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Nov. 28, 2005

Barry's Farewell Tour: Head coach Barry Alvarez coached his final regular season game for the Badgers last Friday, picking up a road triumph at Hawaii. The Wisconsin mentor improved to 117-73-4 in 16 seasons in Madison to rank eighth on the all-time victory list for conference coaches. Alvarez will lead the Badgers onto the field one last time in a bowl game before handing the reins over to current-defensive coordinator Bret Bielema, who will become the youngest head coach in college football next season.

Another Successful Non-Conference Slate: With Wisconsin wrapping up its non-conference slate with a victory at Hawaii on Nov. 25, the Big Ten improved its out-of-league mark to 28-6 (.824), which is the best winning percentage since going 23-4 (.852) prior to bowl play in 1997. In addition, the league's 28 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, before Purdue fell to Notre Dame in week five.

Road Warriors: Wisconsin's triumph at Hawaii boosted the Big Ten's record in all away games to 26-27 (.491), the league's best road winning percentage and most victories away from home since at least the 2000 season. The Big Ten's previous best road performance in the last six years occurred in 2002 when the programs built a 25-30 (.455) mark in visiting stadiums. In addition, conference teams won 20 of 44 road games in league action, matching the 2002 season for the most successful road campaign since 2000.

More National Award Finalists: Three more Big Ten student-athletes were named finalists for national awards last week, a group that includes Minnesota's Greg Eslinger for the Outland Trophy and Ohio State's A.J. Hawk and Penn State's Paul Posluszny for the Bednarik Award. Eslinger is one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy, which is awarded to the best interior lineman in college football, and is aiming to become the third Gopher to take home the award along with Bobby Brown (1962) and Tom Brown (1960). Ten conference standouts have claimed the Outland Trophy, most recently when Iowa's Robert Gallery was honored in 2003. Hawk and Posluszny have now been tabbed finalists for four national awards, including the Butkus and Lombardi Awards and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. The Big Ten has collected the Bednarik Award, given to the nation's top defensive player, on four occasions, most recently when the Nittany Lions' LaVar Arrington took home the trophy in 1999.

The Best of the Best: The Big Ten now has five players listed as  finalists for 10 different national awards -- Butkus (Hawk, Posluszny), Walter Camp Player of the Year (Hawk, Posluszny), Draddy (Eslinger), Hendricks (Penn State's Tamba Hali), Lombardi (Hawk, Posluszny), Nagurski (Hali), Unitas (Northwestern's Brett Basanez) and Wuerffel (Basanez).

Big Ten Leads Nation with Two of Top Six in BCS Poll: For the second week in a row, two Big Ten teams are ranked sixth or higher and five programs appear among the top 25 in the seventh issue of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings which were released today. The Big Ten, which is the only conference with two of the top six, joins the SEC as the only leagues with five programs among the BCS top 25. Big Ten co-champion Penn State continues to lead the way for the conference at No. 3 overall, just one spot shy of earning a top-two ranking and a berth in the Rose Bowl, the BCS national championship game. Fellow co-champion Ohio State also appears near the top at sixth overall, followed by No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 19 Michigan and No. 22 Northwestern. The final BCS rankings will be announced next Sunday, Dec. 4.

Big Ten Announces All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors: The Big Ten announced the 2005 All-Conference football teams and individual award winners on Nov. 22 as selected by the coaches and a media panel. For just the sixth time since the award's inception in 1982, two different standouts were honored as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in Northwestern's Brett Basanez (media) and Penn State's Michael Robinson (coaches). The Nittany Lions, who earned a share of the Big Ten title, picked up two more individual laurels when Joe Paterno was tabbed as the media's choice for the Dave McClain Coach of the Year while Tamba Hali was a unanimous selection by the coaches as the Defensive Lineman of the Year. Fellow league co-champion Ohio State also collected some hardware with A.J. Hawk sweeping Defensive Player of the Year accolades from both groups. The Wildcats picked up another individual award with Tyrell Sutton being tabbed the Freshman of the Year by both coaches and media, while the coaches honored Minnesota's Greg Eslinger as the Offensive Lineman of the Year.

Ohio State and Penn State Share Big Ten Title: In the final weekend of conference action, Ohio State and Penn State secured a share of the 2005 Big Ten Championship by taking care of business on the road. The Buckeyes were the first team to hit the field as they met Michigan in Ann Arbor for the 102nd meeting in the all-time series. The Wolverines built a 21-12 advantage with less than eight minutes remaining before OSU rallied for the win, with Antonio Pittman scoring on a three-yard run with only 24 seconds left to give the Buckeyes a 25-21 victory and a share of the crown. The Nittany Lions then took the field in East Lansing and built a 17-0 halftime lead over the Spartans before holding on for the 31-22 triumph to split the conference title.

