1996 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1996 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record2–9 (1–7 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorPaul Schudel (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorDenny Marcin (5th season)
MVPRobert Holcombe
Captains
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1996 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 Ohio State +   7 – 1     11 – 1  
No. 15 Northwestern +   7 – 1     9 – 3  
No. 7 Penn State   6 – 2     11 – 2  
No. 18 Iowa   6 – 2     9 – 3  
No. 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  
  1 – 7     2 – 9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Ron Turner, the Fighting Illini compiled a 2–9 record (1–7 in conference games), finished in a three-way tie for ninth and last place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 372 to 190.[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Scott Weaver (1,701 passing yards), running back Robert Holcombe (1,281 rushing yards, 78 points scored), and wide receiver Jason Dulick (53 receptions for 614 yards).[2]

The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 312:30 pmat No. 12 Michigan
ABCL 8–20105,992
September 72:30 pmNo. 19 USC*
ABCL 3–5556,504
September 149:00 pmat Arizona*
FSNL 0–4143,012
September 211:00 pmAkron*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 38–748,285
October 51:00 pmIndiana
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 46–43 2OT55,534
October 1211:20 amat Michigan State
ESPN PlusL 14–4271,639
October 2611:20 amat No. 11 Northwestern
ESPN PlusL 24–2748,187
November 211:20 amNo. 25 Iowadagger
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
ESPN PlusL 21–3154,381
November 911:30 amNo. 2 Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (Illibuck)
ESPNL 0–4854,412
November 166:00 pmat Minnesota
L 21–2334,321
November 231:00 pmWisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
L 15–3537,814
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[3]

Roster

1996 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 15 Justin Cella Fr
TE 86 Matt Cushing Jr
TE 87 Mark Day Jr
WR 1 Michael Dean Fr
RB 7 Ty Douthard Sr
WR 83 Jason Dulick Sr
RB 35 Robert Holcombe Jr
QB 9 Kirk Johnson Fr
C 69 Chris Koerwitz Sr
OL 72 Jay Kuchenbecker Sr
OL 67 J. P. Machado So
WR 22 Rob Majoy So
WR 6 George McDonald-Ashford  So
OL 60 Ryan Schau So
OL 62 Tom Schau So
QB 11 Scott Weaver Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 48 Danny Clark Fr
DL 92 Tom Claussen Sr
DL 66 Garrett Johnson So
LB 41 Eric Guenther So
DB 39 Mike Gusich So
DT 76 Tremaine Halley Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

References

  1. ^ "1996 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  2. ^ "1996 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
  3. ^ "fightingillini.com". Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
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