1996 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

1996 Arizona State Sun Devils football
1996 Arizona State Sun Devils football
Pac-10 champion
Rose Bowl, L 17–20 vs. Ohio State
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 4
Record	11–1 (8–0 Pac-10)
Head coach	Bruce Snyder (5th season);
Offensive coordinator	Dan Cozzetto (5th season)
Defensive coordinator	Phil Snow (2nd as DC, 5th overall season)
Home stadium	Sun Devil Stadium; (Capacity: 73,379)
	Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 Arizona State $	8	–	0	11	–	1
No. 16 Washington	7	–	1	9	–	3
Stanford	5	–	3	7	–	5
UCLA	4	–	4	5	–	6
Oregon	3	–	5	6	–	5
California	3	–	5	6	–	6
USC	3	–	5	6	–	6
Arizona	3	–	5	5	–	6
Washington State	3	–	5	5	–	6
Oregon State	1	–	7	2	–	9

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 7	7:00 pm	Washington	No. 20	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona	FSN	W 45–42	73,379
September 14	7:00 pm	North Texas*	No. 18	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona		W 52–7	46,173
September 21	7:15 pm	No. 1 Nebraska*	No. 17	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona	FSN	W 19–0	74,089
September 28	3:30 pm	Oregon	No. 6	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona	FSN	W 48–27	54,618
October 5	7:00 pm	Boise State*	No. 5	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona		W 56–7	49,018
October 12	12:30 pm	at UCLA	No. 4	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California	ABC	W 42–34	66,107
October 19	12:30 pm	USC	No. 4	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona	ABC	W 48–35 ^2OT	74,947
October 26	12:30 pm	at Stanford	No. 4	Stanford Stadium Stanford, California	ABC	W 41–9	32,550
November 2	2:00 pm	at Oregon State	No. 4	Parker Stadium Corvallis, Oregon		W 29–14	21,946
November 9	4:30 pm	California	No. 4	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona	FSN	W 35–7	74,963
November 23	4:30 pm	at Arizona	No. 4	Arizona Stadium Tucson, Arizona (Duel in the Desert)	FSN	W 56–14	59,920
January 1, 1997	1:30 pm	vs. No. 4 Ohio State*	No. 2	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California (Rose Bowl)	ABC	L 17–20	100,635
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Conference opponent not played this season: Washington State

Roster

1996 Arizona State Sun Devils football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
TE		Kendrick Bates
RB	`8`	Terry Battle	Sr
WR	`24`	Ricky Boyer	So
TE	`82`	Steve Bush	Sr
QB	`11`	Steve Campbell	So
RB		Marlon Farlow
QB		Gus Farwell
OT	`70`	Glen Gable	Jr
RB	`39`	Scott Hansen	Jr
WR	`83`	Lenzie Jackson	So
TE	`87`	Brian Jennings	Fr
TE	`88`	Devin Kendall	Sr
RB	`29`	Michael Martin	Jr
WR	`81`	Kenny Mitchell	So
RB		Mike Morales
G	`56`	Kyle Murphy	Jr
WR	`7`	Isaiah Mustafa
FB	`44`	Jeff Paulk	So
QB	`16`	Jake Plummer	Sr
WR	`3`	Keith Poole	Sr
RB	`21`	J. R. Redmond	Fr
C	`65`	Kirk Robertson	Sr
OL		Zack Romero
OT	`74`	Juan Roque	Sr
G	`51`	Grey Ruegamer	So
OT	`71`	Marvel Smith	Fr
WR		Craig Spenn
OL	`67`	Pat Thompson	Sr
RB		Kevin Tommasini

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`12`	Jeremy Alexander	Sr
DE	`98`	Vincent Amey	Jr
DL		Albrey Battle
DE	`55`	Dave Baumgartner	Sr
DT	`94`	Brent Burnstein	Sr
DE	`93`	Malchi Crawford	Jr
LB	`47`	Chris Finn	Sr
DB		Mitchell Freedman
DB		Courtney Jackson
DB	`39`	Damien Richardson	Jr
LB	`59`	Derrick Rodgers	Sr
DT	`92`	Jeremy Staat	Jr
CB	`10`	Jason Simmons	Sr
S	`9`	Thomas Simmons	Jr
LB	`36`	Derek Smith	Sr
DB		Marcus Soward
DT	`99`	Shawn Swayda	Sr
DB	`42`	Pat Tillman	Jr
DB, RB	`22`	Raenaurd Turpin	Sr
LB	`50`	Scott Von der Ahe	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P	`17`	Lance Anderson	Jr
K	`41`	Robert Nycz	Jr

Head coach

Bruce Snyder

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Dan Cozzetto – Offensive coordinator
Phil Snow – Defensive coordinator
Kevin Wolthausen – Defensive line

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	20	20	20	18	17	6 (1)	5 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	4 (1)	4 (2)	4 (2)	3 (3)	2 (5)	2 (5)	4
Coaches Poll	—	—	—	23	22	12	7	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	3 (3)	2 (6)	2 (5)	4

Game summaries

Washington

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

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Washington	7	7	7	21	42
Arizona St	7	7	14	17	45

at Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona

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

Game information

First quarter

ASU – Michael Martin 35-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 11:45. Arizona St 7–0. Drive:
WASH – Dave Janoski 67-yard punt return (kick good). Tie 7–7

Second quarter

WASH – Rashaan Shehee 6-yard run (kick good), 6:19. Washington 14–7. Drive:
ASU – Ricky Boyer 13-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 0:48. Tie 14–14. Drive:

Third quarter

WASH – Cameron Cleeland 36-yard pass from Shane Fortney (kick good). 'Washington 21–14. Drive:
ASU – Michael Martin 1-yard run (Robert Nycz kick). Tie 21–21. Drive:
ASU – Isaiah Mustafa recovered fumble in end zone (Robert Nycz kick), 3:07. Arizona St 28–21.

