The Michigan State Spartans were 6-5 in 1996. They fell to the Stanford Cardinal, 38 to 0, in the Sun Bowl.
| GP | PTS | YDS | PLY | AVG | RUSH YDS | RUSH ATT | RUSH AVG | PASS YDS | PASS ATT | PASS AVG | SCK | SCKY | 1DWN | RUSH 1DWN | PASS 1DWN | PEN 1DWN | PEN | PEN YDS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 11 | 358 | 4,576 | 854 | 5.4 | 2,067 | 546 | 3.8 | 2,509 | 308 | 8.1 | ||||||||
Team Rank | 21st | 30th | 14th | 48th | 32nd | 13th | 60th | 39th | 60th | 18th | |||||||||
Opponent | 11 | 264 | 3,314 | 4.6 | 1,284 | 421 | 3.0 | 2,030 | 296 | 6.9 | |||||||||
Opponent Rank | 50th | 17th | 27th | 19th | 26th | 20th | 32nd | 24th | 46th | ||||||||||
Net | +94 | +1,262 | +854 | +0.7 | +783 | +125 | +0.7 | +479 | +12 | +1.3 | |||||||||
Net Rank | 33rd | 15th | 14th | 29th | 23rd | 15th | 32nd | 25th | 50th | 27th |
| Big 10 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 2 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Independent | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 9 | 3 | .750 |
| Pac-12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 9 | .182 | |
| 2 | 5 | 6 | .455 |
| Mountain West | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | .636 |
| Big 12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 10 | 1 | .909 |
| American Athletic | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 10 | 1 | .909 |
| Mid-American | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | .667 | |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | .636 |
| Conference USA | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 4 | .636 | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 |
| Sun Belt | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 |