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1996 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

The 1996 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented the Arizona State University in the 1996 NCAA Division I-A college football season. The team's head coach was Bruce Snyder, who was coaching his fifth season with the Sun Devils and 17th season overall. Home games were played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. They participated as members of the Pacific-10 Conference.

Regular season

In 1996, the Sun Devils went a surprising 11–1, highlighted by a 19–0 shutout of the number-one-ranked, two-time defending national champion, Nebraska Cornhuskers in Tempe, ending Nebraska's 26-game win streak. The upset win also gained a measure of revenge from the previous season, when they went into Lincoln and were not only defeated by a 77–28 margin, but were enraged after the eventual national champions threw a long touchdown pass in the game's final minutes. ASU quarterback Jake Plummer led the Sun Devils, propelling Arizona State into the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Had the Sun Devils won, they would have had a very good chance of winning at least a share of the national championship, as they would have been the only undefeated major-college team in the nation. The Sun Devils led 17–14 with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter, but surrendered a late touchdown to Ohio State, falling by a final score of 20–17. As it turned out, Florida State lost in the Sugar Bowl to the Florida Gators; had the Sun Devils won, they would have had a perfect 12–0 record while the Gators would have finished with one regular season loss (to the Seminoles).

Schedule

The Sun Devils finished the regular season with an 11–0 record.

Conference opponent not played this season: Washington State

Roster

Rankings

Game summaries

Washington

Washington Huskies (0–0) at #20 Arizona State Sun Devils (0–0)

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

  • Date: September 21, 1996
  • Game weather: 95 °F (35 °C)
  • Game attendance: 73,379

[1]

North Texas

Nebraska

[2][3][4]

Oregon

[5]

Boise State

[6]

At UCLA

[7]

USC

[8]

At Stanford

[9]

At Oregon State

[10]

California

[11]

At Arizona

#4 Arizona State Sun Devils (10–0) at Arizona Wildcats (5–5)

at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona

  • Date: November 23, 1996
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 62 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 59,920
  • Recap/Box Score

[12]

Vs. Ohio State (Rose Bowl)

[13]

Awards and honors

1996 team players in the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1997 NFL draft.

[15]

References

  1. ^ "Arizona St. 45, Washington 42". The Washington Post. September 8, 1996. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  2. ^ "Sun Devils Become Cornshockers: Arizona State Ends Nebraska's 26-Game Winning Streak, 19-0". The Spokesman-Review. September 22, 1996. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  3. ^ "ARIZONA STATE SHOCKS NO. 1 NEBRASKA, 19-0". The Buffalo News. September 21, 1996. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  4. ^ "DEVIL OF AN UPSET". Sports Illustrated. September 30, 1996. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  5. ^ "No Letdown for Arizona State". Los Angeles Times. September 29, 1996. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  6. ^ "Arizona State Is Still Running in High Gear, 56-7". Los Angeles Times. October 6, 1996. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  7. ^ "Sun Devils Survive UCLA Scare: Plummer Spearheads Late Rally To Keep Arizona State Unbeaten". The Spokesman-Review. October 13, 1996. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  8. ^ "ARIZONA ST. 48, USC 35". Chicago Tribune. October 20, 1996. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  9. ^ "Arizona State Routs Stanford, 41-9". Los Angeles Times. October 27, 1996. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  10. ^ "Arizona St. 29, Oregon St. 14". The Washington Post. November 2, 1996. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  11. ^ "Sun Devils Clinch Title: Easy Win Puts Asu In Rose Bowl". The Spokesman-Review. November 10, 1996. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  12. ^ "Arizona State Flattens Arizona". The Spokesman-Review. November 24, 1996. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  13. ^ "Time Runs Out on Sun Devils' National Title Bid". The New York Times. January 2, 1997. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  14. ^ "Bear Bryant Award Past Winners -". Archived from the original on December 27, 2007.
  15. ^ "1984 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2015.