1996 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

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

1996 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
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

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

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

Roster

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	Head coach Joe Paterno Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL Draft

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