The Big Ten in Non-conference Play
09/23/2009
As the Big Ten enters its 114th year of playing football, here's a glance at the conference's preseason outlook.
-5 Big Ten teams ranked by various preseason polls
-16 Big Ten players are on watchlists for national awards
-Big Ten is scheduled for the most television exposure it's ever had
-28 Big Ten players drafted by NFL
--15 players chosen in first 3 rounds second among conferences
-10 of 11 Big Ten teams return at least half their starters from 2008
--Minnesota returns the most (18)
--Indiana returns the most on defense (9), Michigan most on offense (10.5)
--Iowa and Michigan State each return 17 total
--Top 6 quarterbacks in terms of passer ratings are back
The three weeks of non-conference play that open up the season are used to score conferences against one another. In its 2009 non-conference schedule, the Big Ten faces 20 teams that made it to bowl games in 2008, which is seven more than it faced last year. Syracuse, Western Michigan, and Notre Dame each will play three Big Ten teams this season. Here's how the Big Ten fared each week.
WEEK ONE 10-1
-Big Ten wins 10 games in a non-conference week for fifth straight season
-8 receivers had 100+ yards
--Minnesota's Eric Decker led the way with 183 yards on 9 catches
-TFC Bank Stadium opens for Golden Gophers
--First time football played on campus since 1981
--First new stadium in Big Ten in over 50 years
-Purdue's new coach Danny Hope wins first game
-Co-offensive Player of the Week Daryll Clark, senior QB, Penn State
--254 pass yards in first half
--Career highs for completions (29), attempts (40), and yards (353)
-Co-offensive Player of the Week Ralph Bolden, sophomore RB, Purdue
--234 rush yards on 21 carries
-Defensive Player of the Week Lee Campbell, senior LB, Minnesota
--13 tackles
WEEK TWO 8-3
-7 non-conference opponents appeared in bowl games in 2008
--Big Ten beat 4 of these teams
--All 3 losses were closely decided in final minutes
-Big Ten gets 18 wins in first 2 weeks for fifth straight season
-Big Ten left with 7 undefeated teams after 2 weeks
--Seventh time this has happened for conference in last 10 years
-6 players rushed for 100+ yards
--Led by Wisconsin's John Clay with 143 yards
--Purdue's Bolden broke 100 for second week in a row
-Offensive Player of the Week Tate Forier, freshman QB, Michigan
--310 yards total offense
--Leads game-winning drive, throws game-winning TD with 11 seconds left
--First offensive player of the week for Michigan since Chad Henne in 2007
-Co-defensive Player of the Week Tyler Sash, sophomore S, Iowa
--3 interceptions and team best 10 tackles, 2 for loss, forced fumble
-Co-defensive Player of the Week Nate Triplett, senior LB, Minnesota
--17 tackles, and 52 yard fumble return for go-ahead touchdown
WEEK THREE 6-4
-Big Ten leads all conferences with 5 team that are 3-0
--4 of those 5 meet this weekend
--Indiana at Michigan and Iowa at Penn State
-Co-offensive Player of the Week Carlos Brown, senior RB, Michigan
--187 yards (14.4 per carry) for 2 TDs, including a 90 yarder
-Co-offensive Player of the Week Mike Kafka, senior QB, Northwestern
--Completed first 16 consecutive throws of game
--Accounted for 5 TDs and 390 yards of offense
-Defensive Player of the Week Sean Lee, senior LB, Penn State
--12 tackles, 2.5 for loss
Parity abounds in the Big Ten Conference as eight different teams have won at least a share of the conference title in the last ten years. This year's battle begins Saturday.
Go Bucks!
By Ben Brown, an OSU senior majoring in journalism
