2021 Big Ten Conference football season

2021 Big Ten Conference football standings
	East Division
	West Division
	Championship: Michigan 42, Iowa 3
	^ – College Football Playoff participant; $ – Conference champion; x – Division champion/co-champions; y – Championship game participant; As of December 4, 2021; Rankings from CFP Rankings

2021 Big Ten Conference football season
2021 Big Ten Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	August 28, 2021; through January 13, 2022
Number of teams	14
TV partner(s)	Fox Sports (Fox/FS1, Big Ten Network), ESPN (ESPN, ESPN2, ABC)
2022 NFL Draft
Regular season
East Division champions	Michigan & Ohio State (co-champions)
West Division champions	Iowa
Championship Game
Champions	Michigan
Runners-up	Iowa
Finals MVP	Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan
Football seasons
	← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 Big Ten conference football season is the 126th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and part of the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This is the Big Ten's eighth season with 14 teams. The defending league champion is Michigan.

With a win on November 26 over Nebraska, and a loss by Wisconsin on November 27, Iowa won the Big Ten West division.^[2] With a win over Ohio State on November 27^[3] Michigan clinched a share of the Big Ten East division championship and a spot in the Big Ten Championship game against Iowa on December 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium.^[4]

Nine Big Ten teams were bowl-eligible at the completion of the regular season: Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, and Wisconsin.^[5] A tenth, Rutgers, was added by NCAA contingency plans on December 23 as Texas A&M withdrew from the Gator Bowl, and with no bowl eligible teams available, the NCAA chose their replacement using Academic Progress Rate regulations.

Previous season[]

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the 2020 season originally being canceled.^[6] However, after an agreed-upon testing regimen was developed and the fact that many other major college conferences continued their seasons, the conference reinstated the season.^[7] The season was delayed to the end of October with no non-conference games to be played. The conference settled on an eight-game conference-only regular season, beginning on October 23, along with a ninth cross-over week of contests the week of the conference championship game.^[8]

Ohio State won the East Division title and made their sixth appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game and fourth consecutive appearance. In the West Division, Northwestern won the division title. In that championship game, Ohio State defeated Northwestern 22–10 to win their fourth consecutive Big Ten championship. With that win, the Buckeyes landed a spot in the 2020–21 College Football Playoff as the No. 3 seed. The Buckeyes defeated No. 2 Clemson in the Sugar Bowl (national semifinal) before losing to top-seeded Alabama in the national championship game in Miami.

Five teams qualified for bowl games in the 2020 season, however Iowa's Music City Bowl matchup with Missouri was canceled due to COVID-19. The Big Ten went 3–2 in its postseason games.

Coaching changes[]

Illinois hired former Arkansas and Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema to serve as head coach, replacing Lovie Smith who was fired during the 2020 season.^[9]

Preseason[]

Recruiting classes[]

Rankings
Team	ESPN^[10]	Rivals^[11]	Scout & 24/7^[12]	Signees
Illinois	>40	72	73	18
Indiana	>40	66	54	14
Iowa	22	24	24	19
Maryland	18	19	18	24
Michigan	14	11	13	22
Michigan State	>40	46	45	19
Minnesota	27	41	38	18
Nebraska	39	18	20	20
Northwestern	>40	53	50	16
Ohio State	2	2	2	23
Penn State	24	26	21	17
Purdue	>40	76	76	16
Rutgers	40	40	42	21
Wisconsin	20	15	16	21

Big Ten Media Days[]

Preseason Media Poll[]

Below are the results of the preseason media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses. For the 2021 poll, Ohio State was voted as the favorite to win both the East Division and the Big Ten Championship Game. This is the 11th iteration of the preseason media poll conducted by Cleveland.com, which polls at least one credentialed media member for each Big Ten team. Only three times in the last 11 years has the media accurately predicted the Big Ten champion.^[13]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
East
1	Ohio State	238 (34)
2	Penn State	192
3	Indiana	169
4	Michigan	144
5	Maryland	79
6	Rutgers	77.5
7	Michigan State	52.5

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
West
1	Wisconsin	233 (29)
2	Iowa	202 (5)
3	Northwestern	160
4	Minnesota	146
5	Nebraska	91.5
6	Purdue	72.5
7	Illinois	47

Rank	Team	Votes
Media poll (Big Ten Championship)
1	Ohio State over Wisconsin	28
2	Ohio State over Iowa	5
3	Wisconsin over Ohio State	1

Preseason awards[]

Below are the results of the annual Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year awards conducted by Cleveland.com.^[14] ^[15]

Rank	Player	Position	Team	Votes (1st place)
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
1	Chris Olave	WR	Ohio State	58 (11)
2	Michael Penix Jr.	QB	Indiana	44.5 (8)
3	Mohamed Ibrahim	RB	Minnesota	36 (4)
4	Tyler Linderbaum	C	Iowa	13 (1)
5	Garrett Wilson	WR	Ohio State	12 (1)
6	David Bell	WR	Purdue	10 (1)
7	C. J. Stroud	QB	Ohio State	6 (2)
7	Jahan Dotson	WR	Penn State	6 (1)
7	Graham Mertz	QB	Wisconsin	6 (1)
10	Tyler Goodson	RB	Iowa	5 (1)
11	Ty Fryfogle	RB	Indiana	4 (1)
12	Tanner Morgan	QB	Minnesota	3.5 (1)

Rank	Player	Position	Team	Votes (1st place)
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
1	Brandon Joseph	S	Northwestern	49 (11)
2	George Karlaftis	DE	Purdue	33 (8)
3	Haskell Garrett	DT	Ohio State	30.5 (5)
4	Micah McFadden	LB	Indiana	28 (6)
5	Olakunle Fatukasi	LB	Rutgers	18 (3)
6	Aidan Hutchinson	DE	Michigan	11
7	Jack Sanborn	LB	Wisconsin	7
7	Tiawan Mullen	CB	Indiana	7 (1)
9	Zach Harrison	DE	Ohio State	3.5
10	Jaquan Brisker	S	Penn State	3
10	Sevyn Banks	CB	Ohio State	3
12	Boye Mafe	DE	Minnesota	2
12	Chris Bergin	LB	Northwestern	2
12	Cam Taylor-Britt	CB	Nebraska	2
12	Jake Hansen	LB	Illinois	2
16	JoJo Domann	S/LB	Nebraska	1
16	Tyshon Fogg	LB	Rutgers	1
16	Owen Carney	LB	Illinois	1