Nittany Lions Earn BCS Bid: While both OSU and PSU shared the Big Ten title, the Nittany Lions collected the league's automatic Bowl Championship Series (BCS) berth based on a 17-10 victory over the Buckeyes on Oct. 8. Penn State will take part in its first BCS bowl game since the system's inception in 1998, becoming the sixth Big Ten school in eight years to earn BCS automatic qualification joining Illinois (2001), Michigan (2003, 2004), Ohio State (2002), Purdue (2000), and Wisconsin (1998, 1999). Overall, the Big Ten entered the 2005 campaign with a conference-best 11 BCS bowl berths in its first seven years of existence, sending a second team to a BCS bowl in 1998 (Ohio State), 1999 (Michigan), 2002 (Iowa) and 2003 (Ohio State).

Buckeyes Win 30th Big Ten Championship: Ohio State picked up a share of the 30th Big Ten title in school history, the second-highest total among all league programs behind only Michigan (42). The Buckeyes have now won two conference championships in head coach Jim Tressel's five years at the helm and four crowns in the last decade, also splitting the title in 1996, 1998 and 2002. The Wolverines lead the way with five championships in the last 10 years (1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004), followed by OSU's four crowns and a pair of first-place finishes for Iowa (2002, 2004), Northwestern (1996, 2000) and Wisconsin (1998, 1999).

Penn State's Second Title: The Nittany Lions and head coach Joe Paterno picked up their second Big Ten Championship since joining the conference in 1993. PSU placed third in the standings in their first season before claiming the Big Ten title with a perfect 8-0 mark in 1994 -- part of an undefeated 12-0 campaign including a Rose Bowl victory over Oregon. Since joining the league, the Nittany Lions have placed third or better on six occasions -- 1993 (3rd), 1994 (1st), 1995 (T3rd), 1996 (T3rd), 1997 (T2nd) and 2005 (T1st).

Worst to First: Penn State became the third Big Ten program in the last six years to win a conference crown just one season after placing ninth or worse in the league standings. The Nittany Lions produced a 2-6 record during the 2004 campaign to tie for ninth place, only to improve to a 7-1 mark and a conference title in 2005. Illinois produced a similar reversal of fortunes four years ago, winning the 2001 championship with a 7-1 record after tying for ninth at 2-6 in 2000. While the Illini were placing ninth in 2000, Northwestern earned a share of the Big Ten crown with a 6-2 mark just one year after ending the 1999 season in 10th place with a 1-7 record.

Spreading the Love: Parity has reigned over the Big Ten landscape for the last decade (1996-2005) with eight 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 (`96, `00), Ohio State (`96, `98, `02, '05), Penn State ('05), Purdue (`00) and Wisconsin (`98, `99). The title has been shared by at least two teams six times in this span, with a pair of three-team ties in 1998 and 2000 and two teams atop the standings in 1996, 2002, 2004 and 2005.

Big Ten Shatters Three Attendance Records: With three sellouts in the final weekend of Big Ten play, the conference established three attendance records while also surpassing the five million mark in total attendance for just the third time in league history. In 69 contests, the Big Ten averaged 72,566 patrons per outing which shattered the previous league best of 70,505 fans per game set in 2002. In addition, the conference's total attendance of 5,007,067 for all games ranks third in Big Ten annals behind only the 2002 (5,499,439 in 78 games) and 2003 (5,282,102 in 75 games) seasons. Big Ten programs also set records for total and average attendance in conference games only with 3,175,427 patrons in 44 contests for an average of 72,169 fans per outing. The previous league highs were 3,138,387 in total attendance and 71,326 per game, both established in 2001. Three of the five conference games were sold out last weekend, boosting the Big Ten's total number of packed houses to 38, which equals the second-highest single-season total in league history behind only the 39 sellouts posted last season. Ten of the Big Ten's 11 teams boast at least one sellout this season and the league sold out all five games the weekend of Oct. 15, which marked the first time the league featured packed stadiums for every game in a single week since at least the 1998 season. In addition, the conference set a single-day attendance record during the opening week of non-conference play with an average of 76,475 fans for eight home games, besting the previous record average of 70,270 patrons for eight games on Sept. 14, 1985.

