The 2019 Big Ten conference football season was the 124th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and was part of the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
This was the Big Ten's sixth season with 14 teams. The defending league champion was Ohio State. The 2019 season consisted of a nine-game conference schedule for the fourth year in a row.
The Big Ten had two new coaches for the 2019 season. Ohio State promoted offensive coordinator Ryan Day to head coach, replacing Urban Meyer who retired at the end of the 2018 season.Ryan Day, Ohio State agree to five-year contract Maryland also had a new coach for 2019, hiring Mike Locksley to replace D. J. Durkin, who was fired in 2018 ultimately due to the events that led to the death of player Jordan McNair.
The first coaching change during the 2019 season came on September 29, 2019 when Rutgers dismissed Chris Ash. Tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile served as interim coach for the remainder of the 2019 season. Then on December 1, Rutgers announced that former coach Greg Schiano would return to coach the team in 2020.
On the field of play, Ohio State won the East Division title and made their fifth appearance in the Big Ten Football Championship Game and third consecutive appearance. In the West Division, Wisconsin and Minnesota tied for the division title, but the Badgers represented the division in the conference title game due to their head-to-head win over the Golden Gophers. Wisconsin made their sixth appearance in the conference title game overall. In that championship game, Ohio State defeated Wisconsin 34-21 to win their third consecutive Big Ten championship. With that win, the Buckeyes landed a spot in the 2019-20 College Football Playoff as the #2 seed.
Preseason 2019 Big Ten Spring Football and number of signees on signing day:
Recruiting classes
+ Rankings Team ESPN Rivals Scout & 24/7SigneesIllinois 52 73 52 13Indiana 38 38 36 21Iowa 37 41 41 23Maryland 44 61 47 18Michigan 8 10 8 26Michigan State 28 32 33 21Minnesota 39 41 45 24Nebraska 18 15 17 27Northwestern 43 49 51 19Ohio State 16 21 14 18Penn State 13 11 12 23Purdue 25 26 25 24Rutgers 66 53 65 22Wisconsin 29 27 29 19
Big Ten Media Days The Big Ten conducted its annual media days at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Chicago Magnificent Mile in Chicago, IL on July 23–24. The event commenced with a speech by Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, and all 14 teams sent their head coaches and two selected players to speak with members of the media. The event along with all speakers and interviews were broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. The teams and representatives in respective order were as follows:
Preseason media polls The Big Ten Media Days concluded with its annual preseason media polls in early August. Since 1992, the credentialed media has gotten the preseason champion correct just five times. Only eight times has the preseason pick even made it to the Big Ten title game. Below are the results of the media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses. For the 2019 poll, Michigan was voted as the favorite to win both the East Division and the Big Ten Championship Game. +East 1 Michigan 222 (20) 2 Ohio State 214 (14) 3 Michigan State 156 4 Penn State 154 5 Indiana 86.5 6 Maryland 82.5 7 Rutgers 37 +West 1 Nebraska 198 (14) 2 Iowa 194.5 (14) 3 Wisconsin 172.5 (4) 4 Northwestern 142.5 (1) 5 Purdue 110.5 6 Minnesota 100 (1) 7 Illinois 34 Media poll (Big Ten Championship) 1 Michigan over Nebraska 8 2 Michigan over Iowa 8 3 Ohio State over Iowa 6 4 Ohio State over Nebraska 4 5 Ohio State over Wisconsin 3 6 Nebraska over Michigan 2 7 Michigan over Wisconsin 1 8 Ohio State over Minnesota 1 9 Northwestern over Michigan 1
Preseason awards
Preseason All-Big Ten
East Division Joe Bachie, Sr., LB, Michigan State Kenny Willekes, Sr., DE, Michigan State J. K. Dobbins, Jr., RB, Ohio State Chase Young, Jr., DE, Ohio State Yetur Gross-Matos, Jr., DE, Penn State