Award	Head Coach/Player	School	Position	Link
Lott Trophy				^[16]
Dodd Trophy				^[17]
Maxwell Award				^[18]
Bednarik Award				^[19]
Davey O'Brien Award				^[16]
Doak Walker Award				^[20]
Fred Biletnikoff Award				^[21]
John Mackey Award				^[22]
Rimington Trophy				^[23]
Butkus Award				^[24]
Outland Trophy				^[25]
Bronko Nagurski Trophy				^[26]
Lou Groza Award				^[27]
Paul Hornung Award				^[28]
Wuerffel Trophy				^[29]
Walter Camp Award				^[30]
Manning Award				^[31]
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award				^[32]
Ray Guy Award				^[33]
Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award				^[34]
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award				^[35]

Rankings[]

		Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14
Illinois	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Indiana	AP	17	RV	RV
	C	17	RV	RV		RV
	CFP	Not released
Iowa	AP	18	10	5	5	5	3	2	11	9	19	19	18	17	15	17
	C	18	12	7	6	5	3	2(1)	11	10	16	14	14	12	12	16
	CFP	Not released									22	20	17	16	13	15
Maryland	AP		RV	RV	RV	RV
	C		RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Michigan	AP	RV	RV	25	19	14	9	8	6	6	9	9	8	6	2	2
	C	RV	RV	25	19	14	8	7	6	6	10	8	7	6	3	2
	CFP	Not released									7	6	6	5	2	2
Michigan State	AP		RV	RV	20	17	11	10	9	8	5	8	7	12	11	11
	C		RV	RV	21	16t	11	9	7	7	6	9	8	13	13	10
	CFP	Not released									3	7	7	12	11	10
Minnesota	AP									RV	RV				RV	RV
	C										RV	RV			RV	RV
	CFP	Not released									20
Nebraska	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Northwestern	AP	RV
	C	RV
	CFP	Not released
Ohio State	AP	4 (1)	3	9	10	11	7	6	5	5	6	6	5	2	7	7
	C	4	3	11	12	10	7	6	5	5	5	5	4	3	7	7
	CFP	Not released									5	4	4	2	7	6
Penn State	AP	19	11	10	6	4	4	7	7	20	22	23	RV	RV	RV	RV
	C	20	13	12	8	6	4	8	8	17	23	23	RV	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Purdue	AP								25			RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	C								RV			RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released										19
Rutgers	AP					RV
	C		RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Wisconsin	AP	12	18	18	18	RV					RV	20	19	18	RV	RV
	C	15	17	17	15	RV					RV	24	20	18	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released									21	18	15	14

**Legend**
		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
		No change in ranking from previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

Schedule[]

Index to colors and formatting
Big Ten member won
Big Ten member lost
Big Ten teams in bold

All times Eastern time.

† denotes Homecoming game

Regular season schedule[]

Week 0[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 28	1:00 PM	Nebraska	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	FOX	ILL 30–22	41,064
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 1[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	8:00 PM	No. 4 Ohio State	Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	FOX	OSU 45–31	50,805
September 3	9:00 PM	Michigan State	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	ESPN	MSU 38–21	34,248
September 4	12:00 PM	Temple	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 61–14	52,519
September 4	12:00 PM	Fordham	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	BTN	W 52–7	85,938
September 4	12:00 PM	Western Michigan	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	ESPN	W 47–14	109,295
September 4	12:00 PM	No. 19 Penn State	No. 12 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	FOX	PSU 16–10	76,832
September 4	3:30 PM	No. 17 Indiana	No. 18 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	BTN	IA 34–6	68,166
September 4	3:30 PM	West Virginia	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD (rivalry)	ESPN	W 30–24	43,811
September 4	7:00 PM	Oregon State	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	FS1	W 30–21	53,656
September 4	7:30 PM	UTSA	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	L 30–37	33,906
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 2[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 11	11:00 AM	Illinois	Virginia	Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, VA	ACCN	L 14–42	36,036
September 11	12:00 PM	Youngstown State	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	BTN	W 42–14	70,103
September 11	12:00 PM	Miami (OH)	Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	ESPNU	W 31–26	43,372
September 11	12:00 PM	Indiana State	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	W 24–6	26,181
September 11	12:00 PM	No. 12 Oregon	No. 3 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	FOX	L 28–35	100,482
September 11	2:00 PM	Rutgers	Syracuse	Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY	ACCN	W 17–7	31,941
September 11	3:00 PM	Purdue	Connecticut	Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT	CBSSN	W 49–0	14,817
September 11	3:30 PM	Buffalo	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	BTN	W 28–3	85,663
September 11	3:30 PM	Ball State	No. 11 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	FS1	W 44–13	105,323
September 11	4:30 PM	No. 10 Iowa	No. 9 Iowa State	Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA (Cy-Hawk Trophy)	ABC	W 27–17	61,500
September 11	7:00 PM	Eastern Michigan	No. 18 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	FS1	W 34–7	70,967
September 11	7:30 PM	Idaho	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	BTN	W 56–14	47,417
September 11	7:30 PM	Howard	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD	BTN	W 62–0	31,612
September 11	7:30 PM	Washington	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	ABC	W 31–10	108,345
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 3[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 17	9:00 PM	Maryland	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	FS1	MD 20–17	37,168
September 18	12:00 PM	Nebraska	No. 3 Oklahoma	Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK (NU-OU Rivalry)	FOX	L 16–23	84,659
September 18	12:00 PM	No. 8 Cincinnati	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ESPN	L 24–38	52,656
September 18	12:00 PM	Michigan State	No. 24 Miami (FL)	Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL	ABC	W 38–17	46,427
September 18	12:00 PM	Northern Illinois	No. 25 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	BTN	W 63–10	106,263
September 18	1:00 PM	Minnesota	Colorado	Folsom Field • Boulder, CO	P12N	W 30–0	47,482
September 18	2:30 PM	Purdue	No. 12 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN (Shillelagh Trophy)	NBC	L 13–27	74,341
September 18	3:30 PM	Kent State	No. 5 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	BTN	W 30–7	61,932
September 18	3:30 PM	Tulsa	No. 9 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	FS1	W 41–20	76,540
September 18	3:30 PM	No. 6 (FCS) Delaware	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 45–13	40,120
September 18	4:00 PM	Northwestern	Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium • Durham, NC	ACCN	L 23–30	12,323
September 18	7:30 PM	No. 22 Auburn	No. 10 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ABC	W 28–20	109,958
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 18	#18 Wisconsin

