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Big Ten Weekly Football Release - Oct. 26
Complete Release in PDF Format
Oct. 26, 2009
FACES OF THE BIG TEN: Ian Thomas, Illinois In his first year as a starter at Illinois, sophomore Ian Thomas leads the team and ranks 11th in the conference with 7.6 tackles per game. But before becoming a standout prep football player in the Washington, D.C. area, Thomas was an all-star youth boxer. Thomas boxed from ages eight to 14 and ranked third in the country among his age group in the National Silver Gloves ranking for two straight years, including as a 13-year old. He gave up the sport at age 14 when football became the focus of his athletic career and helped lead his high school, DeMatha, to four straight Maryland state titles, including a perfect 12-0 season in 2006. BIG TEN. BIG NEWS. Big Ten Title Chase Heats Up: With just four weekends of Big Ten play remaining, Iowa remains in sole possession of first place while last year's conference co-champions are both within one game of the top spot. The Hawkeyes improved to 4-0 with a last-second touchdown pass to edge Michigan State in East Lansing on Saturday, as the Spartans fell to fourth place with a record of 3-2. Four-time defending Big Ten Champion Ohio State also has four conference wins, standing in second place at 4-1 after defeating Minnesota. The Nittany Lions, who shared the title with OSU last season, improved to 3-1 in Big Ten action with a road triumph at Michigan and stand in third place. Next weekend, Iowa hosts Indiana, Penn State plays at Northwestern, Michigan State travels to Minnesota and Ohio State wraps up non-conference play against New Mexico State. The Road Ahead: Among the top four teams in the Big Ten standings, Iowa not only stands in first place but also wraps up the season with three of its final four games at home. The Hawkeyes have already won three conference road games during their 4-0 start. Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State each have two Big Ten road trips remaining, with PSU playing two of its final four contests at home and both MSU and OSU wrapping up conference action with only one of three games at home. In regards to the remaining opponents' records, the Buckeyes face the most challenging slate as their final three opponents have a combined mark of 8-4 (.667) in Big Ten play, beginning with a game at Penn State on Nov. 7. The Nittany Lions have four games left with teams boasting a combined record of 10-8 (.556), starting with a road trip to Northwestern on Saturday. The Spartans' last three foes are a combined 7-6 (.539), while the Hawkeyes last four opponents have gone 9-9 (.500). The schedule breakdown for the top four teams appears above. Hawkeyes Hit 8-0 For First Time in School History: With its victory at Michigan State, Iowa improved to 8-0 for the first time in school history. The Hawkeyes entered last weekend as one of seven Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs still undefeated and all seven teams remained perfect. Iowa and Alabama have each won their first eight contests, while five teams stand at 7-0 in Boise State, Cincinnati, Florida, Texas and Texas Christian. Iowa has now won 12 consecutive games overall, including four victories to close the 2009 campaign, capped by a triumph in the Outback Bowl. The Hawkeyes' 12-game winning streak is the second-longest active streak among all FBS schools behind only Florida's current 17-game winning streak. The last time Iowa was victorious in 12 or more consecutive games was when the program won 20 straight contests between 1920 and 1923. The last Big Ten team to record 12 or more consecutive wins was Ohio State, which won 19 straight during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Iowa Climbs to Program-Best Fourth in BCS Poll: Three Big Ten teams were ranked in the second edition of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings, led by undefeated Iowa at No. 4 overall. The Hawkeyes improved to 8-0 for the first time in school history and moved up two spots to fourth, while being ranked first overall by the computers. Iowa's No. 4 position marks the highest ranking in program history, breaking the previous record when the team rated fifth during the last three polls of the 2002 campaign (Nov. 25, Dec. 2, Dec. 8). Two more conference schools moved up in the latest BCS poll, with Penn State climbing one spot to No. 12 and Ohio State jumping two positions to No. 17. Hot Starts Nothing New in Big Ten: With Iowa off to an 8-0 start this year, at least one Big Ten team has opened the season with eight or more straight triumphs for the fourth straight season and the fifth time in the last six years. Last season, Penn State sprinted to a 9-0 start before the Hawkeyes handed them their first defeat. In 2007, Ohio State started the year with 10 straight victories on its way to an 11-1 regular season and a return trip to the BCS National Championship Game. In 2006, both the Buckeyes and Michigan began the season with 11-0 marks before meeting in the regular season finale, with Ohio State improving to 12-0 and advancing to the title game. No Big Ten team started 8-0 in 2005, but Wisconsin jumped