobus	Fr
SE	`89`	Jeff (Robert) Lake	Jr
FB	`40`	Billy Legate	So
QB	`1`	Frankie London	Fr
FB	`45`	Joel Makovicka	So
TE		Jake McKee	Fr
OT	`78`	Kory Mikos	Sr
WB	`17`	Andy Miller	So
FB		Willie Miller	Fr
IB	`24`	Jason Olnes	Fr
QB	`12`	Jeff Perino	Fr
RB		Hank Piening	Fr
OT	`73`	Fred Pollack	Jr
IB	`27`	Steve Raymond	Fr
TE	`86`	Dorrick Roy	So
QB		Jay Runty	Fr
OL		Chris Saalfeld	Fr
FB		Matt Schoening	Fr
FB	`28`	Brian Schuster	Sr
G	`65`	Jason Schwab	Fr
C	`56`	Doug Seaman	Jr
G	`63`	James Sherman	Fr
IB	`31`	James Sims	Jr
RB		Travis Soucie	Fr
FB		Jeremy Stanislav	Fr
OT	`69`	Jim Tansey	Fr
C	`67`	Aaron Taylor	Jr
FB		Arby Todd	Fr
OT	`77`	Adam Treu	Sr
QB	`11`	Matt Turman	Sr
G	`71`	Mike Van Cleave	Jr
WB	`25`	Jon Vedral	Sr
C	`51`	Matt Vrzal	Sr
G	`61`	Brandt Wade	So
OL		Brian Walters	Fr
TE		Brandon Wardyn	Fr
OL		David Webber	Fr
WB	`33`	Sean Wieting	Jr
WB	`29`	Shevin Wiggins	So
QB		Chad Wiles	Fr
TE	`85`	Aaron Wills	Fr
G	`64`	Jon Zatechka	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`48`	Dave Alderman	Sr
DT	`90`	Derek Allen	Fr
DT	`94`	Luis Almanzar	Fr
DB		Josh Anderson	Fr
RE	`96`	Travis Antholz	Fr
WLB	`40`	Erick Arens	Fr
SLB	`81`	Larry Arnold	Sr
RE	`87`	Chris Bassett	Jr
FS	`24`	Jason Benes	Jr
RCB	`17`	Chad Blahak	Sr
LB		Blaine Boellstorff	Fr
LCB	`20`	Michael Booker	Sr
DB	`21`	Mike Brown	Fr
DB	`22`	Ralph Brown	Fr
MLB	`47`	Ben Buettenback	Fr
RCB	`2`	Leslie Dennis	Jr
ROV	`20`	George Dittrick	Fr
DT	`74`	Brandon Drum	So
DL		Jason Dush	Fr
WLB	`43`	Terrell Farley	Sr
DB		Eric Fischer	Fr
MLB	`56`	Jay Foreman	So
SLB	`37`	Russell Froehlich	So
RCB	`12`	Mike Fullman	Sr
RE	`85`	Sean Gard	Jr
DL		Bobby Gill	Fr
DE		George Guidry	Fr
SLB	`86`	Trent Gumm	So
DB		Brad Hamik	Fr
LB	`44`	Jon Hesse	Sr
WLB	`49`	Quint Hogrefe	So
WLB	`53`	Matt Hunting	Jr
MLB	`50`	Julius Jackson	Fr
RCB		Tom Jeffrey	Fr
DB		Eric Johnson	So
RE		Dave Jones	So
DE		Loran Kaiser	Fr
RE	`57`	Chad Kelsay	So
WLB	`43`	Josh Kohl	Fr
RE	`80`	Curt Lenners	Jr
ROV	`14`	Gregg List	Fr
WLB	`35`	Casey Macken	So
ROV	`21`	Kalin Makaiwi	So
RCB	`2`	Alex McClymont	So
ROV	`4`	Octavious McFarlin	Jr
FS	`29`	Greg McGraw	Fr
DT	`72`	Tom Milius	Fr
RE	`83`	Bryce Miller	Sr
ROV	`10`	Mike Minter	Sr
RE		Brandon Mooberry	Fr
RE		John Murphy	Fr
DT	`97`	Jeff Ogard	Sr
SLB	`37`	Tony Ortiz	Fr
DT	`95`	Jason Peter	Jr
RCB	`26`	Jerome Peterson	Fr
LB		Carlos Polk	Fr
DB		Brandon Quindt	Fr
CB		Khari Reynolds	Fr
ROV	`39`	Mike Roberts	Sr
DL		Laron Rooks	Fr
RE	`84`	Mike Rucker	So
RE	`86`	Eric Ryan	Fr
DT	`74`	Scott Saltsman	Sr
RE		Matt Schwager	Fr
RE	`15`	Kareem Sears	Fr
SLB	`46`	Brian Shaw	Fr
DL		Scott Siebenborn	Fr
FS	`16`	Eric Stokes	Sr
WLB	`91`	Ryan Terwilliger	Sr
DT	`79`	Ross Tessendorf	So
LCB	`27`	Andy Thompson	So
RE	`92`	Travis Toline	So
RE	`93`	Jared Tomich	Sr
DT	`94`	Larry Townsend	Sr
DT	`65`	Theron Troxel	Fr
LB		Chad Tuttle	Fr
LB		Noland Urban	Fr
DB		Casey Vanderhoef	Fr
FS	`32`	Eric Walther	So
FS	`3`	Eric Warfield	Jr
DT		Steve Warren	Fr
DB		Troy Watchorn	Fr
WLB	`52`	Keely Watson	Jr
FS	`25`	Jeff Wells	Fr
SLB	`28`	Jamel Williams	Sr
DT	`99`	Jason Wiltz	So
DL		Terry Winston	Fr
RE	`98`	Grant Wistrom	Jr
RE	`87`	Brendan Zahl	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
PK	`35`	Kris Brown	So
P/PK	`17`	Dan Hadenfeldt	Fr
P	`19`	Jesse Kosch	Jr
P	`23`	Bill Lafleur	So
PK		Chace Long	Fr
P	`8`	Brian Morro	So
PK	`13`	Ted Retzlaff	Jr

