Record: 71-53-5, .570 W-L% (3rd of 11) (Schedule and Results)
SRS: 11.20 (1st of 11) ▪ SOS: 8.81 (1st of 11)
Conference Champion: Northwestern
Ranked in Preseason AP Poll: 4 (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin)
Ranked in Final AP Poll: 5 (Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State and Penn State)
| Overall | Conference | Pts/G | SRS | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | W | L | T | Pct | W | L | T | Pct | Own | Opp | SRS | SOS | Notes |
| Northwestern | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 25.9 | 15.1 | 19.60 | 9.27 | |
| Ohio State | 11 | 2 | 0 | .846 | 7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | 36.5 | 16.9 | 23.75 | 8.60 | |
| Penn State | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 33.3 | 21.6 | 17.86 | 8.28 | |
| Michigan | 9 | 4 | 0 | .692 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 26.0 | 17.2 | 16.14 | 8.29 | |
| Michigan State | 6 | 5 | 1 | .542 | 4 | 3 | 1 | .563 | 23.9 | 28.2 | 7.68 | 9.27 | |
| Iowa | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 30.7 | 21.6 | 11.21 | 4.79 | |
| Illinois | 5 | 5 | 1 | .500 | 3 | 4 | 1 | .438 | 17.5 | 18.0 | 8.85 | 9.31 | |
| Wisconsin | 4 | 5 | 2 | .455 | 3 | 4 | 1 | .438 | 21.4 | 23.0 | 8.12 | 9.94 | |
| Purdue | 4 | 6 | 1 | .409 | 2 | 5 | 1 | .313 | 25.6 | 24.5 | 9.58 | 9.86 | |
| Minnesota | 3 | 8 | 0 | .273 | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | 24.7 | 33.5 | 2.23 | 9.05 | |
| Indiana | 2 | 9 | 0 | .182 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 14.5 | 29.6 | -1.82 | 10.28 | |
| School | Pre | 8/29 | 9/5 | 9/12 | 9/19 | 9/26 | 10/3 | 10/10 | 10/17 | 10/24 | 10/31 | 11/7 | 11/14 | 11/21 | 11/28 | 12/5 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| Northwestern | 25 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 | |||||
| Penn State | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 19 | 19 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 13 |
| Michigan | 14 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 17 |
| Iowa | 23 | 18 | 25 | 25 | |||||||||||||
| Illinois | 25 | ||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 21 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 24 |
| Date | Bowl | Winner/Tie | Pts | Loser/Tie | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-01-01 | Citrus Bowl | Tennessee | 20 | Ohio State | 14 | Citrus Bowl (Orlando, FL) |
| 1996-01-01 | Hall of Fame Bowl | Penn State | 43 | Auburn | 14 | Hall of Fame Bowl (Tampa, FL) |
| 1996-01-01 | Rose Bowl | Southern California | 41 | Northwestern | 32 | Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA) |
| 1995-12-29 | Independence Bowl | Louisiana State | 45 | Michigan State | 26 | Independence Bowl (Shreveport, LA) |
| 1995-12-29 | Sun Bowl | Iowa | 38 | Washington | 18 | Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX) |
| 1995-12-28 | Alamo Bowl | Texas A&M | 22 | Michigan | 20 | Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX) |
| Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year: | Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern) |
| Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year: | Eddie George (Ohio State) |
| Big Ten Coach of the Year: | Gary Barnett (Northwestern) |