West Division A. J. Epenesa, Jr., DE, Iowa Adrian Martinez, So., QB, Nebraska Paddy Fisher, Jr., LB, Northwestern Rondale Moore, So., WR, Purdue Jonathan Taylor, Jr., RB, Wisconsin
Rankings
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Final Illinois AP RV RV C CFP Not released Indiana AP RV RV 24 RV C RV RV RV 25 RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Iowa AP 20 20 19 18 14 14 17 23 20 19 18 23 19 19 18 19 15C 19 19 18 18 14 14 18 22 19 19 18 22 20 20 19 19 15 CFP Not released 18 20 17 17 16 16 Maryland AP 21 C 25 CFP Not released Michigan AP 7 7 10 11 20 19 16 16 19 14 14 14 12 10 17 17 18C 7 7 10 10 20 18 16 16 20 15 14 14 12 11 18 17 19 CFP Not released 14 15 13 13 14 14 Michigan State AP 18 19 18 RV 25 25-T RV C 20 20 19 RV RV 23-T RV CFP Not released Minnesota AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 20 17 13 13 7 11 9 15 16 10C RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 20 16 13 13 7 11 9 15 16 10 CFP Not released 17 8 10 8 18 18 Nebraska AP 24 25-T C RV 25 RV RV RV CFP Not released Northwestern AP RV C 25 RV CFP Not released Ohio State AP 5 5 6 6 5 4 3-T (10) 4 (9) 3 (13) 3 (17) 3 (17) 2 (5) 2 (5) 2 (9) 2 (19) 2 (12) 3C 5 5 6 6 6 5 4 (3) 4 (4) 4 (8) 4 (8) 4 (8) 2 (5) 2 (6) 2 (7) 2 (17) 2 (14) 3 CFP Not released 1 2 2 1 1 2 Penn State AP 15 15 13 13-T 12 12 10 7 6 5 5 9 9 12 12 13 9C 14 14 11 12 11 11 9 7 6 5 5 11 9 12 11 12 9 CFP Not released 4 9 8 10 10 10 Purdue AP C CFP Not released Rutgers AP C CFP Not released Wisconsin AP 19 17 14 13-T 8 8 8 6 13 18 16 15 14 13 10 11 11C 17-T 16 14 14 9 9 8 6 13 17 16 15 14 14 10 11 13 CFP Not released 13 14 12 12 8 8
+ Legend Improvement in ranking Drop in ranking Not ranked previous week No change in ranking from previous week RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
Schedule Index to colors and formattingBig Ten member wonBig Ten member lostBig Ten teams in bold All times Eastern time.
† denotes Homecoming game
Regular season The Regular season will begin on August 29 and will end on November 30.
Week #1
Week #2
Date Bye WeekSeptember 7 Northwestern
Week #3
Date Bye WeekSeptember 14 No. 10 Michigan Rutgers No. 14 Wisconsin
Week #4
Date Bye WeekSeptember 21 No. 18 Iowa Maryland Minnesota No. 13t Penn State Purdue
Week #5
Date Bye WeekSeptember 28 Illinois
Week #6
Date Bye WeekOctober 5 Indiana
Week #7
Date Bye WeekOctober 12 Northwestern No. 3t Ohio State
Week #8
Date Bye WeekOctober 19 Michigan State Nebraska
Week #9
Week #10
Date Bye WeekNovember 2 No. 19 Iowa Michigan State No. 13 Minnesota No. 3 Ohio State No. 5 Penn State No. 18 Wisconsin
Week #11
Date Bye WeekNovember 9 Indiana No. 14 Michigan Nebraska Rutgers
Week #12
Date Bye WeekNovember 16 Illinois Maryland Purdue
Week #13
Week #14
Week #15 (Big Ten Championship Game)
Postseason
Bowl games Legend Big Ten win Big Ten loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (EST)Big Ten teamOpponentScoreAttendance Pinstripe Bowl December 27 Yankee Stadium • New York, NY ESPN 3:20 p.m. Michigan State Wake Forest W 27–21 36,895 Holiday Bowl December 27 SDCCU Stadium • San Diego, CA FS1 8:00 p.m. #18 Iowa #22 USC W 49–24 50,123 Redbox Bowl December 30 Levi's Stadium • Santa Clara, CA FOX 4:00 p.m. Illinois California L 20–3534,177 Citrus Bowl January 1 Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL ABC 1:00 p.m. #17 Michigan #9t Alabama L 16–35 59,746 Outback Bowl January 1 Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN 1:00 p.m. #16 Minnesota #9t Auburn W 31–24 45,652 Gator Bowl January 2 TIAA Bank Field • Jacksonville, FL ESPN 7:00 p.m. Indiana Tennessee L 22–23 61,789New Year's Six Bowls Cotton Bowl December 28 AT&T Stadium • Arlington, TX ESPN 12:00 p.m. #13 Penn State #15 Memphis W 53–39 54,828 Rose Bowl January 1 Rose Bowl Stadium • Pasadena, CA ESPN 5:00 p.m. #11 Wisconsin #7 OregonL 27–28 90,462College Football Playoff Fiesta Bowl (Semifinal) December 28 State Farm Stadium • Glendale, AZ ESPN 8:00 p.m. #2 Ohio State #3 ClemsonL 23–2971,330
Rankings are from CFP rankings. All times Eastern Time Zone. Big Ten teams shown in bold.
