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Big Ten Weekly Football Release - Sept. 26
Complete Release in PDF Format
Sept. 26, 2005
Five Big Ten Teams Remain Unbeaten: Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State and Wisconsin are still unbeaten as the Big Ten joins the Big 12 and SEC as one of only three conferences boasting five or more teams with perfect records. Overall, only 28 programs have not suffered a loss so far this season. The Big 12 has eight unbeatens (Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech) and the SEC has five teams with unblemished marks (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Vanderbilt) followed by four from the Pac-10 (California, UCLA, USC, Washington State) and three from the ACC (Florida State, Virginia, Virginia Tech). Of the 28 undefeated teams, only 11 programs boast 4-0 records with eight of those schools coming from the Big Ten (Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State, Wisconsin) and SEC (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Vanderbilt) and the remaining three from the ACC (Virginia Tech), Big East (West Virginia) and Pac-10 (California). The Big Ten Unbeatens: Five Big Ten teams have yet to lose a game so far in 2005 with Michigan State, Minnesota, Penn State and Wisconsin boasting 4-0 marks and Indiana holding a 3-0 record following a bye. The Spartans have opened the year with four straight triumphs for the first time under head coach John L. Smith. MSU's last 4-0 record occurred in 1999 when the team started the season 6-0 and won the Citrus Bowl to produce its last 10-win season. The Gophers jumped out to a 4-0 mark for the fourth straight season under head coach Glen Mason, including a 5-0 start in 2004. The Nittany Lions are 4-0 for the first time since reeling off nine straight triumphs to open the 1999 campaign, which led to PSU's last bowl victory and 10-win season. The Badgers have sprinted to a 4-0 start for the second straight season after opening at 9-0 last year. 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. Undefeated Teams Square Off Saturday: The second weekend of Big Ten action will be highlighted by four of the league's five unbeaten teams squaring off when Wisconsin hosts Indiana and Minnesota travels to Penn State. In addition, the coming weekend of league play will feature one of the longest rivalries in league annals, the closest series in recent memory and a familiar non-conference foe. Michigan and Michigan State will square off for the 98th time since 1898, which is tied for the fifth-longest series in Big Ten history with Illinois-Northwestern (98 since 1892) and Iowa-Minnesota (98 since 1891). The only longer series belong to Minnesota-Wisconsin (114 since 1890), Indiana-Purdue (107 since 1891) and Michigan-Ohio State (101 since 1897). The Wolverines hold a 64-28-5 advantage in the all-time series with the Spartans, including a current three-game winning streak. Only three Big Ten series are at the .500 mark all-time, including the shortest of those matchups as Minnesota and Penn State have split eight games since their first meeting in 1993. The two teams are both 2-2 on their home field but the Gophers have won the last four in the series. In other conference battles, Wisconsin holds a 31-18-2 advantage in the all-time series with Indiana while Illinois has built a 37-26-2 record against Iowa. In the lone non-conference game this weekend, Purdue is seeking its third straight win over Notre Dame for the first time since 1969. The Boilermakers trail in the all-time series, 25-49-2. Another Chance for Non-Conference Success: With Purdue wrapping up its non-conference slate against Notre Dame this weekend, the Big Ten has a chance to improve upon its out-of-league mark of 27-5 (.844), which is 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 records of 8-3 and 9-2 in weeks two and three, respectively. Following this weekend, one non-conference game remains on the Big Ten slate with Wisconsin travelling to Hawaii on Nov. 25. Welcome to the Big Ten: The league's least experienced coach will open his Big Ten career against the conference's longest-tenured mentor on Saturday when Indiana's Terry Hoeppner takes on Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez in Madison. Hoeppner endured a bye in the opening week of league action while Alvarez opened his 16th and final season with a victory over Michigan. The Big Ten's other new coach took part in his first game last Saturday when Ron Zook's Illinois squad lost to Michigan State. Zook's last Big Ten experience occurred from 1988-90, when he served as a defensive backs coach at Ohio State. Hoeppner is aiming to become the sixth current