1996–97 NCAA football bowl games

Number of bowl games per state.

Season| 1996
Regular season| August 24-December 7
Number of bowls| 18
Bowl games| December 19, 1996 –
January 2, 1997
National Championship| 1997 Sugar Bowl
Location of Championship| Louisiana Superdome,
New Orleans, Louisiana
Champions| Florida Gators
| Bowl record by conference

Conference|  Bowls|  Record|  Final AP poll
Big Ten|  7|  4–3 (0.571)|  5
SEC|  5|  5–0 (1.000)|  5
Big 12|  5|  2–3 (0.400)|  4
Big East|  4|  2–2 (0.500)|  3
ACC|  4|  1–3 (0.250)|  2
Pac-10|  4|  1–3 (0.250)|  2
Independents|  2|  1–1 (0.500)|  2
WAC|  2|  1–1 (0.500)|  2
Big West|  1|  1–0 (1.000)|  0
Conference USA|  1|  0–1 (0.000)|  0
MAC|  1|  0–1 (0.000)|  0

* <-1995-96
* Bowl game
* 1997-98->

Number of bowl teams per state.

The 1996-97 NCAA College Football Bowl Games post-season schedule followed the 1996 NCAA Division I-A regular football season in college football and contained 18 bowl games. This started with the 4th annual Las Vegas Bowl and ended with the 1997 Sugar Bowl. The Sugar Bowl served as the Bowl Alliance national championship game[citation needed] for the 1996 season and occurred in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Featuring a rematch between the #1 Florida State Seminoles and the #3 Florida Gators, the Gators reversed the outcome of their regular season game with the Seminoles to capture both the AP and Bowl Alliance championships.

## Non-Bowl Alliance bowls

[edit]

Date  | Game  | Site  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

Dec 19  | 1996 Las Vegas Bowl | Sam Boyd Stadium
Las Vegas, NV | Nevada 18, Ball State 15  |
Dec 25  | 1996 Aloha Bowl | Aloha Stadium
Honolulu, HI | Navy 42, Cal 38  |
Dec 27  | 1996 Carquest Bowl | Pro Player Stadium
Miami Gardens, FL | (19) Miami 31, Virginia 21  |
1996 Liberty Bowl | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Memphis, TN | (23) Syracuse 30, Houston 17  |
1996 Copper Bowl | Arizona Stadium
Tucson, AZ | Wisconsin 38, Utah 10  |
Dec 28  | 1996 Peach Bowl | Georgia Dome
Atlanta, GA | (17) LSU 10, Clemson 7  |
Dec 29  | 1996 Alamo Bowl | Alamodome
San Antonio, TX | (21) Iowa 27, Texas Tech 0  |
Dec 30  | 1996 Holiday Bowl | Jack Murphy Stadium
San Diego, CA | (8) Colorado 33, (13) Washington 21  |
Dec 31  | 1996 Independence Bowl | Independence Stadium
Shreveport, LA | Auburn 32, (24) Army 29  |
1996 Sun Bowl | Sun Bowl Stadium
El Paso, TX | Stanford 38, Michigan State 0  |
Jan 1  | 1997 Outback Bowl | Houlihan's Stadium
Tampa, FL | (16) Alabama 17, (15) Michigan 14  |
1997 Cotton Bowl Classic | Cotton Bowl
Dallas, TX | (5) BYU 19, (14) Kansas State 15  |
1997 Gator Bowl | Alltel Stadium
Jacksonville, FL | (12) North Carolina 20, (25) West Virginia 13  |
1997 Rose Bowl | Rose Bowl
Pasadena, CA | (4) Ohio State 20, (2) Arizona State 17  |
1997 Florida Citrus Bowl | Florida Citrus Bowl
Orlando, FL | (9) Tennessee 48, (11) Northwestern 28  |
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game.

## Bowl Alliance games

[edit]

\-  | Date  | Game  | Site  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

Dec 31  | 1996 Orange Bowl | Pro Player Stadium
Miami Gardens, FL | (6) Nebraska 41, (10) Virginia Tech 21  |
Jan 1  | 1997 Fiesta Bowl | Sun Devil Stadium
Tempe, AZ | (7) Penn State 38, (20) Texas 15  |
Jan 2  | 1997 Sugar Bowl (championship game)  | Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, LA | (3) Florida 52, (1) Florida State 20  |
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game.

## Final rankings

[edit]

### AP Poll

[edit]

1\. Florida
2\. Ohio State
3\. Florida State
4\. Arizona State
5\. BYU
6\. Nebraska
7\. Penn State
8\. Colorado
9\. Tennessee
10\. North Carolina
11\. Alabama
12\. LSU
13\. Virginia Tech
14\. Miami (FL)
15\. Northwestern
16\. Washington
17\. Kansas State
18\. Iowa
19\. Notre Dame
20\. Michigan
21\. Syracuse
22\. Wyoming
23\. Texas
24\. Auburn
25\. Army

### Coaches' Poll

[edit]

1\. Florida
2\. Ohio State
3\. Florida State
4\. Arizona State
5\. BYU
6\. Nebraska
7\. Penn State
8\. Colorado
9\. Tennessee
10\. North Carolina
11\. Alabama
12\. Virginia Tech
13\. LSU
14\. Miami (FL)
15\. Washington
16\. Northwestern
17\. Kansas State
18\. Iowa
19\. Syracuse
20\. Michigan
21\. Notre Dame
22\. Wyoming
23\. Texas
24\. Auburn
25\. Army

|

* v
* t
* e

1996–97 NCAA football bowl game season

* Las Vegas (Dec. 19)
* Aloha (Dec. 25)
* Carquest (Dec. 27)
* Liberty (Dec. 27)
* Copper (Dec. 27)
* Peach (Dec. 28)
* Alamo (Dec. 29)
* Holiday (Dec. 30)
* Independence (Dec. 31)
* Sun (Dec. 31)
* Outback (Jan. 1)
* Cotton (Jan. 1)
* Gator (Jan. 1)
* Florida Citrus (Jan. 1)
* Rose (Jan. 1)

* Bowl Alliance games: Orange (Dec. 31)
* Fiesta (Jan. 1)
* Sugar (Jan. 2)

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