out to a 9-0 start in 2004. Ohio State Becomes Big Ten's Third Bowl-Eligible Team: After improving to 6-2 last weekend, Ohio State joined Iowa (8-0) and Penn State (7-1) as the third Big Ten team to become eligible for bowl competition this season. The Buckeyes are targeting their ninth consecutive bowl under head coach Jim Tressel and have played in 40 bowl contests, the most among all Big Ten schools. The Big Ten has seven bowl tie-ins this season - the Rose Bowl/Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game, Capital One, Outback, Alamo, Champs Sports, Insight and Little Caesars Pizza Bowls. If the Big Ten champion (or co-champion) is ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the final BCS rankings, then that team will participate in the BCS National Championship Game, to be played on Jan. 7, 2010, in Pasadena, Calif. Six Other Big Ten Squads Near Bowl Eligibility: Six other conference teams remain less than two wins away from bowl eligibility. Michigan (5-3), Northwestern (5-3) and Wisconsin (5-2) have all produced five victories, just one win from becoming eligible for postseason play. After finishing with only three wins in the first season under head coach Rich Rodriguez, the Wolverines are looking for their 40th bowl bid. The Wildcats are seeking back-to-back bowl berths for just the second time in school history after taking part in the 2008 Insight Bowl. Northwestern has played in seven postseason games, including following the 1995 and 1996 campaigns when head coach Pat Fitzgerald was playing linebacker for the Wildcats. Badgers' mentor Bret Bielema is looking for his fourth bowl trip in as many seasons at the helm and eighth consecutive postseason game for the program. With 4-4 marks, Indiana, Michigan State and Minnesota are just two triumphs away from becoming eligible for a spot in a bowl game. Big Ten Half-Season Leaders: With the Big Ten season more than half complete, the conference is on pace to crown new statistical leaders from six different teams in the categories appearing in the Big Ten records book. Northwestern features a pair of stat leaders with quarterback Mike Kafka topping the Big Ten with 317.2 yards of total offense per game and wide receiver Zeke Markshausen hauling in 10.0 receptions per outing. Kafka would be the third Wildcat to lead the conference in total offense in the last five seasons, following C.J. Bachér (2007) and Brett Basanez (2005). Markshausen is on pace to become the first Big Ten wideout since at least 1940 to average 10 catches per contest, which would surpass the previous high of 9.9 receptions per outing set by Purdue's Chris Daniel in 1999. Markshausen would also be the first NU wideout to lead in receptions since D'Wayne Bates ranked first with 6.9 catches per contest in 1998. Wisconsin's John Clay is averaging a conference-best 115.0 rushing yards per game and looking to join P.J. Hill (2006) and Ron Dayne (1996-98-99) as the third Badger to rank first in rushing in the last 15 seasons. Penn State's Daryll Clark tops the Big Ten with a pass efficiency rating of 133.2 and is aiming to become just the second Nittany Lion to end the year first in that category along with Kerry Collins, who led the conference in 1994. Purdue's Keith Smith is averaging a conference-best 103.2 receiving yards per game and would be the first Boilermaker to rank first in that category since Daniel in 1999. Iowa kicker Daniel Murray tops the Big Ten with 9.0 points per contest after Hawkeye running back Shonn Greene rated first last year. Among punters, Michigan's Zoltan Mesko leads the way with 47.3 yards per boot and would be the first Wolverine to rate first in punting since Paul Staroba in 1970. Paterno Moves Into Fifth-Place Tie in Century Club: Penn State's Joe Paterno picked up his 143rd triumph since joining the conference to equal Iowa's Hayden Fry for fifth place on the list of 12 mentors to collect 100 or more wins while at a Big Ten school. Paterno is now 143-61 in 16-plus seasons since 1993, while Fry posted a record of 143-89-6 in 20 years with the Hawkeyes from 1979-98. Paterno can claim sole possession of fifth place with one more victory, but needs 22 more triumphs to crack the top four of Michigan's Fielding Yost (165 wins) and Bo Schembechler (194), Chicago's Amos Alonzo Stagg (199) and Ohio State's Woody Hayes (205). Among other active Big Ten coaches, Ohio State's Jim Tressel boasts 89 wins in eight-plus years with the Buckeyes while Iowa's Kirk Ferentz has racked up 78 victories in 10-plus seasons in Iowa City. Big Ten Schedule Announced for Nov. 7: The following schedule has been confirmed for games on Nov. 7. Northwestern at Iowa, 11 a.m. CT, ESPN More Big Ten Notes: Additional notes were posted last week on the Big Ten football blog at www.bigten.org/blog/fb_blog.html, including Purdue's Ryan Kerrigan being named the Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance on Oct. 17, four conference standouts being selected for the Mackey Award Midseason Watch List, and three Big Ten players being tabbed as quarterfinalists for the Lott Trophy. OTHER TOP PERFORMERS - OCT. 24 OFFENSE: DEFENSE: SPECIAL TEAMS:
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