1996 Michigan State Spartans football team

1996 Big Ten football standings
	+ – Conference co-champions; Rankings from AP Poll

Michigan State Spartans football
1996 Michigan State Spartans football
Sun Bowl vs. Stanford, L, 0–38
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1996 record	6–6 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Nick Saban (2nd year)
Offensive coordinator	Gary Tranquill (2nd year)
Offensive scheme	Pro Set
Defensive coordinator	Dean Pees (2nd year)
Base defense	4-3
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium (72,027)
« 1995	1997 »

The 1996 Michigan State Spartans football team competed on behalf of Michigan State University in the Big Ten Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. Head coach Nick Saban was in his second season with the Spartans. Michigan State played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartans went 6–5 overall and 5–3 in conference play during the regular season.^[1] The team played in the Sun Bowl on December 31, 1996 and were defeated 0–38 by Stanford.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	12:30 PM	Purdue	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN	W 52–14	72,511
September 7	12:00 PM	at #1 Nebraska*	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	ABC	L 14–55	75,590
September 21	1:00 PM	Louisville*	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI		L 20–30	70,311
September 28	12:30 PM	Eastern Michigan*	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	SCD	W 47–0	69,941
October 5	2:00 PM	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA		L 30–37	70,397
October 12	12:00 PM	Illinois	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN+	W 42–14	71,639
October 19	4:00 PM	at Minnesota	Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN		W 27–9	45,434
October 26	12:30 PM	Wisconsin	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	W 30–13	69,217
November 2	12:00 PM	at #9 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)	ABC	L 29–45	106,381
November 9	1:00 PM	Indiana	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Old Brass Spittoon)		W 38–15	64,719
November 23	3:30 PM	at #7 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Land Grant Trophy)	ABC	L 29–32	96,263
December 31	2:30 PM	vs. Stanford*	Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl)	CBS	L 0–38	42,271
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

The following players were selected in the 1997 NFL Draft.

v t e Michigan State Spartans football
Venues	Spartan Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana (Old Brass Spittoon) Michigan (Paul Bunyan Trophy) Notre Dame (Megaphone Trophy) Penn State (Land Grant Trophy)
Culture & lore	Sparty "Victory for MSU" Marching band Zeke the Wonder Dog Winged football helmet 1966 "Game of the Century" Clockgate 2006 Northwestern game
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
National championship seasons in bold

1996 Big Ten football standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#2 Ohio State +		7	–	1		11	–	1
#15 Northwestern +		7	–	1		9	–	3
#7 Penn State		6	–	2		11	–	2
#18 Iowa		6	–	2		9	–	3
#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