Week 4[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 25	12:00 PM	No. 18 Wisconsin	No. 12 Notre Dame	Soldier Field • Chicago, IL	FOX	L 13–41	59,571
September 25†	12:00 PM	Bowling Green	Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	ESPNU	L 10–14	46,236
September 25	12:00 PM	Ohio	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	W 35–6	27,129
September 25	12:00 PM	No. 11 (FCS) Villanova	No. 6 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	BTN	W 38–17	105,790
September 25	3:30 PM	Rutgers	No. 19 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	ABC	MICH 20–13	106,943
September 25	3:30 PM	Illinois	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Purdue Cannon)	BTN	PUR 13–9	52,840
September 25	3:30 PM	Colorado State	No. 5 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	FS1	W 24–14	65,456
September 25	3:30 PM	Kent State	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD	BTN	W 37–16	30,117
September 25	7:00 PM	Nebraska	No. 20 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	FS1	MSU 23–20 ^OT	70,332
September 25	7:30 PM	Akron	No. 10 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	BTN	W 59–7	95,178
September 25	8:00 PM	Indiana	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN	W 33–31	25,171
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 5[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 1	8:00 PM	No. 5 Iowa	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD	FS1	IA 51–14	45,527
October 2	12:00 PM	No. 14 Michigan	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	FOX	MICH 38–17	74,855
October 2†	12:00 PM	Minnesota	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	BTN	MN 20–13	51,111
October 2	12:00 PM	Charlotte	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	W 24–14	30,559
October 2	3:30 PM	No. 11 Ohio State	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	OSU 52–13	51,006
October 2	7:30 PM	Indiana	No. 4 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ABC	PSU 24–0	105,951
October 2†	7:30 PM	Northwestern	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	BTN	NEB 56–7	87,364
October 2†	7:30 PM	Western Kentucky	No. 17 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	BTN	W 48–31	70,075
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 6[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 9†	12:00 PM	Maryland	No. 7 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	FOX	OSU 66–17	99.277
October 9†	12:00 PM	No. 11 Michigan State	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	MSU 31–13	41,117
October 9†	3:30 PM	Wisconsin	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	WIS 24–0	40,168
October 9	4:00 PM	No. 4 Penn State	No. 3 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	FOX	IA 23–20	69,250
October 9	7:30 PM	No. 9 Michigan	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	ABC	MICH 32–29	87,380
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 9	Indiana	Minnesota	Northwestern	Purdue

Week 7[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 16	12:00 PM	Nebraska	Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN ($5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy)	ESPN2	MIN 30–23	45,436
October 16†	12:00 PM	No. 10 Michigan State	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN (Old Brass Spittoon)	FS1	MSU 20–15	50,571
October 16†	12:00 PM	Rutgers	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	NW 21–7	30,218
October 16†	3:30 PM	Purdue	No. 2 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	ABC	PUR 24–7	69,250
October 16	8:00 PM	Army	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	BTN	W 20–14	76,314
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 16	Illinois	Maryland	#8 Michigan	#6 Ohio State	#7 Penn State

Week 8[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 23	12:00 PM	Northwestern	No. 6 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (Jewett Trophy)	FOX	MICH 33–7	109,449
October 23†	12:00 PM	Illinois	No. 7 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ABC	ILL 20–18 ^9OT	105,001
October 23	3:00 PM	Wisconsin	No. 25 Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	BTN	WIS 30–13	61,320
October 23	3:30 PM	Maryland	Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	MIN 34–16	41,011
October 23	7:30 PM	No. 5 Ohio State	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ABC	OSU 54–7	52,656
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 23	#11 Iowa	#9 Michigan State	Nebraska	Rutgers

Week 9[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
October 30	12:00 PM	No. 6 Michigan	No. 8 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)	FOX	MSU 37–33	76,549
October 30†	12:00 PM	No. 9 Iowa	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI (Heartland Trophy)	ESPN	WIS 27–7	74,209
October 30†	12:00 PM	Indiana	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD	BTN	MD 38–35	32,308
October 30	12:00 PM	Rutgers	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	RUT 20–14	36,942
October 30	3:30 PM	Purdue	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	ESPN2	PUR 28–23	85,902
October 30	3:30 PM	Minnesota	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	MIN 41–14	28,158
October 30	7:30 PM	No. 20 Penn State	No. 5 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH (OSU-PSU Rivalry)	ABC	OSU 33–24	102,951
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 10[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 6	12:00 PM	Illinois	Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	ILL 14–6	46,382
November 6	12:00 PM	No. 6 Ohio State	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	FOX	OSU 26–17	84,426
November 6	3:30 PM	Wisconsin	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	WIS 52–3	40,280
November 6	3:30 PM	No. 22 Penn State	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD (MD-PSU Rivalry)	FS1	PSU 31–14	46,924
November 6	3:30 PM	No. 5 Michigan State	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	ABC	PUR 40–29	57,282
November 6	7:00 PM	No. 19 Iowa	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	IA 17–12	38,141
November 6	7:30 PM	Indiana	No. 9 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	FOX	MICH 29–7	109,890
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 11[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 13	12:00 PM	Northwestern	No. 20 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	ESPN2	WIS 35–7	73,194
November 13	12:00 PM	No. 9 Michigan	No. 23 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ABC	MICH 21–17	109,534
November 13	12:00 PM	Rutgers	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	BTN	RUT 38–3	40,171
November 13	3:30 PM	Minnesota	No. 19 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale)	BTN	IA 27–22	69,250
November 13	3:30 PM	Purdue	No. 6 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ABC	OSU 59–31	101,009
November 13	4:00 PM	Maryland	No. 8 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	FOX	MSU 40–21	67,437
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 13	Illinois	Nebraska

Week 12[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 20	12:00 PM	Purdue	Northwestern	Wrigley Field • Chicago, IL	BTN	PUR 32–14	31,500
November 20	12:00 PM	No. 7 Michigan State	No. 5 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ABC	OSU 56–7	101,858
November 20	12:00 PM	Rutgers	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	BTN	PSU 28–0	106,038
November 20	2:00 PM	Illinois	No. 18 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	FS1	IA 33–23	64,132
November 20	3:30 PM	Minnesota	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	BTN	MIN 35–14	38,079
November 20	3:30 PM	No. 8 Michigan	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD	BTN	MICH 59–18	36,181
November 20	3:30 PM	Nebraska	No. 19 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI (Freedom Trophy)	ABC	WIS 35–28	67,888
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 13[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
November 26	1:30 PM	No. 17 Iowa	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE (Heroes Trophy)	BTN	IA 28–21	86,541
November 27	12:00 PM	No. 2 Ohio State	No. 6 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (The Game)	FOX	MICH 42–27	111,156
November 27	12:00 PM	Maryland	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	MD 40–16	42,729
November 27	3:30 PM	Northwestern	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL (Land of Lincoln Trophy)	BTN	ILL 47–14	27,624
November 27	3:30 PM	Indiana	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	FS1	PUR 44–7	61,320
November 27	3:30 PM	Penn State	No. 12 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Land Grant Trophy)	ABC	MSU 30–27	0
November 27	4:00 PM	No. 18 Wisconsin	Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	FOX	MIN 23–13	49,736
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Big Ten Championship Game[]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
December 4	8:00 PM	No. 2 Michigan	No. 15 Iowa	Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, IN	FOX	MICH 42–3	67,183
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Postseason[]