Nation's Best Fans: Big Ten teams appear first, second and third in the NCAA's rankings for total attendance and seven conference programs rate among the top 26 in the country, which equals the SEC for the national lead. Michigan leads the nation in both total and average attendance with a sum of 776,405 fans in seven home contests for an average of 110,915 patrons per game. The Wolverines are followed by Ohio State (second at 735,120 total; third with 105,017 avg.) and Penn State (third at 734,013 total; fourth with 104,859 avg.) in the national rankings. Other Big Ten schools to appear among the top 26 in total attendance are Wisconsin (14th at 495,308; 13th with 82,551 avg.), Michigan State (19th at 451,097; 20th with 75,183 avg.), Iowa (21st at 423,510; 21st with 70,585 avg.) and Purdue (26th at 377,977; 26th with 62,996 avg.).

Big Ten Seven-Up: With the regular season now complete, the Big Ten will send seven schools to postseason bowls including Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. The conference has now produced seven or more bowl teams on seven occasions, most recently when a league-record eight squads advanced to the postseason following the 2003 campaign. The Big Ten also boasted seven bowl qualifiers in 2002, 1999, 1997, 1996 and 1993. The Big Ten has seven bowl tie-ins this season -- the Rose Bowl/Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game, Capital One, Outback, Alamo, Sun, Music City and Motor City 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 designated national championship game, the Rose Bowl.

Big Ten Individual Leaders . . . : With the Big Ten season now complete, the conference produced new statistical leaders in every major category during the 2005 campaign. Iowa's Albert Young rallied to become the first Hawkeye to lead the conference in rushing since Dennis Mosley in 1979. The sophomore running back, who ranked fifth among all rushers after five Big Ten games, climbed to second place on the charts entering the final weekend of play trailing only Minnesota's Laurence Maroney, whom the Hawkeyes were facing in the regular-season finale. In a matchup of the league's top two ground gainers, Young rushed for 103 yards while Maroney was limited to 10 yards before leaving the game in the first quarter after reaggravating an ankle injury that forced him to miss the previous week's game. Young ends the season ranked first in league games only with 125.2 rushing yards per game, while Maroney tops the Big Ten in all games with 135.5 yards on the ground per outing. Ohio State's Troy Smith led the Big Ten in league games only with a 169.6 pass efficiency rating, making him the first Buckeye quarterback to lead the conference since Joe Germaine in 1998. Northwestern's Brett Basanez produced 339.4 yards of total offense per game to rank first in the league for the second time in his career after leading the way as a freshman in 2002 (250.3 ypg). He becomes just the second player in the last 20 years to average more than 300 yards of total offense per contest along with Purdue's Drew Brees, who accomplished the feat three times from 1998-2000. On the receiving end, Dorien Bryant become the fifth different Purdue wideout in the last seven years to top the Big Ten in receptions per game with 6.62 catches per outing in conference games only. The Boilermakers offense has produced the leading pass-catcher in six of the last seven seasons, a group that includes Taylor Stubblefield (2002, 2004), John Standeford (2003), Vinny Sutherland (2000) and Chris Daniels (1999). Wisconsin running back Brian Calhoun led the charge in scoring with 10.5 points per game, making him the first UW player to lead the league in points since Ron Dayne in 1999. And in punting, fellow-Badger Ken DeBauche led the Big Ten with 44.4 yards per boot in conference contests only to end the two-year reign of Michigan State's Brandon Fields, who concluded the season ranked fourth with 41.0 yards per punt.

. . . and Team Leaders: In the team statistics, Ohio State dominated the defensive side of the ball while three different squads topped the charts in the major offensive categories. The Buckeyes led the Big Ten in league games only in scoring defense (14.8 ppg), total defense (271.1 ypg), rushing defense (80.8 ypg) and passing defense (190.4 ypg). The last conference school to rank first in all four categories was Michigan in 2001. The Buckeyes have now topped the conference in points, total yards and rushing yards allowed in three of the last six seasons, including the 2000 and 2003 campaigns. OSU led in scoring defense four times in that six-year span (2005, 2003, 2002, 2000), ranked first in total defense on four occasions (2005, 2003, 2002, 2000) and topped the league in rushing defense three times (2005, 2003, 2000). However, the annual leader in passing defense in the Big Ten records book is determined by pass efficiency rating and Penn State (104.1) edged Ohio State (111.7) for the top spot in that category. The Nittany Lions also led the league in defensive pass efficiency last season with a rating of 92.8. On the offensive side of the ball, Northwestern was the only Big Ten unit to rank among the top five in points, total yards, rushing yards and passing yards per game. The Wildcats topped the conference in both total offense (494.0 ypg) and passing offense (306.6 ypg) while rating fourth in scoring offense (31.6 ppg) and fifth in rushing offense (187.4 ypg). Northwestern ranked first in total and passing offense for just the second time in school annals and the first time since the 1950 squad accomplished the feat. NU most recently led the way in total yardage in 2000 while topping the charts through the air in 1973. Minnesota led the Big Ten with 259.2 rushing yards per outing in 2005 league games, ranking first for the second time in three years (2003). Penn State put up more points than any other league outfit this season with 35.2 points per contest in Big Ten games to lead the way in scoring for the first time since setting the conference record in 1994 (48.1 ppg).

