Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Sept. 19, 2005

Big Ten Title Chase Begins: The 110th season of Big Ten football kicks off on Saturday as 10 teams will open Conference play while Indiana has a bye weekend. Parity has reigned over the Big Ten landscape for the last decade (1995-2004) with seven different teams winning the conference title either outright or as a co-champion: Illinois ('01), Iowa (`02, '04), Michigan (`97, `98, `00, '03, '04), Northwestern (`95, `96, `00), Ohio State (`96, `98, `02), Purdue (`00) and Wisconsin (`98, `99). The title has been shared by at least two teams five times in this span, with a pair of three-team ties in 1998 and 2000 and two teams atop the standings in 1996, 2002 and 2004. Last season, the Wolverines and Hawkeyes split the league crown with identical 7-1 records. Michigan claimed back-to-back titles for the first time since 1997-98 and will be looking for a share of a third straight championship for the first time since winning five straight from 1988-92, which was also the last time any league program finished on top for three straight seasons. Iowa picked up its second title in three seasons last year and is looking to repeat for the first time since 1921 and 1922, the program's only back-to-back titles.

Non-Conference Success: After winning nine of 11 games in the final full weekend of non-conference play, the Big Ten has produced a record of 27-5 (.844) in out-of-league matchups, the best winning percentage since going 23-4 (.852) prior to bowl play in 1997. In addition, the league's 27 non-conference victories are the most prior to bowl play in an 11-game season since conference teams went 28-7 (.800) in 1999. The Big Ten opened the 2005 campaign with an unblemished 10-0 mark, the league's first undefeated week since Sept. 14, 1985, and then produced an 8-3 record in week two. Two non-conference games remain on the Big Ten slate with Purdue hosting Notre Dame on Oct. 1 and Wisconsin travelling to Hawaii on Nov. 25.

Gophers Streaking in Non-Conference Play: Minnesota extended its non-conference winning streak to 19 games with a victory over Florida Atlantic. The Gophers have not lost to a non-league foe in more than three seasons, including bowl wins in 2002, 2003 and 2004, as their last non-Big Ten loss came on Aug. 30, 2001.

Big Ten in the Polls: The Big Ten is one of only two conferences, along with the ACC, to feature six nationally-ranked programs in the latest polls. The two leagues both feature six schools in the USA Today coaches poll and are tied with the Pac-10 and SEC with five nationally-ranked teams in the Associated Press poll. The Big Ten contingent of ranked teams includes No. 8/9 Ohio State (AP/USA Today polls), No. 11/10 Purdue, No. 14/13 Michigan, No. 17/22 Michigan State, No. 21/21 Iowa and No. -/24 Wisconsin. The last time the Big Ten boasted six nationally-ranked teams in the coaches poll was on Sept. 20, 2004, while the conference had six ranked teams in both polls just one week earlier on Sept. 13, 2004.

Six Teams Enter Big Ten Play Unbeaten: With conference play beginning on Saturday, the Big Ten boasts six undefeated teams in Indiana (3-0), Michigan State (3-0), Minnesota (3-0), Penn State (3-0), Wisconsin (3-0) and Purdue (2-0). The Big Ten and the Big 12 (nine perfect teams) are the only conferences with six or more unbeaten programs, as the two leagues are tied for the national lead with five 3-0 teams a piece. Overall, there are only 34 undefeated teams remaining in Division I football, including 24 schools with a 3-0 mark.