Bowl games[]

For the 2020–2025 bowl cycle, The Big Ten will have annually eight appearances in the following bowls: Rose Bowl (unless they are selected for playoffs filled by a Pac-12 team if champion is in the playoffs), Citrus Bowl, Guaranteed Rate Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, Music City Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Quick Lane Bowl, and Outback Bowl. The Big Ten teams will go to a New Year's Six bowl if a team finishes higher than the champions of Power Five conferences in the final College Football Playoff rankings. The Big Ten champion is also eligible for the College Football Playoff if it's among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking.

On December 22, Texas A&M withdrew from the Gator Bowl, citing a breakout of positive COVID-19 cases and season-ending injuries limiting them to few players.^[36] On December 23, the NCAA football oversight committee approved Rutgers as the first bowl alternate, under rules where five-win teams are calculated by Academic Progress Rate calculations. Rutgers finished first in APR among the five-win schools and was given the offer to accept the bid. The NCAA also allowed the game to be postponed as late as January 10th in order to allow any replacement teams time. ^[37]

Legend
	Big Ten win
	Big Ten loss

Bowl game	Date	Site	Television	Time (EST)	Big Ten team	Opponent
Guaranteed Rate Bowl	December 28, 2021	Chase Field • Phoenix, AZ	ESPN	10:15 PM	Minnesota	West Virginia
Pinstripe Bowl	December 29, 2021	Yankee Stadium • New York, NY	ESPN	2:15 PM	Maryland	Virginia Tech
Music City Bowl	December 30, 2021	Nissan Stadium • Nashville, TN	ESPN	3:00 PM	Purdue	Tennessee
Las Vegas Bowl	December 30, 2021	Allegiant Stadium • Las Vegas, NV	ESPN	10:30 PM	Wisconsin	Arizona State
Gator Bowl	December 31, 2021	TIAA Bank Field • Jacksonville, FL	ESPN	11:00 AM	Rutgers	#20 Wake Forest
Outback Bowl	January 1, 2022	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPN2	12:30 PM	Penn State	#22 Arkansas
Citrus Bowl	January 1, 2022	Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL	ABC	1:00 PM	#17 Iowa	#25 Kentucky
New Year's Six Bowls
Peach Bowl	December 30, 2021	Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPN	7:00 PM	#11 Michigan State	#13 Pittsburgh
Rose Bowl	January 1, 2022	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA	ESPN	5:00 PM	#7 Ohio State	#10 Utah
College Football Playoff
Orange Bowl (semifinal)	December 31, 2021	Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL	ESPN	7:30 PM	#2 Michigan	#3 Georgia
CFP National Championship Game	January 10, 2022	Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, IN	ESPN	8:00 PM

Rankings are from AP Poll. All times Eastern Time Zone.

Big Ten records vs other conferences[]

Through October 16, 2021

2021–2022 records against non-conference foes:

Power Conferences 5	Record
ACC	2–2
Big 12	2–1
BYU/Notre Dame	0–2
Pac-12	3–1
SEC	1–0
Power 5 Total	8–6

Other FBS Conferences	Record
American	2–1
C–USA	4–1
Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)	1–0
MAC	10–1
Mountain West	1–0
Sun Belt	0–0
Other FBS Total	18–3

FCS Opponents	Record
Football Championship Subdivision	7–0

Total Non-Conference Record	33–9

Awards and honors[]

Player of the week honors[]

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special Teams			Freshman
Week	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team
Week 0 (Aug. 30) ^[38]	Artur Sitkowski	QB	ILL	Calvin Hart Jr.	LB	ILL	Blake Hayes	P	ILL	Deuce Spann	WR	ILL

Week 1 (Sept. 6) ^[39]	Kenneth Walker III	RB	MSU	Riley Moss	DB	IA	Jordan Stout	K/P	PSU	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU

Week 2 (Sept. 13) ^[40]	Blake Corum	RB	MICH	Luke Reimer	LB	NEB	Adam Korsak	P	RUT	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU
Week 2 (Sept. 13) ^[40]	Blake Corum	RB	MICH	Luke Reimer	LB	NEB	Tory Taylor	P	IA	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU

Week 3 (Sept. 20) ^[41]	Payton Thorne	QB	MSU	Brandon Smith	LB	PSU	Aron Cruickshank	WR	RUT	TreVeyon Henderson	RB	OSU
Week 3 (Sept. 20) ^[41]	TreVeyon Henderson	RB	OSU	Brandon Smith	LB	PSU	Joseph Petrino	K	MD	TreVeyon Henderson	RB	OSU

Week 4 (Sept. 27) ^[42]	Sean Clifford	QB	PSU	Jack Campbell	LB	IA	Jayden Reed	WR	MSU	Kyle McCord	QB	OSU
Week 4 (Sept. 27) ^[42]	Evan Hull	RB	NW	Jack Campbell	LB	IA	Jayden Reed	WR	MSU	Kyle McCord	QB	OSU

Week 5 (Oct. 4) ^[43]	Chase Brown	RB	ILL	David Ojabo	LB	MICH	Mark Crawford	P	MIN	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU
Week 5 (Oct. 4) ^[43]	Chase Brown	RB	ILL	JoJo Domann	LB	NEB	Jordan Stout	P/K	PSU	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU

Week 6 (Oct. 11) ^[44]	Jalen Nailor	WR	MSU	Matt Hankins	DB	IA	Jacob Moody	K	MICH	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU
Week 6 (Oct. 11) ^[44]	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU	Brad Hawkins	DB	MICH	Jacob Moody	K	MICH	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU

Week 7 (Oct. 18) ^[45]	David Bell	WR	PUR	Cam Allen	S	PUR	Matt Coghlin	K	MSU	Braelon Allen	RB	WIS

Week 8 (Oct. 25) ^[46]	Chase Brown	RB	ILL	Leo Chenal	LB	WIS	Collin Larsh	K	WIS	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU\