coach to open his Big Ten career with a victory, joining MSU's John L. Smith (2003), Ohio State's Jim Tressel (2001), Purdue's Joe Tiller (1997), Michigan's Lloyd Carr (1995) and Penn State's Joe Paterno (1993). The last Indiana coach to open with a triumph in league play was Clyde Smith in 1948, who ironically started his Big Ten career with a road victory at Wisconsin. Close Calls: Three of the five Big Ten games were decided by a touchdown or less in the final minutes last weekend. Minnesota had to go to double-overtime to edge Purdue, 42-35. Wisconsin scored a touchdown with 24 seconds left in the game to rally past Michigan, 23-20. Penn State connected on a touchdown pass with 51 seconds left in regulation to post a 34-29 victory, after Northwestern had taken a 29-27 lead on a field goal with 2:10 on the clock. The Amazing Shrinking Victory Margin: Over the last 40 years, winning a Big Ten title has become increasingly difficult for the team or teams that survives the eight-game grind of the conference race. The average margin of victory for the Big Ten champion stands at 11.4 points per outing since the 2000 campaign, with Iowa (9.3) and Michigan (8.0) both building 7-1 marks last season while defeating their opponents by an average of fewer than 10 points per game. The margin of victory for the Big Ten champs has steadily decreased over the last four decades. In the 1970's, the conference winners defeated their foes by an average of 23.6 points per contest. That deficit dropped to 17.5 points per game in the 1980's and 15.8 points per outing in the 1990's before falling to its current level over the past five seasons. Five of the nine league champions since 2000 have produced a margin of victory below 10 points, including the 2000 Purdue squad which edged its opponents by a mere 5.5 points in eight contests, the second-lowest victory margin in almost 40 years. The 1996 Northwestern team produced a victory margin of 4.1 points in eight games, which was the lowest since the 1967 Indiana squad squeaked by its opponents by 1.3 points per outing. Spreading the Love: 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. Paterno Joins Century Club: With a come-from-behind victory at Northwestern on Saturday, Penn State's Joe Paterno joined exclusive company with his 100th victory since the Nittany Lions began conference play in 1993. The PSU mentor improved his record to 100-49 in his 13th year as a member of the Big Ten and 347-116-3 in his 40th season at Penn State. Paterno becomes only the 11th coach in league annals to rack up 100 wins at a single school and the second active mentor along with Wisconsin's Barry Alvarez. The Badgers' coach climbed into sole possession of eighth place on the all-time list with a victory over Michigan to improve his record to 112-70-4, breaking a tie with Ohio State's John Cooper (111-43-4). The Wolverines' Lloyd Carr is also within striking distance of the century mark with a record of 97-31 and would become the third Wolverine on the list along with Bo Schembechler and Fielding Yost. A New Golden Age of Coaching?: With Alvarez and Paterno in the century club and Carr nearing the 100-victory plateau, the Big Ten could feature three active coaches with 100 or more wins at their respective institutions for the first time in more than 85 years. The last time that three league coaches all ended a season with 100 or more wins at their schools was in 1921 when Chicago's Amos Alonzo Stagg (158 wins at the time), Michigan's Fielding Yost (137) and Minnesota's Henry Williams (136) accomplished the feat. The conference coaching roster for 1921 also featured Illinois' Robert Zuppke, who had only 70 wins at the end of that season but would go on to rack up 131 triumphs in his career. The last time that two conference mentors concluded a year with 100 or more victories was in 1972 when Michigan State's Duffy Daugherty ended his tenure with 109 wins while Ohio State's Woody Hayes already boasted 149 triumphs. Hayes ended his time in Columbus with 205 wins in 1978 with Michigan's Bo Schembechler standing at 96 victories. Mason Coaches 100th Game at Minnesota: Minnesota's Glen Mason became just the fourth head coach in school history to compile 100 games at the school when he spent his 100th contest on the sidelines in the Big Ten opener against Purdue on Saturday. The Gophers mentor, who has built a record of 55-45 in his ninth year in Minneapolis, is the first Minnesota coach to hit the century mark since Murray Warmath led the program for 172 contests from 1954-71. Two other Big Ten coaches are nearing significant landmarks -- Ohio State's Jim Tressel is approaching the 250-game mark for his career as a head coach (249 games