Head coach

Tom Osborne
   24th season
   33rd year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Nebraska

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Charlie McBride
   16th season as DC/LB coach
   20th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Colorado
Turner Gill
   5th season as QB coach
   5th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Nebraska
Craig Bohl
   2nd season as LB coach
   5th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Nebraska
Ron Brown
   10th season as WR/TE coach
   10th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Brown
Dan Young
   14th season as OL/K coach
   14th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Reed
Milt Tenopir
   23rd season as OL coach
   23rd year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Sterling
Tony Samuel
   11th season as OLB coach
   11th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Nebraska
George Darlington
   DB coach
   24th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Rutgers
Frank Solich
   14th season as RB coach
   18th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Nebraska
Boyd Epley
   28th season as S&C coach
   28th year at Nebraska
   Alma mater: Nebraska

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: January 17, 2011

Game notes

Michigan State

Michigan State at Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	0	0	7	7	14
• Nebraska	7	20	21	7	55

Date: September 7
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,590

Arizona State

Nebraska at Arizona State [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Nebraska	0	0	0	0	0
• Arizona State	9	8	0	2	19

Date: September 21
Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Game attendance: 74,089

Colorado State

Colorado State at Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colorado State	0	6	0	3	9
• Nebraska	7	17	20	21	65

Date: September 28
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,575

Kansas State

Nebraska at Kansas State [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Nebraska	6	12	14	7	39
Kansas State	0	3	0	0	3

Date: October 5
Location: KSU Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas
Game attendance: 43,916

Baylor

Baylor at Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Baylor	0	0	0	0	0
• Nebraska	7	21	14	7	49

Date: October 12
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,478

Texas Tech

Nebraska at Texas Tech [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Nebraska	7	3	7	7	24
Texas Tech	7	3	0	0	10

Date: October 19
Location: Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium, Lubbock, Texas
Game attendance: 51,344

Kansas

Kansas at Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas	0	7	0	0	7
• Nebraska	7	35	14	7	63

Date: October 26
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,158

Oklahoma

Nebraska at Oklahoma [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Nebraska	0	17	28	28	73
Oklahoma	0	0	0	21	21

Date: November 2
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 75,004

Missouri

Missouri at Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Missouri	0	0	0	7	7
• Nebraska	7	16	28	0	51

Date: November 9
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,133

Iowa State

Nebraska at Iowa State [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Nebraska	20	8	14	7	49
Iowa State	0	0	7	7	14