Week 9 (Nov. 1) ^[47]	Kenneth Walker III	RB	MSU	Jalen Graham	LB/S	PUR	Noah Ruggles	K	OSU	Andrel Anthony	WR	MICH
Week 9 (Nov. 1) ^[47]	Kenneth Walker III	RB	MSU	Jalen Graham	LB/S	PUR	Adam Korsak	P	RUT	Mar'Keise Irving	RB	MIN

Week 10 (Nov. 8) ^[48]	Jahan Dotson	WR	PSU	Ji'Ayir Brown	S	PSU	Blake Hayes	P	ILL	Braelon Allen	RB	WIS
Week 10 (Nov. 8) ^[48]	Aiden O'Connell	QB	PUR	Ji'Ayir Brown	S	PSU	Blake Hayes	P	ILL	Braelon Allen	RB	WIS

Week 11 (Nov. 15) ^[49]	Garrett Wilson	WR	OSU	Aidan Hutchinson	DE	MICH	Jordan Stout	P/K	PSU	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU
Week 11 (Nov. 15) ^[49]	Braelon Allen	RB	WIS	Aidan Hutchinson	DE	MICH	Jordan Stout	P/K	PSU	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU

Week 12 (Nov. 22) ^[50]	C. J. Stroud	QB	OSU	Isaiah Gay	LB	ILL	Jordan Stout, Sr.	K/P	PSU	C. J. Stroud	QB	OSU

Week 13 (Nov. 29) ^[51]	Hassan Haskins	RB	MICH	Aidan Hutchinson	DE	MICH	Caleb Shudak	K	IA	Justin Walley	CB	MIN

Big Ten Individual Awards[]

The following individuals won the conference's annual player and coach awards:

Award	Player	School
Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year	C.J. Stroud	Ohio State
Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year	C.J. Stroud	Ohio State
Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year	David Bell	Purdue
Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year	Kenneth Walker III	Michigan State
Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year	Austin Allen	Nebraska
Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year	Tyler Linderbaum	Iowa
Nagurski-Wooden Defensive Player of the Year	Aidan Hutchinson	Michigan
Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year	Aidan Hutchinson	Michigan
Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year	Leo Chenal	Wisconsin
Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year	Riley Moss	Iowa
Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year	C.J. Stroud	Ohio State
Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year	Jake Moody	Michigan
Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year	Jordan Stout	Penn State
Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year	Charlie Jones	Iowa
Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year (Coaches)	Mel Tucker	Michigan State
Dave McClain Coach of the Year (Media)	Mel Tucker	Michigan State
Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award	Malcolm Jenkins	Ohio State
Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award	Pat Richter	Wisconsin

All-Conference Teams[]

2021 Big Ten All-Conference Teams and Awards^[52]

Position	Player	Team
First Team Offense (Coaches)
QB	C. J. Stroud	Ohio State
RB	Hassan Haskins	Michigan
RB	Kenneth Walker III	Michigan State
WR	Chris Olave	Ohio State
WR	David Bell	Purdue
TE	Jake Ferguson	Wisconsin
C	Tyler Linderbaum	Iowa
OG	Thayer Munford	Ohio State
OG	Josh Seltzner	Wisconsin
OT	Daniel Faalele	Minnesota
OT	Nicholas Petit-Frere	Ohio State
First Team Defense (Coaches)
DL	Aidan Hutchinson	Michigan
DL	Haskell Garrett	Ohio State
DL	Arnold Ebiketie	Penn State
DL	George Karlaftis	Purdue
LB	David Ojabo	Michigan
LB	Leo Chenal	Wisconsin
LB	Jack Sanborn	Wisconsin
DB	Dane Belton	Iowa
DB	Riley Moss	Iowa
DB	Daxton Hill	Michigan
DB	Jaquan Brisker	Penn State
First Team Special Teams (Coaches)
PK	Jake Moody	Michigan
P	Jordan Stout	Penn State
P	Adam Korsak	Rutgers
RS	Charlie Jones	Iowa

Position	Player	Team
Second Team Offense (Coaches)
QB	Aidan O'Connell	Purdue
RB	TreVeyon Henderson	Ohio State
RB	Braelon Allen	Wisconsin
WR	Garrett Wilson	Ohio State
WR	Jahan Dotson	Penn State
TE	Austin Allen	Nebraska
C	Doug Kramer	Illinois
C	John Michael Schmitz	Minnesota
OG	Kyler Schott	Iowa
OG	Paris Johnson	Ohio State
OT	Ryan Hayes	Michigan
OT	Peter Skoronski	Northwestern
OT	Logan Bruss	Wisconsin
Second Team Defense (Coaches)
DL	Zach VanValkenburg	Iowa
DL	Jacub Panasiuk	Michigan State
DL	Tyreke Smith	Ohio State
DL	PJ Mustipher	Penn State
DL	Keanu Benton	Wisconsin
LB	Micah McFadden	Indiana
LB	JoJo Domann	Nebraska
LB	Ellis Brooks	Penn State
DB	Kerby Joseph	Illinois
DB	Matt Hankins	Iowa
DB	Cam Taylor-Britt	Nebraska
DB	Ronnie Hickman	Ohio State
Second Team Special Teams (Coaches)
PK	Caleb Shudak	Iowa
P	–	–
RS	Jayden Reed	Michigan State

Position	Player	Team
Third Team Offense (Coaches)
QB	Cade McNamara	Michigan
RB	Chase Brown	Illinois
RB	Blake Corum	Michigan
WR	Jayden Reed	Michigan State
WR	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	Ohio State
TE	Sam LaPorta	Iowa
C	Cam Jurgens	Nebraska
OG	Blaise Andries	Minnesota
OG	Conner Olson	Minnesota
OT	Andrew Stueber	Michigan
OT	Dawand Jones	Ohio State
OT	Tyler Beach	Wisconsin
Third Team Defense (Coaches)
DL	Sam Okuayinonu	Maryland
DL	Boye Mafe	Minnesota
DL	Zach Harrison	Ohio State
DL	Matt Henningsen	Wisconsin
LB	Jack Campbell	Iowa
LB	Chris Bergin	Northwestern
LB	Brandon Smith	Penn State
DB	Denzel Burke	Ohio State
DB	Ji'Ayir Brown	Penn State
DB	Joey Porter Jr.	Penn State
DB	Caesar Williams	Wisconsin
Third Team Special Teams (Coaches)
PK	James McCourt	Illinois
P	Blake Hayes	Illinois
RS	Jahan Dotson	Penn State

Coaches Honorable Mention: ILLINOIS: Sydney Brown, Owen Carney, Vederian Lowe, Alex Palczewski; INDIANA: Matthew Bedford, Peyton Hendershot; IOWA: Tyler Goodson, Jack Koerner, Mason Richman, Noah Shannon, Tory Taylor; MARYLAND: Jakorian Bennett, Dontay Demus, Jaelyn Duncan, Ami Finau, Rakim Jarrett, Chig Okonkwo, Taulia Tagovailoa; MICHIGAN: Erick All, Chris Hinton, Trevor Keegan, Josh Ross, Brad Robbins, Luke Schoonmaker, Mazi Smith, D.J. Turner, Andrew Vastardis; MICHIGAN STATE: Matt Allen, Quavaris Crouch, Xavier Henderson, Connor Heyward, Jarrett Horst, Kevin Jarvis, Jacob Slade, Payton Thorne; MINNESOTA: Ko Kieft, Esezi Otomewo, Sam Schlueter, Mariano Sori-Marin; NEBRASKA: Damion Daniels, Marquel Dismuke, Adrian Martinez, Luke Reimer, Ben Stille, Deontai Williams; NORTHWESTERN: Adetomiwa Adebawore, A.J. Hampton, Evan Hull, Brandon Joseph, Cameron Mitchell; OHIO STATE: Sevyn Banks, Cam Brown, Emeka Egbuka, Antwuan Jackson, Jeremy Ruckert; PENN STATE: Tariq Castro-Fields, Sean Clifford, Jesse Luketa, Juice Scruggs, Rasheed Walker; PURDUE: Jaylan Alexander, Cam Allen, Branson Deen, Payne Durham, Mitchell Fineran, Jalen Graham, Greg Long, Dedrick Mackey, Tyler Witt, Milton Wright; RUTGERS: Olakunle Fatukasi, Isaih Pacheco, Julius Turner; WISCONSIN: Noah Burks, Nick Herbig, Faion Hicks, Isiah Mullens, Jack Nelson, Scott Nelson, Joe Tippmann, Collin Wilder.

Position	Player	Team
First Team Offense (Media)
QB	C.J. Stroud	Ohio State
RB	Hassan Haskins	Michigan
RB	Kenneth Walker III	Michigan State
WR	Jahan Dotson	Penn State
WR	David Bell	Purdue
TE	Austin Allen	Nebraska
C	Tyler Linderbaum	Iowa
OG	Blaise Andries	Minnesota
OG	Thayer Munford	Ohio State
OT	Andrew Stueber	Michigan
OT	Peter Skoronski	Northwestern
OT	Nicholas Petit-Frere	Ohio State
First Team Defense (Media)
DL	Aidan Hutchinson	Michigan
DL	Haskell Garrett	Ohio State
DL	Arnold Ebiketie	Penn State
DL	George Karlaftis	Purdue
LB	David Ojabo	Michigan
LB	Leo Chenal	Wisconsin
LB	Jack Campbell	Iowa
DB	Dane Belton	Iowa
DB	Riley Moss	Iowa
DB	Kerby Joseph	Illinois
DB	Jaquan Brisker	Penn State
First Team Special Teams (Media)
PK	Caleb Shudak	Iowa
P	Jordan Stout	Penn State
RS	Charlie Jones	Iowa

Position	Player	Team
Second Team Offense (Media)
QB	Aidan O'Connell	Purdue
RB	TreVeyon Henderson	Ohio State
RB	Braelon Allen	Wisconsin
WR	Chris Olave	Ohio State
WR	Garrett Wilson	Ohio State
TE	Jake Ferguson	Wisconsin
C	Andrew Vastardis	Michigan
OG	Zak Zinter	Michigan
OG	Josh Seltzner	Wisconsin
OT	Dawand Jones	Ohio State
OT	Logan Bruss	Wisconsin
Second Team Defense (Media)
DL	Zach VanValkenburg	Iowa
DL	Jacub Panasiuk	Michigan State
DL	Boye Mafe	Minnesota
DL	Zach Harrison	Ohio State
LB	Micah McFadden	Indiana
LB	Chris Bergin	Northwestern
LB	Jack Sanborn	Wisconsin
DB	Dax Hill	Michigan
DB	Matt Hankins	Iowa
DB	Cam Taylor-Britt	Nebraska
DB	Brandon Joseph	Northwestern
Second Team Special Teams (Media)
PK	Noah Ruggles	Ohio State
P	Bryce Baringer	Michigan State
RS	Jayden Reed	Michigan State

Position	Player	Team
Third Team Offense (Media)
QB	Cade McNamara	Michigan
RB	Chase Brown	Illinois
RB	Tyler Goodson	Iowa
WR	Jayden Reed	Michigan State
WR	Jaxon Smith-Njigba	Ohio State
TE	Peyton Hendershot	Indiana
C	John Michael Schmitz	Minnesota
OG	Kyler Schott	Iowa
OG	Paris Johnson	Ohio State
OT	Daniel Faalele	Minnesota
OT	Rasheed Walker	Penn State
Third Team Defense (Media)
DL	Jacob Slade	Michigan State
DL	Tyreke Smith	Ohio State
DL	Jesse Luketa	Penn State
DL	Matt Henningsen	Wisconsin
LB	Olakunle Fatukasi	Rutgers
LB	Josh Ross	Michigan
LB	JoJo Domann	Nebraska
DB	Vincent Gray	Michigan
DB	Brad Hawkins	Michigan
DB	Xavier Henderson	Michigan State
DB	Ronnie Hickman	Ohio State
Third Team Special Teams (Media)
PK	Jake Moody	Michigan
P	Adam Korsak	Rutgers
RS	AJ Henning	Michigan