currently) while Michigan State's John L. Smith is nearing the 200-plateau for his coaching career (199 games currently). Trophy Games Return: In a conference with 15 traditional trophy games, hardware will be on the line in three of the five matchups this weekend. In-state rivals Michigan and Michigan State will square off Saturday with the Paul Bunyan Trophy up for grabs. Since 1953, the winner of this game has accepted the four-foot wooden statue with the Wolverines holding a 31-19-2 advantage, including three straight wins. The Spartans already claimed one trophy this season when they won the Megaphone Trophy with a road victory at Notre Dame. Minnesota and Penn State will battle over one of the newest trophies, the Governor's Victory Bell, which was first established in 1993. The two teams have split eight games since the trophy's introduction, but the Gophers have won the last four in the series. The final trophy on the line will be the Shillelagh, which has been awarded to the victor of the Purdue-Notre Dame game every season since 1958. The Boilermakers have won the last two in the series but the Fighting Irish have won 30 of the 48 games since the trophy was first awarded. Back in the Rotation: 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. Another reunion occurs this weekend when Indiana meets Wisconsin for the first since the 2002 campaign. The Hoosiers and Badgers last matchup took place on Oct. 12, 2002, when Indiana extended its current victory streak in the series to two games with a 32-29 triumph. The Best of the Best: The Big Ten boasts national leaders in three individual statistical categories and multiple players appear among the top five in the latest NCAA statistics. Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton leads the country with a pass efficiency rating of 201.3 while also ranking ninth nationally with 326.8 yards of total offense per contest. Minnesota running back Laurence Maroney is a national leader in a pair of statistical categories with 174.5 rushing yards per game and 220.8 all-purpose stripes per outing. The Big Ten also features two other rushers among the top five in the land -- Wisconsin's Brian Calhoun (3rd with 156.5 rushing yards per game) and Northwestern's Tyrell Sutton (5th with 132.0 rushing yards per contest), the only freshman to appear among the top 10. In addition, Calhoun appears among the top five with 192.5 all-purpose yards per outing (4th) and 13.5 points per game (T5th). The Gophers also boast a second top-five performer in the backfield, as running back Gary Russell has matched Calhoun's nine touchdowns on the year to tie for fifth in the country in points per game. On special teams, Indiana's Lance Bennett ranks second nationally with 44.0 yards per kickoff return, Ohio State kicker Josh Huston is rated third in the land with 2.50 field goals per game, Wisconsin punter Ken DeBauche appears fourth nationally with 46.8 yards per boot and Northwestern's Marquice Cole ranks fourth in the country with 30.1 yards per punt return. Big Ten teams also lead the nation in three team categories, including the top rushing offense (Minnesota -- 326.5 ypg) and defense (Ohio State -- 41.0 ypg) and the most efficient passing attack (Michigan State -- 199.7 rating). Big Ten Schedule Set for Oct. 8: The following schedule has been confirmed for games on Saturday, Oct. 8. Basanez Enters Top 10 in Fifth Career Category: Northwestern's Brett Basanez became the sixth player overall and the fifth quarterback in the last six seasons to crack the career top 10 in the categories of passes, completions, passing yards, total offensive plays and total offensive yards. The Wildcats signal caller completed 20 of 38 passes for 229 yards and added 54 rushing stripes on 21 attempts against Penn State to boost his career numbers to 8,696 career yards of total offense, supplanting Illinois' Jack Trudeau (8,640 yards from 1981-85) for 10th place on the all-time Big Ten list. Basanez already appears among the top 10 in passing attempts (1,231 for 7th all-time), completions (691 for 7th) and yards (7,984 for 9th) and total offensive plays (1,555 for 5th). Only five other standouts currently appear among the top 10 on all five lists and four of those student-athletes joined in the last five years in Purdue's Kyle Orton (2004), Michigan's John Navarre (2003), Illinois' Kurt Kittner (2001) and the Boilermakers Drew Brees (2000), who ranks first in all five categories. Fellow Purdue quarterback Mark Hermann (1980) is the only other player on all five top 10 lists. Big Ten on TV: The second 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: DEFENSE: SPECIAL TEAMS:
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