Meet the Perfect Teams: A breakdown of the Big Ten's six undefeated teams appears below.
Indiana (3-0): The Hoosiers are off to their first 3-0 start since 1994 and are aiming to open at 4-0 for the first time since the 1990 campaign. Indiana leads the Big Ten (and ranks eighth nationally) in pass defense while rating third in the conference in passing offense. Sophomore quarterback Blake Powers ranks among the top six in the league in passing (3rd at 239.3 ypg), total offense (4th at 252.3 ypg) and pass efficiency (6th at 154.4) while freshman wideout James Hardy appears among the top four in receiving yards (2nd at 88.7 ypg) and receptions (4th at 5.67 per game).
Michigan State (3-0): The Spartans knocked off nationally-ranked Notre Dame in overtime to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2000, as their last 4-0 opening occurred in 1999 (6-0 start). Michigan State leads the league and ranks fourth in the country with 557.3 yards of total offense per game while also appearing among the top 10 nationally in scoring (T10th at 45.0 ppg) and passing (9th with 319.7 ypg) offense. Quarterback Drew Stanton leads the Big Ten with a pass efficiency of 194.0 (5th in the country), 345.3 yards of total offense per game (7th in the country) and 308.3 passing yards per outing.
Minnesota (3-0): The Gophers are off to their fourth straight 3-0 start as the team raced out to a 5-0 mark last season. Minnesota leads the country with 335.0 rushing yards per game while also appearing in the top 10 nationally with 47.7 points per game (6th nationally; 1st in Big Ten) and 553.3 yards of total offense per outing (6th nationally; 2nd in Big Ten). Running back Laurence Maroney leads the conference and ranks second in the country with 160.3 yards per contest while also appearing among the nation's top six with 183.3 all-purpose yards (6th nationally; 2nd in Big Ten) and 14.0 points per game (T5th nationally; 2nd in Big Ten).
Penn State (3-0): The Nittany Lions are 3-0 for the first time since 2002 and are seeking their first 4-0 mark since starting the 1999 campaign with nine straight triumphs. Penn State ranks among the league's top three in scoring (13.3 ppg - 2nd in Big Ten, T17th nationally), rushing (47.3 ypg - 3rd in Big Ten, 6th nationally) and total (276.3 ypg - 2nd in Big Ten, 18th nationally) defense while rating fifth in the conference (T24th nationally) with 35.0 points per game. Quarterback Michael Robinson ranks third in the league and eighth in the country with a pass efficiency rating of 176.1 while the defense has racked up a league-high 12 sacks, with three PSU players ranking among the conference's top five in that category.
Wisconsin (3-0): For the third time in the last four years, the Badgers have jumped out to a 3-0 start after opening last season with nine consecutive wins. Wisconsin ranks among the top six nationally in both rushing offense (272.3 ypg -- 6th nationally, 2nd in Big Ten) and defense (39.7 ypg - 4th nationally, 2nd in Big Ten) while also scoring 45.0 points per contest, which is tied with Michigan State for 10th in the country. Running back Brian Calhoun leads the country with 16.0 points per game and also appears among the top 10 in rushing (157.0 ypg -- 3rd nationally, 2nd in Big Ten) and all-purpose (185.3 ypg - 4th nationally, 1st in Big Ten) yards.
Purdue (2-0): The Boilermakers are 2-0 for the second straight year after opening at 5-0 last season. Purdue leads the country by allowing only 16.0 rushing yards per game while also ranking 18th nationally (4th in the Big Ten) with 40.0 points per game offensively. Running back Jerod Void is tied for eighth in the country with 12.0 points per game while averaging 104.0 rushing yards per outing, which ranks fourth in the league and is tied for 25th nationally.

Big Ten Winning Streak: Iowa holds the longest current winning streak in league play as the Hawkeyes wrapped up the 2004 campaign with seven straight victories. Penn State and Purdue hold the second-longest active streak with two consecutive wins. Michigan established the Big Ten record with 19 straight triumphs in league action from 1990-92.

Welcome Back: With the Big Ten starting a new two-year rotation on the conference schedule, many league squads will be squaring off for the first time in years. The first of those reunions will occur this weekend when Minnesota hosts Purdue and Wisconsin battles Michigan. The Golden Gophers and Boilermakers last met on Sept. 28, 2002, with Purdue coming away with a 28-15 victory to extend their winning streak in the series to seven games. The Badgers and Wolverines last matchup took place on Nov. 16, 2002, when Michigan extended its current victory streak to six straight games with a 21-14 triumph.

Big Ten Debut: Illinois' Ron Zook will get his first taste of Big Ten action as a head coach on Saturday when the Illini welcome Michigan State to Memorial Stadium for the conference opener. Zook's last Big Ten experience occurred from 1988-90, when he served as a defensive backs coach at Ohio State. The conference's other new head coach has a bye this weekend, as Indiana's Terry Hoeppner will coach his first Big Ten game at Wisconsin on Oct. 1.

Battle of Coaching Legends: Two of the Big Ten's all-time winningest coaches will meet on Saturday when Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez will host Michigan's Lloyd Carr in Madison. Only 12 coaches in the 109-year history of the conference have won at least 95 games at one school. Alvarez is tied for eighth on that list with 111 victories while Carr ranks 12th and is nearing the century mark with 97 triumphs. Those two men are also the only current league coaches with three or more Big Ten crowns. Carr leads the way five titles in his 10 years on campus while Alvarez has finished first on three occasions. Last year's season opener also featured a matchup of two coaches on this list when Alvarez earned a victory over Penn State's Joe Paterno, who currently ranks 11th with 99 victories since the Nittany Lions joined the league in 1993.

Big Ten Championships for Current Coaches: Seven current league coaches have earned at least one Big Ten crown in their careers, led by Michigan's Lloyd Carr. The complete list is below:
5 -- Lloyd Carr, MICH (1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004)
3 -- Barry Alvarez, WIS (1993, 1998, 1999)
2 -- Kirk Ferentz, IOWA (2002, 2004)
1 -- Randy Walker, NU(2000); Jim Tressel, OSU (2002); Joe Paterno, PSU (1994); Joe Tiller, PUR (2000)

Pre-Season Picks: Media members attending the Big Ten Conference media days in August selected Michigan to repeat as league champions while Ohio State was dubbed the preseason No. 2 pick and Iowa was tabbed for third place (the Big Ten only releases a top three poll). Buckeyes linebacker A.J. Hawk was chosen as the preseason Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year while Hawkeyes quarterback Drew Tate was named the preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

Paterno One Win From Century Club: With a victory over Central Michigan on Saturday, Paterno moved one step closer to joining an exclusive group of Big Ten coaches with 100 wins at a single school. The Nittany Lions mentor improved his record to 99-49 in his 13th year since Penn State began conference play in 1993. Carr is also within striking distance of the century mark with a record of 97-30 and would become the third Wolverine on the list along with Bo Schembechler and Fielding Yost. The Big Ten currently boasts 10 head coaches in the century club, including Alvarez, who picked up his 111th victory on Saturday at North Carolina to move into a tie for eighth place with Ohio State's John Cooper (111-43-4).

Coaching Landmarks Ahead: Three Big Ten coaches are nearing significant landmarks led by Minnesota mentor Glen Mason, who coached the Gophers for the 99th time on Saturday against Florida Atlantic. Mason will become just the fourth head coach in school history to compile 100 games at the school and the first since Murray Warmath led the Gophers for 172 contests from 1954-71. Among other coaches, Ohio State's Jim Tressel is nearing the 250-game mark for his career as a head coach (248 games currently) while Michigan State's John L. Smith is approaching the 200-plateau for his coaching career (198 games currently).

Trophy Game Bye Week: Despite featuring 15 traditional trophy games, there will be no hardware on the line in the opening week of conference play. Trophy games will return in force in week two of Big Ten action with three matchups including Michigan-Michigan State (Paul Bunyan Trophy), Minnesota-Penn State (Governor's Victory Bell) and Purdue-Notre Dame (Shillelagh). The Fighting Irish also took part in a trophy game last week when the Spartans reclaimed the Megaphone Trophy with a road victory in South Bend, Ind.

Tough Against the Run: The Big Ten boasts four of the country's top 10 defenses against the run according to the latest NCAA statistics. Purdue leads the country by allowing an average of only 16.0 yards on the ground through two games, followed by Wisconsin (4th - 39.7 ypg), Penn State (6th - 47.3 ypg) and Ohio State (9th - 57.7 ypg). In other defensive categories, Michigan is tied for eighth in the country in scoring defense (11.3 ppg) and Indiana appears eighth nationally in passing defense (135.7 ypg).

Big Ten Schedule Set for Oct. 1: The following schedule has been confirmed for games on Saturday, Oct. 1.
Michigan at Michigan State, ABC Sports, Noon EDT
Indiana at Wisconsin, ESPN2, 11 a.m. CDT/EST
Illinois at Iowa, ESPN Plus, 11 a.m. CDT/EST
Minnesota at Penn State, ABC Sports, 3:30 p.m. EDT
Notre Dame at Purdue, ESPN, 7:45 p.m. EDT

Basanez and Breaston Continue Assault on Big Ten Records: Northwestern's Brett Basanez and Michigan's Steve Breaston both moved up the Big Ten career charts with their latest performances. Basanez completed 24 of 37 passes for 224 yards and added 17 yards on seven carries at Arizona State. The senior quarterback boosted his career numbers to 7,755 passing yards to move ahead of Purdue's Scott Campbell (7,636 from 1980-82) and Wisconsin's Darrel Bevell (7,686 from 1992-95) for ninth place all-time. Basanez also rose to sixth all-time with 1,496 total offensive plays, jumping over Illinois' Kurt Kittner (1,460 from 1998-01), Purdue's Mark Hermann (1,460 from 1977-80) and Ohio State's Art Schlichter (1,464 from 1978-81). Basanez already ranks among the top 10 career leaders in passing attempts (8th with 1,193) and completions (10th with 671) and is just 227 yards away from the top 10 in total offense. Breaston returned two punts for 72 yards against Eastern Michigan to leap into seventh place all-time with 1,014 career punt return yards, moving ahead of Ohio State's David Boston (959 from 1996-98) and Wisconsin's Nick Davis (1,007 from 1998-01).

