The 1996 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of NebraskaâÂÂLincoln 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 their previous conference, the Big Eight Conference added four schools from the disbanded Southwest Conference. Nebraska was placed in the new conference's North Division along with Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, and Colorado.
The Cornhuskers entered the season as the two-time defending national champions, having won the first Bowl Alliance championship game at the Fiesta Bowl in January 1996, and were ranked #1 in the polls to start the season. Nebraska also entered the season with a winning streak of 25 games, having not lost since falling to Florida State in the 1994 Orange Bowl.
Nebraska opened the season with a rout of Michigan State in their home opener and traveled to face Arizona State, a team they had defeated 77âÂÂ28 the year before. This time, the results were different as Nebraska was shut out in a 19âÂÂ0 defeat to snap their winning streak. They would not lose again during the regular season, winning the Big XII North and climbing back up to #3 in the polls. Their division win earned the Cornhuskers a place in the first Big 12 Championship Game against the winner of the South Division, unranked Texas. With a potential national championship game berth at stake, Nebraska lost for the second time in 1996 as Texas defeated them 37âÂÂ27 to secure the automatic Bowl Alliance berth for the conference.
Despite this, Nebraska managed to qualify for the Bowl Alliance as an at-large team and was invited to play in the Orange Bowl, where they beat Virginia Tech.
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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.<br>