1996 Sun Bowl
| 1996 Norwest Sun Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Sun Bowl Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | El Paso, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | QB Chad Hutchinson (Stanford) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 42,271 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$1,000,000 per team[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Gus Johnson, Artie Gigantino, Scott Moore | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 3.7 | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1996 Norwest Sun Bowl, played on December 31, 1996, featured the Stanford Cardinal and the Michigan State Spartans.
Stanford scored first following a lateral from running back Josh Madsen to Leroy Pruitt. The 78 yard play went for a touchdown, and set the day for a Stanford rout. In the second quarter, quarterback Chad Hutchinson threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to fullback Jon Ritchie for a 14–0 lead. Adam Salina scored on a 1-yard touchdown run before halftime to increase Stanford's lead to 21–0.
Kevin Miller added a 24-yard field goal in the third to give Stanford a 24–0 lead. Damon Dunn later scored on a 1-yard run moving the lead to 31–0. Stanford's final points came on a 6-yard return of a blocked punt for a touchdown, making the final score 38–0.
The two teams faced off again seventeen years later on January 1, 2014, in the 2014 Rose Bowl, but this time, Michigan State won 24-20.