Gophers' Rushing Feat: In addition to leading the Big Ten in rushing, Minnesota became the first program in NCAA history to produce a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in three consecutive seasons. First-team All-Big Ten choice Laurence Maroney is the constant in that three-year span, tallying 1,355 yards in 2005 to become only the third player in Big Ten history to break the 1,000-yard mark in each of his first three seasons, joining Wisconsin's Ron Dayne and Michigan State's Sedrick Irvin. Maroney ranks second in school history with 3,824 yards on the ground for his career, a total that is just 388 yards shy of cracking the league's top-10 rushing leaders. Sophomore Gary Russell was the second Gopher to hit 1,000 rushing yards this season with a career-best 1,045 stripes. Maroney was joined by Marion Barber III with over 1,000 rushing yards in 2004 and 2003.

Badgers' Two-Way Threat: Wisconsin running back Brian Calhoun also entered the conference records book this season. The junior leads the league with 1,423 rushing yards while ranking third on the team with 563 yards receiving to become just the second player in Big Ten history to surpass 1,000 yards on the ground and 500 yards through the air. The only other league player to accomplish that feat was Iowa's Ronnie Harmon with 1,166 rushing yards and 699 receiving yards in 1985.

Welcome to the 10,000-Yard Club: Northwestern quarterback Brett Basanez became just the third signal caller in Big Ten history to hit the 10,000-yard plateau in career passing yardage last weekend. In the regular-season finale at Illinois, the Wildcats signal caller set a single-game school record by completing 80.6 percent of his pass attempts (25-of-31) for 240 yards and two touchdowns to boost his career passing yardage total to 10,164 stripes. He passed Purdue's Mark Herrman (9,946 yards) for third-place on the Big Ten career list behind only Purdue's Drew Brees (11,792) and Iowa's Chuck Long (10,461). Basanez also appears among the top four in passing attempts (2nd with 1,514) and completions (2nd with 875) and total offensive plays (3rd with 1,897) and yardage (3rd with 11,128). He is just the third player to appear among the top five in career passes, completions, passing yards, total offensive plays and total offensive yards along with Purdue's Brees and Kyle Orton.

Badgers' Williams Equals Return Mark: Wisconsin wideout Brandon Williams returned his 106th kickoff in the regular-season finale at Hawaii to equal Michigan State's Derrick Mason for first place on the Big Ten career charts. Williams also has 2,349 yards on kickoff returns in his time in Madison, a total that ranks second in conference annals behind Mason (2,575 yards).

A New Golden Age of Coaching?: With Alvarez, Paterno and Carr in the century club, the Big Ten features 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.

Putting Points on the Board: Big Ten offenses produced points at a record pace during the 2005 season with eight teams averaging 30 or more points per outing and all 11 teams tallying an average of 30.3 points per game, the highest totals for the league since at least 1990. The Big Ten's previous high over the last 15 seasons occurred when six teams averaged 30 points or better in 1999, while the highest average for the entire league was the 28.5 points per contest produced in 2002. Eight conference attacks are rated among the top 36 scoring offenses in the country including Minnesota (10th at 36.2 ppg), Penn State (12th at 35.2), Wisconsin (13th at 35.2), Michigan State (T17th at 33.8), Ohio State (27th at 32.5), Northwestern (32nd at 31.8), Iowa (34th at 30.5) and Purdue (T36th at 30.0).

The 500-Yard Club?: The Big Ten features some of the most productive offensive attacks in league history with three programs racking up more than 490 yards of total offense per game. Minnesota leads the conference (fifth nationally) with 497.8 yards per contest, which ranks second in Big Ten annals behind only the Penn State attack that produced 512.7 yards per game in 1994. Michigan State (497.3 ypg; sixth nationally, fourth in league history) and Northwestern (492.7 ypg; eighth nationally, seventh in league history) have also produced more than 490 yards of total offense per contest this season.

Big Ten on TV: The 2005 campaign featured the most televised contests in conference history for an 11-game season, with 68 of 70 home football games appearing on television. That total included 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 were also televised bringing to 74 the number of Big Ten football games that appeared on television.