Big Ten on TV: The third week of conference action will be well-covered with all five contests scheduled to be televised. The 2005 campaign will feature the most televised contests in conference history for an 11-game season, with 68 of 70 home football games appearing on television. That total includes all 44 intraconference and 24 interconference games televised by either ABC Sports, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Plus, ESPNU, ESPN Classic or ESPN360. Six interconference road games will also be televised bringing to 74 the number of Big Ten football games that will appear on television. The league website (www.bigten.org) features up-to-date television information, including clearances for ABC Sports and ESPN Plus regional and local games.

OTHER TOP PERFORMERS LAST WEEKEND

OFFENSE:
IND RB Chris Taylor: 17 carries for a career-high 176 yards (10.4 avg.) against Kentucky to lead Indiana to first 3-0 start since 1994.
IOWA QB Drew Tate: 15 of 18 (83.3 percent) for 247 yards and two TDs and three rushes for 33 yards (11.0 avg.) in victory over Northern Iowa.
MICH WR Jason Avant: Eight receptions for 93 yards (11.6 avg.) and two TDs against Eastern Michigan.
MINN RB Laurence Maroney: 20 carries for 145 yards (7.3 avg.) and two TDs and three receptions for 55 yards (18.3 avg.) for another score vs. Florida Atlantic.
NU QB Brett Basanez: 24 of 37 (64.9 percent) for 224 yards and two TDs and seven carries for 17 yards (2.4 avg.) at Arizona State.
PSU QB Michael Robinson: 14 of 23 (60.9 percent) for 274 yards and three TDs and five carries for 13 yards (2.6 avg.) and a TD in win over Central Michigan.
PUR RB Jerod Void: 18 carries for 107 yards (5.9 avg.) and three TDs, including a career-long 55-yard scoring strike on his second carry of the game, while also recovering a fumble on an Arizona State punt return that led to a Purdue score.
WIS RB Brian Calhoun: 38 carries for 171 yards (4.5 avg.) and three TDs and four receptions for 26 yards (6.5 avg.) in victory at North Carolina.

DEFENSE:
IND DE Victor Adeyanju: Three tackles (two solo) and two sacks (-21 yards) as Indiana held Kentucky 18 points below its scoring average entering the game.
MICH LB LaMarr Woodley: Six tackles (four solo) and one sack (-12 yards) as Michigan shut out an opponent for the first time since the 2003 season.
MSU LB David Herron, Jr.: Nine tackles (five solo), one sack (-7 yards), one PBU and a fumble recovery in victory at Notre Dame.
MINN DE Steve Davis: Four tackles (all solo) and three TFLs (-10 yards), including a seven-yard sack, as Gophers defense held Florida Atlantic to 92 yards rushing.
PSU LB Tim Shaw: Set career-highs in tackles (10 total, eight solo), TFLs (three for -11 yards) and sacks (two for -9 yards) as Penn State's defense held Central Michigan to 14 rushing yards on 39 carries, the fewest by a PSU opponent since 2002.
PUR DE Ray Edwards: Four tackles (three solo), 2.5 TFLs (-10 yards), including a six-yard sack, and a PBU at Arizona.
WIS LB Mark Zalewski: Seven tackles (four solo), one TFL (-3 yards) and two PBUs as Wisconsin defense held North Carolina without a touchdown.

SPECIAL TEAMS:
ILL K Jason Reda: Two-of-two (36, 31) on field goals and two PATs at California.
IOWA K Kyle Schlicher: One-of-one (23) on field goals and six PATs against Northern Iowa to increase his career total to 114 points.
OSU K Josh Huston: Two-of-two (25, 39) on field goals and three PATs versus San Diego State.
PUR K Ben Jones: One-of-one (47) on field goals and four PATs against Arizona.