Date: November 16
Location: Cyclone Stadium, Ames, Iowa
Game attendance: 47,850

Colorado

Colorado at Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colorado	6	0	3	3	12
• Nebraska	7	10	0	0	17

Date: November 29
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,695

Texas

Nebraska vs Texas [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Nebraska	7	10	7	3	27
• Texas	7	13	3	14	37

Date: December 7
Location: Trans World Dome, St. Louis, Missouri
Game attendance: 63,109

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech vs Nebraska [box score]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Virginia Tech	7	7	7	0	21
• Nebraska	0	17	14	10	41

Date: December 31
Location: Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Game attendance: 51,212

Rankings

Ranking Movement
Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Final
AP	1	1	1	1	1	8	7	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	3	6	6
Coaches																		6

Awards

^[2]

Award	Name(s)
All-America 1st team	Aaron Taylor, Jared Tomich, Grant Wistrom
All-America 2nd team	Chris Dishman
Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year	Grant Wistrom
All-America Freshman 1st team	Ralph Brown
All-Big 12 1st team	Chris Dishman, Jon Hesse, Jared Tomich, Mike Minter, Jason Peter, Aaron Taylor, Grant Wistrom
All-Big 12 2nd team	Eric Anderson, Michael Booker, Kris Brown, Jeff Ogard, Jamel Williams
All-Big 12 3rd team	Scott Frost, Terrell Farley, Ahman Green
All-Big 12 honorable mention	Ralph Brown, DeAngelo Evans, Brendan Holbein, Vershan Jackson, Jesse Kosch, Brian Schuster, Eric Stokes, Jon Vedral, Jamel Williams
Big 12 Coach of the Year	Tom Osborne

NFL and pro players

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1996 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.^[3]

Name	Team
Dan Alexander	Tennessee Titans
Eric Anderson	Amsterdam Admirals
Michael Booker	Atlanta Falcons
Kris Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Brown	Chicago Bears
Ralph Brown	New York Giants
Chris Dishman	Arizona Cardinals
Clint Finley	Kansas City Chiefs
Jay Foreman	Buffalo Bills
Scott Frost	New York Jets
Ahman Green	Seattle Seahawks
Jon Hesse	Green Bay Packers
Russ Hochstein	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sheldon Jackson	Buffalo Bills
Vershan Jackson	Kansas City Chiefs
Eric Johnson	Oakland Raiders
Chad Kelsay	Pittsburgh Steelers
Bill Lafleur	Barcelona Dragons
Joel Makovicka	Arizona Cardinals
Mike Minter	Carolina Panthers
Tony Ortiz	Scottish Claymores
Jason Peter	Carolina Panthers
Carlos Polk	San Diego Chargers
Mike Rucker	Carolina Panthers
Eric Stokes	Seattle Seahawks
Jared Tomich	New Orleans Saints
Larry Townsend	Berlin Thunder
Adam Treu	Oakland Raiders
Eric Warfield	Kansas City Chiefs
Steve Warren	Green Bay Packers
Jamel Williams	Washington Redskins
Jason Wiltz	New York Jets
Grant Wistrom	St. Louis Rams
Jon Zatechka	Berlin Thunder

References

^ "Football - 1996 Schedule/Results". University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved May 21, 2009.
^ 1996 Husker Honors
^ "All Time NFL Huskers". Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[1] "Football - 1996 Schedule/Results". University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved May 21, 2009.

[2] 1996 Husker Honors

[3] "All Time NFL Huskers". Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Venues	Lincoln Park (1891–1893) Antelope Field (1894–1908) Nebraska Field (1909–1922) Memorial Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls and rivalries	Bowl games Colorado (Buffalo Head) Iowa (Heroes Trophy) Kansas Kansas State Miami (FL) Minnesota ($5 Bits of Broken Chair) Missouri (Victory Bell) Oklahoma Wisconsin (Freedom Trophy)
Culture and lore	History Herbie Husker Lil' Red "Dear Old Nebraska U" "Hail Varsity" Cornhusker Marching Band Blackshirts Origin of "Cornhuskers" nickname 1939 Kansas State game Game of the Century (1971 Oklahoma game) Fumblerooski 1982 Penn State game Flea Kicker Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass 2009 Big 12 Championship Game Yes Man
People	Head coaches All-Americans Athletic directors College Football Hall of Famers NFL draftees Pro Football Hall of Famers Statistical leaders
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold