2021 Big Ten Conference football season

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
Championship Game
Football seasons
	← 2020 2022 →

2021 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 3 Michigan xy$^	8	–	1	12	–	2
No. 6 Ohio State x	8	–	1	11	–	2
No. 9 Michigan State	7	–	2	11	–	2
Penn State	4	–	5	7	–	6
Maryland	3	–	6	7	–	6
Rutgers	2	–	7	5	–	8
Indiana	0	–	9	2	–	10
West Division
No. 23 Iowa xy	7	–	2	10	–	4
Minnesota	6	–	3	9	–	4
Wisconsin	6	–	3	9	–	4
Purdue	6	–	3	9	–	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 Rankings from AP Poll

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 will be the Big Ten's eighth season with 14 teams. The defending league champion is Ohio State.

The Big Ten has one new coach for the 2021 season. 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.^[1]

Previous season

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a delayed start of the season for the Big Ten, where the league ultimately canceled all non-conference games and 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.

On the field of play last season, 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 #3 seed. The Buckeyes defeated #2 Clemson in the CFP semifinals 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. The Big Ten went 3–2 in its postseason games.

Preseason

Recruiting classes

Rankings
Team	ESPN^[2]	Rivals^[3]	Scout & 24/7^[4]	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.^[5]

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.^[6] ^[7]

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				^[8]
Dodd Trophy				^[9]
Maxwell Award				^[10]
Bednarik Award				^[11]
Davey O'Brien Award				^[12]
Doak Walker Award				^[13]
Fred Biletnikoff Award				^[14]
John Mackey Award				^[15]
Rimington Trophy				^[16]
Butkus Award				^[17]
Outland Trophy				^[18]
Bronko Nagurski Trophy				^[19]
Lou Groza Award				^[20]
Paul Hornung Award				^[21]
Wuerffel Trophy				^[22]
Walter Camp Award				^[23]
Manning Award				^[24]
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award				^[25]
Ray Guy Award				^[26]
Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award				^[27]
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award				^[28]

Rankings

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

**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	Ref.
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	TCF 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	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
September 25	12:00 PM	No. 18 Wisconsin	No. 12 Notre Dame	Soldier Field • Chicago, IL	FOX
September 25†	12:00 PM	Bowling Green	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	ESPNU
September 25	12:00 PM	Ohio	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN
September 25	12:00 PM	Villanova	No. 6 Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	BTN
September 25	3:30 PM	Rutgers	No. 19 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	ABC
September 25	3:30 PM	Illinois	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Purdue Cannon)	BTN
September 25	3:30 PM	Colorado State	No. 5 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	FS1
September 25	3:30 PM	Kent State	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD	BTN
September 25	7:00 PM	Nebraska	No. 20 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	FS1
September 25	7:30 PM	Akron	No. 10 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	BTN
September 25	8:00 PM	Indiana	Western Kentucky	Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY	CBSSN
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 5

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV
October 1	8:00 PM	Iowa	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD	FS1
October 2	12:00 PM	Michigan	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	FOX
October 2†	12:00 PM	Minnesota	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	BTN
October 2	12:00 PM	Charlotte	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN
October 2	3:30 PM	Ohio State	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN
October 2	7:30 PM	Indiana	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ABC
October 2†	7:30 PM	Northwestern	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	BTN
October 2†	7:30 PM	Western Kentucky	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	BTN
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 6

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV
October 9†	12:00 PM	Maryland	Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH
October 9†	12:00 PM	Michigan State	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ
October 9†	3:30 / 4:00 PM	Wisconsin	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL
October 9		Penn State	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	FOX -or- FS1
October 9		Michigan	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE
^#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
October 16†	12:00 PM	Michigan State	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN (Old Brass Spittoon)
October 16†	12:00 PM	Rutgers	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL
October 16†	3:30 PM	Purdue	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA
October 16	8:00 PM	Army	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	BTN
October 16		Nebraska	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN ($5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy)
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 16	Illinois	Maryland	Michigan	Ohio State	Penn State

Week 8

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site
October 23†	12:00 PM	Illinois	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA
October 23		Maryland	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN
October 23		Ohio State	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN
October 23		Northwestern	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (Jewett Trophy)
October 23		Wisconsin	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 23	Iowa	Michigan State	Nebraska	Rutgers

Week 9

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site
October 30†	12:00 PM	Iowa	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI (Heartland Trophy)
October 30†	12:00 PM	Indiana	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD
October 30		Rutgers	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL
October 30		Minnesota	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL
October 30		Purdue	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE
October 30		Michigan	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)
October 30		Penn State	Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH (OSU-PSU Rivalry)
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 10

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site
November 6	Illinois	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN
November 6	Ohio State	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE
November 6	Iowa	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL
November 6	Penn State	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD (MD-PSU Rivalry)
November 6	Indiana	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI
November 6	Michigan State	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN
November 6	Wisconsin	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 11

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site
November 13	Maryland	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI
November 13	Minnesota	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale)
November 13	Purdue	Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH
November 13	Michigan	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA
November 13	Rutgers	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN
November 13	Northwestern	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 13	Illinois	Nebraska

Week 12

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV
November 20	Illinois	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA
November 20	Minnesota	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN
November 20	Michigan	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD
November 20	Michigan State	Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH
November 20	Nebraska	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI (Freedom Trophy)	ESPN Network TBD
November 20	Purdue	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL
November 20	Rutgers	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 13

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV
November 26	1:30 PM	Iowa	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE (Heroes Trophy)	BTN
November 27	12:00 PM	Ohio State	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (The Game)	FOX
November 27		Northwestern	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL (Land of Lincoln Trophy)
November 27		Indiana	Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)
November 27		Maryland	Rutgers	SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ
November 27		Wisconsin	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe)
November 27		Penn State	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Land Grant Trophy)
^#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	Ref.
December 4	8:00 PM	East Division Champion	West Division Champion	Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, IN	FOX
^#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, Gator Bowl, Guaranteed Rate Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Music City Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Quick Lane Bowl Redbox 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 are also eligible for the College Football Playoff if they're among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking.

Legend
	Big Ten win
	Big Ten loss

Bowl game	Date	Site	Television	Time (EST)
Quick Lane Bowl	December 27, 2021	Ford Field • Detroit, MI	ESPN
Guaranteed Rate Bowl	December 28, 2021	Chase Field • Phoenix, AZ	ESPN
Holiday Bowl	December 28, 2021	Petco Park • San Diego, California	FS1	TBD
Pinstripe Bowl	December 29, 2021	Yankee Stadium • New York, NY	ESPN
Music City Bowl	December 30, 2021	Nissan Stadium • Nashville, TN	ESPN
Gator Bowl	December 31, 2021	TIAA Bank Field • Jacksonville, FL	ESPN
Outback Bowl	January 1, 2022	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPN2	12:30 PM
Citrus Bowl	January 1, 2022	Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL	ABC	1:00 PM
Redbox Bowl	December	Levi's Stadium • Santa Clara, CA	FOX
New Year's Six Bowls
Rose Bowl	January 1, 2022	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA	ESPN	5:00 PM
College Football Playoff
Cotton Bowl (semifinal)	December 31, 2021	AT&T Stadium • Arlington, TX	ESPN	3:30 -or- 7:30 PM
Orange Bowl (semifinal)	December 31, 2021	Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL	ESPN	3:30 -or- 7:30 PM
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 September 18, 2021

2021–2022 records against non-conference foes:

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

Other FBS Conferences	Record
American	2-1
C–USA	1-1
Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)	0-0
MAC	7-0
Mountain West	0-0
Sun Belt	0-0
Other FBS Total	10-2

FCS Opponents	Record
Football Championship Subdivision	6-0

Total Non-Conference Record	24-7

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) ^[29]	Artur Sitkowski	QB	ILL	Calvin Hart Jr.	LB	ILL	Blake Hayes	P	ILL	Deuce Spann	WR	ILL

Week 1 (Sept. 6) ^[30]	Kenneth Walker III	RB	MSU	Riley Moss	DB	IA	Jordan Stout	K/P	PSU	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU

Week 2 (Sept. 13) ^[31]	Blake Corum	RB	MICH	Luke Reimer	LB	NEB	Adam Korsak	P	RUT	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU
Week 2 (Sept. 13) ^[31]	Blake Corum	RB	MICH	Luke Reimer	LB	NEB	Tory Taylor	P	IA	C.J. Stroud	QB	OSU

Week 3 (Sept. 20) ^[32]	Payton Thorne	QB	MSU	Brandon Smith	LB	PSU	Aron Cruickshank	WR	RUT	TreVeyon Henderson	RB	OSU
Week 3 (Sept. 20) ^[32]	TreVeyon Henderson	RB	OSU	Brandon Smith	LB	PSU	Joseph Petrino	K	MD	TreVeyon Henderson	RB	OSU

Home attendance

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Illinois	Memorial Stadium	60,670	41,064	33,906	37,168	112,138	37,379	61.6%
Indiana	Memorial Stadium	52,656	47,417	52,656		100,073	50,037	95.0%
Iowa	Kinnick Stadium	69,250	68,166	61,932		130,098	65,049	93.9%
Maryland	Maryland Stadium	51,802	43,811	31,612		75,423	37,712	72.8%
Michigan	Michigan Stadium	107,601	109,295	108,345	106,263	323,903	107,968	100.3%
Michigan State	Spartan Stadium	75,005	70,103			70,103	70,103	93.5%
Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium	50,805	50,805	43,372		94,177	47,089	92.7%
Nebraska	Memorial Stadium	85,458	85,938	85,663		171,601	85,801	100.4%
Northwestern	Ryan Field	47,130	34,248	26,181		60,429	30,215	64.1%
Ohio State	Ohio Stadium	102,780	100,482	76,540		177,022	88,511	86.1%
Penn State	Beaver Stadium	106,572	105,323	109,958		215,281	107,641	101.0%
Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium	57,236	53,656			53,656	53,656	93.7%
Rutgers	SHI Stadium	52,454	52,519	40,120		92,639	46,320	88.3%
Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium	80,321	76,832	70,967		147,799	73,900	92.0%

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 September 18, 2021

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	B1G record
Illinois	Bret Bielema*	1	98–61 (.616)	1–3 (.250)	38–20 (.655)
Indiana	Tom Allen*	5	25–24 (.510)	25–24 (.510)	15–20 (.429)
Iowa	Kirk Ferentz	23	183–127 (.590)	171–106 (.617)	104–77 (.575)
Maryland	Mike Locksley*	3	11–43 (.204)	9–17 (.346)	6–16 (.273)
Michigan	Jim Harbaugh	7	110–49 (.692)	52–22 (.703)	34–16 (.680)
Michigan State	Mel Tucker	2	10–12 (.455)	5–5 (.500)	3–5 (.375)
Minnesota	P. J. Fleck	5	58–42 (.580)	28–20 (.583)	15–20 (.429)
Nebraska	Scott Frost	4	33–29 (.532)	14–22 (.389)	9–18 (.333)
Northwestern	Pat Fitzgerald	16	107–83 (.563)	107–83 (.563)	63–61 (.508)
Ohio State	Ryan Day*	3	25–3 (.893)	25–3 (.893)	16–0 (1.000)
Penn State	James Franklin	8	87–43 (.669)	63–28 (.692)	39–23 (.629)
Purdue	Jeff Brohm	5	51–36 (.586)	21–26 (.447)	14–19 (.424)
Rutgers	Greg Schiano*	13	74–73 (.503)	74–73 (.503)	3–6 (.333)
Wisconsin	Paul Chryst	7	76–39 (.661)	57–20 (.740)	37–14 (.725)

* 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.^[33]

* 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.^[34]

* 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

^ "Bret Bielema Takes Reins of Fighting Illini Football". Univiersy of Illinois Athletics.
^ "2021 Football Class Rankings".
^ "2021 Team Rankings".
^ "2021 Football Recruiting Team Rankings".
^ Baird, Nathan (July 21, 2021). "Ohio State voted overwhelming favorite in 2021 Cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Poll". Cleveland.com.
^ 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.
^ "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.
^ "2021 Maxwell Award Watch List – Maxwell Football Club". July 19, 2021.
^ "2021 Bednarik Award Watch List – Maxwell Football Club". July 19, 2021.
^ "Davey O'Brien Award Announces 30-Player Preseason Watch List". July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
^ "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.
^ "2021 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released". July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
^ "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.
^ "2021 Outland Trophy Award Watchlist Unveiled". July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "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] "Bret Bielema Takes Reins of Fighting Illini Football". Univiersy of Illinois Athletics.

[2] "2021 Football Class Rankings".

[3] "2021 Team Rankings".

[4] "2021 Football Recruiting Team Rankings".

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

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

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

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

[9] "2021 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List Announced". July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.

[10] "2021 Maxwell Award Watch List – Maxwell Football Club". July 19, 2021.

[11] "2021 Bednarik Award Watch List – Maxwell Football Club". July 19, 2021.

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

[13] "2021 Doak Walker Award Candidates". www.smu.eduaccess-date=July 21, 2021. July 21, 2021.

[14] "2021 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List Released". July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.

[15] "2021 John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List Released". July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.

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

[17] "2020 Butkus Award Preseason Watch List Released". July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.

[18] "2021 Outland Trophy Award Watchlist Unveiled". July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

[19] "2021 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watchlist Unveiled". July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

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

[21] "57 PLAYERS NAMED TO 2021 PAUL HORNUNG AWARD WATCH LIST". July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.

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

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

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

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

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

[27] "2021 Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award Watch List". August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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