The 1996 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of WisconsinâÂÂMadison as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh year under head coach Barry Alvarez, the Badgers compiled an 8âÂÂ5 record (3âÂÂ5 in conference games), finished in seventh place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 339 to 233. Against ranked opponents, they lost to No. 3 Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State, and No. 14 Northwestern. They concluded the season with a victory over Utah in the Copper Bowl. The Badgers were unranked in the final AP and Coaches polls.
The team's statistical leaders for all games, including bowl game, were quarterback Mike Samuel (1,752 passing yards, 58.27% completion percentage), running back Ron Dayne (2,109 rushing yards, 6.5 yards per carry, 126 points scored), wide receiver Donald Hayes (44 receptions for 629 yards), and linebacker Pete Monty (85 solo tackles, 149 total tackles. Monty won the team's most valuable player award. Defensive lineman Tarek Saleh received first-team honors from the Football News on the 1996 All-America team. Four Badgers received first-team honors from the coaches or media on the 1996 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Dayne (Coaches-1, Media-1); Saleh (Coaches-1, Media-1); Monty (Coaches-1 [tie]; Media-2); and guard Jamie Vanderveldt (Media-1).
The team played its home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
Wisconsin started off quickly in 1996, winning their first three games against Eastern Michigan, UNLV, and Stanford. However, the Badgers then encountered far stiffer opposition against Penn State, Ohio State, Northwestern, and Michigan State. In the Northwestern game, Wisconsin RB Ron Dayne stunningly fumbled with just under a minute remaining. Northwestern recovered and scored the winning touchdown, sealing Wisconsin's third consecutive loss. The Badgers lost their fourth straight game the next week, falling 30–13 to Michigan State.
The Badgers snapped their four-game losing streak with consecutive wins against Purdue and rival Minnesota, before suffering a humiliating 31–0 loss at the hands of Hayden Fry's Iowa Hawkeyes. After falling to 5–5, the Badgers would win the final games on their regular season slate by beating Illinois and Hawaii, earning a bid to the Copper Bowl. The Badgers defeated the Utah Utes 38–10 in the 1996 Copper Bowl.
Wisconsin RB Ron Dayne ran for over 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns in the 1996 season, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year Honors in the process.