Coaches Honorable Mention: ILLINOIS: Sydney Brown, Owen Carney, Blake Hayes, Doug Kramer, Vederian Lowe, James McCourt, Johnny Newton, Alex Palczewski, Keith Randolph, Devon Witherspoon; INDIANA: Ryder Anderson, Matthew Bedford, Ty Fryfogle, Jaylin Williams; IOWA: Seth Benson, Jack Koerner, Sam LaPorta, Mason Richman, Noah Shannon, Tory Taylor; MARYLAND: Spencer Anderson, Jakorian Bennett, Nick Cross, Ami Finau, Rakim Jarrett, Jordan Mosley, Chig Okonkwo, Sam Okuayinonu, Taulia Tagovailoa; MICHIGAN: Erick All, Blake Corum, Ryan Hayes, Chris Hinton, Trevor Keegan, Brad Robbins, Luke Schoonmaker, Mazi Smith, D.J. Turner; MICHIGAN STATE: Matt Allen, A.J. Arcuri, Blake Bueter, Matt Coghlin, Quavaris Crouch, J.D. Duplain, Cal Haladay, Conner Heyward, Jarrett Horst, Kevin Jarvis, Jalen Nailor, Darius Snow, Payton Thorne; MINNESOTA: Chris Autman-Bell, Jack Gibbens, Ko Kieft, Tyler Nubin, Conner Olson, Esezi Otomewo, Sam Schlueter, Mariano Sori-Marin; NEBRASKA: Damion Daniels, Cam Jurgens, Luke Reimer, Ben Stille, Samori Toure, Deontai Williams; NORTHWESTERN: Adetomiwa Adebawore, A.J. Hampton, Evan Hull; OHIO STATE: Sevyn Banks, Cam Brown, Denzel Burke, Steele Chambers, Emeka Egbuka, Tommy Eichenberg, Antwuan Jackson, Matthew Jones, Jeremy Ruckert, Bryson Shaw, Taron Vincent, Tyliek Williams, Luke Wypler; PENN STATE: Ellis Brooks, Ji'Ayir Brown, Tariq Castro-Fields, Sean Clifford, Jahan Dotson, Curtis Jacobs, Mike Miranda, PJ Mustipher, Joey Porter Jr., Juice Scruggs, Brandon Smith, Jordan Stout, Brenton Strange; PURDUE: Jaylan Alexander, Cam Allen, Branson Deen, Mitchell Fineran, Jalen Graham, Gus Hartwig, Tyler Witt, Milton Wright; RUTGERS: Christian Izien, Isaih Pacheco, Julius Turner; WISCONSIN: Tyler Beach, Keeanu Benton, Noah Burks, Nick Herbig, Faion Hicks, Chez Mellusi, Isiah Mullens, Jack Nelson, Scott Nelson, Joe Tippmann, Collin Wilder, Caesar Williams.

Home attendance[]

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Illinois	Memorial Stadium	60,670	41,064	33,906	37,168	30,559	40,168	36,942	27,624	247,431	35,347	58.3%
Indiana	Memorial Stadium	52,656	47,417	52,656	50,571	52,656	40,171	38,079		281,550	46,925	89.1%
Iowa	Kinnick Stadium	69,250	68,166	61,932	65,456	69,250	69,250	69,250	64,132	467,436	66,777	96.4%
Maryland	Maryland Stadium	51,802	43,811	31,612	30,117	45,527	32,308	46,924	36,181	266,480	33,310	61.7%
Michigan	Michigan Stadium	107,601	109,295	108,345	106,263	105,790	109,449	109,890	111,156	760,188	108,598	100.9%
Michigan State	Spartan Stadium	75,005	70,103	70,332	70,075	76,549	67,437			354,496	70,899	94.5%
Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium	50,805	50,805	43,372	46,236	45,436	46,382	49,736		281,967	46,995	92.5%
Nebraska	Memorial Stadium	85,458	85,938	85,663	87,364	87,380	85,902	84,426	86,541	603,214	86,173	100.8%
Northwestern	Ryan Field	47,130	34,248	26,181	27,129	30,218	28,158	38,141		184,075	30,679	65.1%
Ohio State	Ohio Stadium	102,780	100,482	76,540	95,178	99,277	102,951	101,009	101,858	677,295	96,756	94.1%
Penn State	Beaver Stadium	106,572	105,323	109,958	105,790	105,951	105,001	109,534	106,038	751,595	107,371	100.7%
Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium	57,236	53,656	52,840	51,111	61,320	57,282	61,320		337,529	56,255	98.3%
Rutgers	SHI Stadium	52,454	52,519	40,120	51,006	41,117	40,280	42,729		267,771	44,629	85.1%
Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium	80,321	76,832	70,967	74,855	76,314	74,209	73,194	67,888	514,259	73,466	91.5%

2022 NFL Draft[]

The following list includes all Big Ten players who were drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft

Player	Position	School	Draft Round	Round Pick	Overall Pick	Team

Head coaches[]

Current through December 4, 2021

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	B1G record
Illinois	Bret Bielema*	1	102–65 (.611)	5–7 (.417)	41–24 (.631)
Indiana	Tom Allen*	5	26–32 (.448)	26–32 (.448)	15–28 (.349)
Iowa	Kirk Ferentz	23	190–130 (.594)	178–109 (.620)	110–79 (.582)
Maryland	Mike Locksley*	3	14–49 (.222)	12–23 (.343)	8–22 (.267)
Michigan	Jim Harbaugh	7	119–50 (.704)	61–23 (.726)	42–17 (.712)
Michigan State	Mel Tucker	2	17–14 (.548)	12–7 (.632)	9–7 (.563)
Minnesota	P. J. Fleck	5	64–45 (.587)	34–23 (.596)	21–22 (.488)
Nebraska	Scott Frost	4	34–36 (.486)	15–29 (.341)	10–25 (.286)
Northwestern	Pat Fitzgerald	16	109–90 (.548)	109–90 (.548)	64–68 (.485)
Ohio State	Ryan Day*	3	33–4 (.892)	33–4 (.892)	23–1 (.958)
Penn State	James Franklin	8	91–48 (.655)	67–33 (.670)	42–28 (.600)
Purdue	Jeff Brohm	5	57–39 (.594)	27–29 (.482)	20–22 (.476)
Rutgers	Greg Schiano*	13	76–80 (.487)	76–80 (.487)	5–13 (.278)
Wisconsin	Paul Chryst	7	83–42 (.664)	64–23 (.736)	43–16 (.729)

* Bret Bielema coached in the Big Ten from 2006 through 2012 at Wisconsin, going 37-19 in Big Ten play and winning three Big Ten championships.

* Tom Allen was hired to replace Kevin Wilson in December 2016 at Indiana and coached the Hoosiers in their 2016 bowl game, going 0–1.

* Mike Locksley served as interim head coach at Maryland in 2015 and coached for six games, going 1–5.^[53]

* Ryan Day served as interim head coach at Ohio State for the first three games of the 2018 season while Urban Meyer served a three-game suspension and went 3–0.^[54]

* Greg Schiano served as head coach at Rutgers from 2001 through 2011 then left for the NFL. Following the conclusion of the 2019 season, Schiano returned to Rutgers for his second stint as head coach. The Scarlet Knights competed in the Big East Conference in his previous stay at the school.