Big Ten records vs Other Conferences 2019–2020 records against non-conference foes:
Regular Season
Power 5 ConferencesRecordACC2–1Big 121–1Pac-120–3BYU/Notre Dame1–0SEC1–0Power 5 Total5–5Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican5–1C-USA3–0Independents (Excluding BYU and Notre Dame)4–0MAC9–1Mountain West2–1Sun Belt2–0Other FBS Total25–3FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision4–0Total Non-Conference Record34–8
Post Season
Power Conferences 5RecordACC1–1Big 120–0Pac-121–2BYU/Notre Dame0–0SEC1–2Power 5 Total3–5Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican1–0C–USA0–0Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)0–0MAC0–0Mountain West0–0Sun Belt0–0Other FBS Total1–0Total Bowl Record4-5
Awards and honors Player of the week honors Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams Freshman Player Position Team Player Position Team Player Position Team Player Position TeamWeek 1 (Sept. 2)Jonathan TaylorRBWISKenny WillekesDEMSULogan JustusPKIUMichael Penix Jr.QBIUWeek 2 (Sept. 9)Elijah SindelarQBPURAntoine Winfield Jr.DBMINDrue ChrismanPOSUZach CharbonnetRBMICHWeek 3 (Sept. 16)Tyler JohnsonWRMINJoe GazianoDLNWKeith DuncanKIAD. J. JohnsonDBIAJ. K. DobbinsRBOSUDrake AndersonRBNWWeek 4 (Sept. 23)Jonathan Taylor (2)RBWISJoe BachieLBMSUBlake HayesPILLWan'Dale RobinsonWRNEBWeek 5 (Sept. 30)Tanner MorganQBMINChris OrrLBWISJacob HerbersPMINMichael Penix Jr. (2)QBIUSean CliffordQBPSUWeek 6 (Oct. 7)Jonathan Taylor (3)RBWISAidan HutchinsonDLMICHJavon LeakeKRMDWan'Dale Robinson (2)WRNEBWeek 7 (Oct. 14)Jack PlummerQBPURKamal MartinLBMINBlake GillikinPPSUDavid BellWRPURWeek 8 (Oct. 21)K. J. HamlerWRPSUJake HansenLBILLCasey O'BrienHolderMINDavid Bell (2)WRPURWeek 9 (Oct. 28)J. K. Dobbins (2)RBOSUChase YoungDEOSUBlake Gillikin (2)PPSUOdafe OwehDEPSUJohnny LanganQBRUTWeek 10 (Nov. 4)Stevie Scott IIIRBIUDele HardingLBILLJavon Leake (2)KRMDKing DoerueRBPURGiles JacksonKRMICHWeek 11 (Nov. 11)Josh ImatorbhebheWRILLSydney BrownDBILLJ. D. DellingerKPURDavid Bell (3)WRPURTanner MorganQBMINAntoine Winfield Jr. (2)DBMINWeek 12 (Nov. 18)Shea PattersonQBMICHA. J. EpenesaDEIAChris BerginLBNWEvan HullRBNWJonathan Taylor (4)RBWISAron CruickshankKRWISWeek 13 (Nov. 25)Shea Patterson (2)QBMICHChase Young (2)DEOSUKeith Duncan (2)KIADavid Bell (4)WRPURJ. K. Dobbins (3)RBOSUWeek 14 (Dec. 2)J. K. Dobbins (4)RBOSUA. J. Epenesa (2)DEIAKeith Duncan (3)KIACoco AzemaRBNW
Big Ten Individual Awards
The following individuals won the conference's annual player and coach awards:
AwardPlayerSchoolGraham-George Offensive Player of the YearJustin FieldsOhio StateNagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the YearChase YoungOhio StateThompson-Randle El Freshman of the YearDavid BellPurdueGriese-Brees Quarterback of the YearJustin FieldsOhio StateRichter-Howard Receiver of the YearRashod BatemanMinnesotaAmeche-Dayne Running Back of the YearJonathan TaylorWisconsinKwalick-Clark Tight End of the YearBrycen HopkinsPurdueRimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the YearTristan WirfsIowaSmith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the YearChase YoungOhio StateButkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the YearMicah ParsonsPenn StateTatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the YearAntoine Winfield Jr.MinnesotaBakken-Andersen Kicker of the YearKeith DuncanIowaEddleman-Fields Punter of the YearBlake HayesIllinoisRodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the YearJavon LeakeMarylandHayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year (coaches vote)P. J. FleckMinnesotaDave McClain Coach of the Year (media vote)Ryan DayOhio StateDungy-Thompson Humanitarian AwardJ. J. WattWisconsinFord-Kinnick Leadership AwardDoug SchlerethIndiana
All-Conference Teams
2019 Big Ten All-Conference Teams and Awards