Fourth quarter

ASU – Terry Battle 7-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 14:31. Arizona St 35–21. Drive:
ASU – Steve Bush 1-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 12:01. Arizona St 42–21. Drive:
WASH – Brock Huard 10-yard run (kick good), 9:00. Arizona St 42–28. Drive:
WASH – Gerald Harris 67-yard pass from Brock Huard (kick good), 7:15. Arizona St 42–35. Drive:
WASH – Corey Dillon 8-yard run (kick good), 5:13. Tie 42–42. Drive:
ASU – Robert Nycz 38-yard field goal, 0:02. Arizona St 45–42. Drive:

Top passers

WASH – Brock Huard – 6/11, 143 yards, TD
ASU – Jake Plummer – 16/30, 186 yards, 3 TD

Top rushers

WASH
ASU

Top receivers

WASH
ASU

^[1]

North Texas

Nebraska

Nebraska at Arizona State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Cornhuskers	0	0	0	0	0
• No. 17 Sun Devils	9	8	0	2	19

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

^[2]^[3]^[4]

Oregon

^[5]

Boise State

^[6]

At UCLA

Arizona State at UCLA

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 4 Sun Devils	7	7	7	21	42
Bruins	21	7	6	0	34

Date: October 12
Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Game attendance: 66,107

^[7]

USC

^[8]

At Stanford

^[9]

At Oregon State

Arizona State at Oregon State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 4 Sun Devils	6	3	13	7	29
Beavers	0	14	0	0	14

Date: November 2
Location: Parker Stadium, Corvallis, Oregon
Game attendance: 21,946

^[10]

California

California at Arizona State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Bears	7	0	0	0	7
• No. 20 Sun Devils	0	14	7	14	35

Date: November 9
Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Game attendance: 74,963

^[11]

At Arizona

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

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Arizona St	7	21	14	14	56
Arizona	0	7	0	7	14

at Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona

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

Game information

First quarter

ASU – Terry Battle 20-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 0:15. Arizona St 7–0. Drive: 3 plays, 34 yards, 0:59.

Second quarter

ASU – Terry Battle 4-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 12:17. Arizona St 14–0. Drive: 2 plays, 5 yards, 0:32.
ARIZ – Keith Smith 1-yard run (Matt Peyton kick), 8:20. Arizona St 14–7. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:57.
ASU – Keith Poole 27-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 7:13. Arizona St 21–7. Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:07.
ASU – Terry Battle 1-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 1:17. Arizona St 28–7. Drive: 6 plays, 73 yards, 1:45.

Third quarter

ASU – Keith Poole 40-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 10:22. Arizona St 35–7. Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards, 2:30.
ASU – Steve Bush 10-yard pass from Jake Plummer (Robert Nycz kick), 0:39. Arizona St 42–7. Drive: 8 plays, 53 yards, 3:24.

Fourth quarter

ARIZ – Mikal Smith 98-yard interception return (Matt Peyton kick), 12:18. Arizona St 42–14.
ASU – Marlon Farlow 1-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 10:47. Arizona St 49–14. Drive: 5 plays, 56 yards, 1:31.
ASU – Marlon Farlow 8-yard run (Robert Nycz kick), 1:06. Arizona St 56–14. Drive: 11 plays, 85 yards, 7:27.

Top passers

ASU – Jake Plummer – 10/19, 201 yards, 3 TD, 2 int
ARIZ – Keith Smith – 6/15, 91 yards, INT

Top rushers

ASU – Terry Battle – 23 rushes, 143 yards, 3 TD
ARIZ – Leon Callen – 6 rushes, 19 yards

Top receivers

ASU – Keith Poole – 4 receptions, 123 yards, 2 TD
ARIZ – Jeremy McDaniel – 2 receptions, 54 yards

Bruce Snyder's 100th career win
Terry Battle passes 1,000 yards rushing for the season (ASU – 450 rush yards)

^[12]

Vs. Ohio State (Rose Bowl)

Ohio State vs. Arizona State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 4 Buckeyes	7	0	7	6	20
No. 2 Sun Devils	0	7	3	7	17

Date: January 1
Location: Rose Bowl
Game attendance: 100,635
Referee: Terry Monk
TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger (Play-by-play), Dick Vermeil (Analyst), and Jack Arute (Sideline)

^[13]

Awards and honors

Jake Plummer – Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year, Third in Heisman Trophy balloting
Bruce Snyder – Paul "Bear" Bryant Award^[14]

1996 team players in the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1997 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Juan Roque	Tackle	2	35	Detroit Lions
Jake Plummer	Quarterback	2	42	Arizona Cardinals
Derek M. Smith	Outside Linebacker	3	80	Washington Redskins
Derrick Rodgers	Outside Linebacker	3	92	Miami Dolphins
Keith Poole	Wide receiver	4	116	New Orleans Saints
Scott Von der Ahe	Linebacker	6	182	Indianapolis Colts
Shawn Swayda	Defensive tackle	6	196	Chicago Bears
Terry Battle	Running back	7	206	Detroit Lions