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Big Ten Weekly Football Release - September 13
Complete Release in PDF Format
Sept. 13, 2004
Six Big Ten Teams Remain Unbeaten: Through two weekends of play, six Conference squads have yet to lose a game as Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin all boast 2-0 records. Those perfect marks will be tested this weekend as five of the six unbeatens are on the road while the Boilermakers enjoy a bye week. Indiana Opens at 2-0 For First Time Since 1996: Indiana improved to 2-0 on the season for the first time since 1996 by knocking off nationally-ranked Oregon on the road. The Hoosiers recorded their first win over a Pac-10 team since defeating Washington in 1978 and their first road triumph over a top 25 non-conference foe since winning at No. 20 West Virginia in 1973. IU snapped a 13-game road losing streak and also ended the Ducks 21-game non-conference home winning streak for their first defeat at Autzen Stadium since 1994. Indiana, which claimed only two wins last season, heads to Kentucky on Saturday as IU will aim for its first 3-0 start since 1994. Big Ten Polling Place: The Big Ten continues to lead all conferences with six nationally-ranked programs in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls, as the SEC boasts five teams in both polls and the ACC has five teams in the ESPN/USA Today rankings only. Ohio State tops all Conference programs at No. 9/7 nationally, followed by No. 16/12 Iowa, No. 17/17 Michigan, No. 18/18 Purdue, No. 20/21 Wisconsin and No. 22/22 Minnesota. The Boilermakers proved to be the biggest climbers of all nationally-ranked teams last week, as the team rose seven spots in the Associated Press ratings and five notches in the ESPN/USA Today rankings. Big Ten Road Show: After playing only five road games the first two weeks of the season, Big Ten teams will be the visitor in five of the 10 outings during the final full weekend of non-conference play. This challenging slate includes teams from the ACC, Mountain West, Pac-10 and SEC, as two of the five opponents qualified for bowl games last season. Indiana will be away from home for the second straight weekend as the Hoosiers battle border-rival Kentucky. Iowa will travel to Arizona State just one week after the Sun Devils defeated Northwestern in Evanston. Minnesota will be challenged by a road test at Colorado State, which took part in the San Francisco Bowl last year. Ohio State will face a rematch with North Carolina State, as last year's classic contest went three overtimes before the Buckeyes held on for a 44-38 victory. The Wolfpack would go on to represent the ACC in the Tangerine Bowl. Wisconsin's first road trip of the year will feature a battle against Arizona. More Packed Houses: Five of the Big Ten's eight home outings last weekend featured sellout crowds as the Conference now boasts nine packed houses in the first two weeks (17 games), compared to only six sellouts through two weekends (16 games) in 2003. Big Ten teams would go on to compile 37 sellouts last season, the second-highest single-season total in Conference annals, behind only the 38 full buildings in 2000. In the second weekend of 2004, Iowa, Ohio State and Wisconsin produced their second straight sellouts, Michigan State packed the house for its home opener while Purdue boasted a sellout crowd for its second home outing. In the opening weekend of action, the Big Ten shattered the oldest single-day attendance record in Conference history, as 650,916 fans attended nine home contests for an average of 72,324 patrons per game. The old nine-game record had stood since October 6, 1980, when 596,916 fans were present at nine home contests (66,324 avg.). Big Ten Schedule Set for September 25: The following schedule has been confirmed for games on Saturday, September 25 - the first week of Big Ten play and 109th season overall. Purdue at Illinois, ESPN Plus, 11 a.m. CDT-EST Cutting It Close: Ohio State has now won 13 of its last 14 games decided by a touchdown or less over the last two-plus seasons after Buckeyes' kicker Mike Nugent connected on a career-long 55-yard field goal to knock off Marshall in the waning seconds. Nugent's boot matched the longest field goal in Ohio Stadium's 82 years. Minnesota's Dynamic Duo: For the fifth time in 15 games together, Minnesota running backs Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney both surpassed 100 yards on the ground in the same game. Barber rushed 18 times for 149 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday against Illinois State as Maroney added 141 yards and a score on 18 carries. Maroney currently leads the Big Ten with 124.5 yards per game while Barber rates third with 113.5 stripes per outing. Big Ten Among National Leaders: Three Big Ten standouts are leading the country in various statistical categories in the latest NCAA rankings. Purdue quarterback Kyle Orton tops the nation with a passing efficiency of 215.1 as new Minnesota signal caller Bryan Cupito ranks second overall with a passer rating of 207.3. Orton also rates fifth in total offense with 330.5 yards per game, as Northwestern quarterback Brett Basanez appears second on that list with 403 yards per outing. On special teams, Michigan State's Brandon Fields rates first with an average of 50.3 yards per punt while Indiana's Lance Bennett is averaging 46.2 yards on four kickoff returns to stand atop that category. Other top Conference performers include Ohio State wideout Santonio Holmes, who ranks second in the country with 157.5 receiving yards per contest. Among the team leaders, Minnesota ranks first in total offense with 606.5 yards per contest, Purdue tops the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 217.7 while Indiana leads all teams by averaging 51.2 yards on kickoff returns. Big Ten Record Chase Continues: Wisconsin defensive back Jim Leonhard recorded three punt returns for 58 yards against UNLV to climb into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time Big Ten list with 1,030 career yards, surpassing former-Badger Nick Davis (1,007 yards) for the school record in the process. Leonhard, who is also tied for eighth in Conference annals with 18 interceptions, is now just 141 yards behind Big Ten record holder Bruce Branch of Penn State, who compiled 1,171 punt return yards from 1998-2001. Purdue wide receiver Taylor Stubblefield continued his march towards the top spot among all Big Ten reception leaders with five catches for 88 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Ball State. The Boilermaker wideout now has 246 career receptions, just 16 behind Illinois' David Williams (262 catches) for second place and 20 behind former teammate John Standeford (266 catches). The man throwing the ball to Stubblefield is senior Kyle Orton, who is nearing the top 10 in a number of Big Ten categories including completions (589), attempts (1,003) and yards (6,863). Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards hauled in 12 passes for 129 yards at Notre Dame, as he nears the top 10 in receptions (173), yards (2,432) and touchdowns (26). Trophies On The Line: In a conference with 15 traditional trophy games, the non-conference schedule features a pair of such contests as Michigan State will battle Notre Dame for the Megaphone Trophy while Indiana and Kentucky will compete for the Bourbon Barrel. The first trophy game of 2004 occurred last weekend, as Iowa retained possession of the Cy-Hawk Trophy for the second straight season with a 17-10 home victory over Iowa State. Big Ten on TV: In the final weekend of non-conference play, seven of the 10 Big Ten games will be televised. No fewer than 68 Big Ten football games (60 home, eight road) will be televised by ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Regional, NBC Sports, and Fox Sports Net this season. Last season, the Conference had more football television exposure than at any time in its history with a total of 80 games televised in the regular-season and post-season, while attendance figures soared above 70,000 per game for the fourth consecutive year. OTHER TOP PERFORMERS LAST WEEKEND: DEFENSE: SPECIAL TEAMS:
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