References[]

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^ Solari, Chris. "Big Ten football reinstated: Here's what we know about when they'll play, daily testing". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
^ "Big Ten football schedule 2020: Eight-game conference slates begin Oct. 24 with Ohio State-Michigan on Dec. 12". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
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^ "2021 Football Recruiting Team Rankings".
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^ Ohio State's Chris Olave voted Preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year
^ Northwestern safety Brandon Joseph voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in Cleveland.com poll.
^ ^a ^b "Davey O'Brien Award Announces 30-Player Preseason Watch List". July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
^ "2021 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List Announced". July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
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^ "2021 Doak Walker Award Candidates". www.smu.eduaccess-date=July 21, 2021. July 21, 2021.
^ "2021 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List Released". July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
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^ "Rimington Trophy Press Release". July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
^ "2020 Butkus Award Preseason Watch List Released". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
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^ "2021 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watchlist Unveiled". July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
^ "Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Announces 2021 Preseason Watch List". July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
^ "57 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2021 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
^ "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2021 Watch List". July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
^ "Walter Camp Foundation Announces 2021 Player of the Year Preseason Watch List". July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
^ "Allstate Sugar Bowl announces Manning Award Watch List". August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
^ "Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award announces 2021 Preseason Watch List" (PDF). August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
^ "Ray Guy Award announces 2021 Preseason Watch List". August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
^ "2021 Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award Watch List". August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
^ "The 2021 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Announces 2021 Preseason Watch List". August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
^ Li, David K. (December 22, 2021). "Texas A&M backs out of Gator Bowl after Covid outbreak leaves team without enough players". NBC News. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
^ Russo, Ralph. "NCAA clears way for Rutgers to replace (Texas) A&M in Gator Bowl". AP. The Associated Press. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. August 30, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. October 4, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
^ "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
^ "2021 Big Ten All-Conference Teams and Awards" (PDF). BigTen.org.
^ "OC Mike Locksley named interim head coach at Maryland". RSN.
^ Allen, Paul Myerberg and Kevin. "Ohio State suspends football coach Urban Meyer three games: 'I want to apologize'". USA TODAY.

[1] "Ohio State Earns Share of East Division Title". BigTen.org. November 20, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.

[2] Peterson, Chloe. "How the West was won: Iowa football wins Big Ten West outright". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved November 30, 2021.

[3] "Wolverines batter Buckeyes, clinch Big Ten East". ESPN.com. November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.

[4] Horner, Scott. "Michigan vs. Iowa: Big Ten football championship TV, odds, fan events". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 30, 2021.

[5] "College football bowl projections: Team eligibility tracker by conference for 2021-22 bowl games". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 30, 2021.

[6] "Big Ten cancels college football season for fall 2020, hopes to play in spring 2021". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 30, 2021.

[7] Solari, Chris. "Big Ten football reinstated: Here's what we know about when they'll play, daily testing". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 30, 2021.

[8] "Big Ten football schedule 2020: Eight-game conference slates begin Oct. 24 with Ohio State-Michigan on Dec. 12". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 30, 2021.

[9] "Bret Bielema Takes Reins of Fighting Illini Football". Univiersy of Illinois Athletics.

[10] "2021 Football Class Rankings".

[11] "2021 Team Rankings".

[12] "2021 Football Recruiting Team Rankings".

[13] Baird, Nathan (July 21, 2021). "Ohio State voted overwhelming favorite in 2021 Cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Poll". Cleveland.com.

[14] Ohio State's Chris Olave voted Preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year

[15] Northwestern safety Brandon Joseph voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in Cleveland.com poll.

[watchlist-16] "Davey O'Brien Award Announces 30-Player Preseason Watch List". July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.

[17] "2021 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List Announced". July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.

[18] "2021 Maxwell Award Watch List – Maxwell Football Club". July 19, 2021.

[19] "2021 Bednarik Award Watch List – Maxwell Football Club". July 19, 2021.

[20] "2021 Doak Walker Award Candidates". www.smu.eduaccess-date=July 21, 2021. July 21, 2021.

[21] "2021 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List Released". July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.

[22] "2021 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released". July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.

[23] "Rimington Trophy Press Release". July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.

[24] "2020 Butkus Award Preseason Watch List Released". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.

[25] "2021 Outland Trophy Award Watchlist Unveiled". July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

[26] "2021 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watchlist Unveiled". July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

[27] "Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Announces 2021 Preseason Watch List". July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.

[28] "57 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2021 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

[29] "Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2021 Watch List". July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

[30] "Walter Camp Foundation Announces 2021 Player of the Year Preseason Watch List". July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.

[31] "Allstate Sugar Bowl announces Manning Award Watch List". August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.

[32] "Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award announces 2021 Preseason Watch List" (PDF). August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.

[33] "Ray Guy Award announces 2021 Preseason Watch List". August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.

[34] "2021 Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award Watch List". August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.

[35] "The 2021 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Announces 2021 Preseason Watch List". August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.

[36] Li, David K. (December 22, 2021). "Texas A&M backs out of Gator Bowl after Covid outbreak leaves team without enough players". NBC News. Retrieved December 22, 2021.

[37] Russo, Ralph. "NCAA clears way for Rutgers to replace (Texas) A&M in Gator Bowl". AP. The Associated Press. Retrieved December 23, 2021.

[38] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. August 30, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.

[39] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.

[40] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. September 13, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2021.

[41] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.

[42] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2021.

[43] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. October 4, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021.

[44] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 11, 2021.

[45] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.

[46] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.

[47] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.

[48] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.

[49] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.

[50] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 22, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2021.

[51] "Big Ten Football Players of the Week". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021.

[52] "2021 Big Ten All-Conference Teams and Awards" (PDF). BigTen.org.

[53] "OC Mike Locksley named interim head coach at Maryland". RSN.

[54] Allen, Paul Myerberg and Kevin. "Ohio State suspends football coach Urban Meyer three games: 'I want to apologize'". USA TODAY.

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2021 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
East Division
No. 2 Michigan xy$^		8	–	1		12	–	1
No. 6 Ohio State x		8	–	1		10	–	2
No. 10 Michigan State		7	–	2		10	–	2
Penn State		4	–	5		7	–	5
Maryland		3	–	6		6	–	6
Rutgers		2	–	7		5	–	7
Indiana		0	–	9		2	–	10
West Division
No. 15 Iowa xy		7	–	2		10	–	3
Minnesota		6	–	3		8	–	4
Wisconsin		6	–	3		8	–	4
Purdue		6	–	3		8	–	4
Illinois		4	–	5		5	–	7
Nebraska		1	–	8		3	–	9
Northwestern		1	–	8		3	–	9
Championship: Michigan 42, Iowa 3
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of December 4, 2021; Rankings from CFP Rankings