The 2021 Big Ten conference football season was the 126th season of

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

play for the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

and part of the

2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 152nd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The ...

. This was the Big Ten's eighth season with 14 teams. The league's champion was

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. With a win on November 26 over

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, and a loss by

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

on November 27,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

won the Big Ten West division. With a win over

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

on November 27

clinched a share of the Big Ten East division championship and a spot in the Big Ten Championship game against Iowa on December 4 at

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). It opened on August ...

. Nine Big Ten teams were bowl-eligible at the completion of the regular season:

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

(CFP),

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, and

. A tenth,

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

, was added by NCAA contingency plans on December 23 as Texas A&M withdrew from the Gator Bowl, and with no bowl eligible teams available, the NCAA chose their replacement using

Academic Progress Rate The Academic Progress Rate (APR) is a measure introduced by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the nonprofit association that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, to ...

regulations.

Previous season

The

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic led to the 2020 season originally being canceled. However, after an agreed-upon testing regimen was developed and the fact that many other major college conferences continued their seasons, the conference reinstated the season. The season was delayed to the end of October with no non-conference games to be played. The conference settled on an eight-game conference-only regular season, beginning on October 23, along with a ninth cross-over week of contests the week of the conference championship game. Ohio State won the East Division title and made their sixth appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game and fourth consecutive appearance. In the West Division, Northwestern won the division title. In that championship game, Ohio State defeated Northwestern 22–10 to win their fourth consecutive Big Ten championship. With that win, the Buckeyes landed a spot in the 2020–21

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...

as the No. 3 seed. The Buckeyes defeated No. 2 Clemson in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

(national semifinal) before losing to top-seeded

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in the national championship game in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Five teams qualified for bowl games in the 2020 season, however

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998 in sports, 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by ...

matchup with

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

was canceled due to COVID-19. The Big Ten went 3–2 in its postseason games.

Coaching changes

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

hired former

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

and Wisconsin head coach

Bret Bielema Bret Arnold Bielema (; born January 13, 1970) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a position he has held since the 2021 season. Bielema served as the head football coach at ...

to serve as head coach, replacing

Lovie Smith Lovie Lee Smith (born May 8, 1958) is an American football coach. He has served as the head coach of the Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL) and the Illinois Fighting Illini. Smith has be ...

who was fired during the 2020 season.

Preseason

Recruiting classes

Big Ten Media Days

Preseason Media Poll

Below are the results of the preseason media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses. For the 2021 poll, Ohio State was voted as the favorite to win both the East Division and the Big Ten Championship Game. This is the 11th iteration of the preseason media poll conducted by Cleveland.com, which polls at least one credentialed media member for each Big Ten team. Only three times in the last 11 years has the media accurately predicted the Big Ten champion.

Preseason awards

Below are the results of the annual Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year awards conducted by Cleveland.com.

Rankings

Schedule

All times Eastern time. † denotes Homecoming game

Regular season schedule

Week 0

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Big Ten Championship Game

Postseason

Bowl games

For the 2020–2025 bowl cycle, The Big Ten will have annually eight appearances in the following bowls: Rose Bowl (unless they are selected for playoffs filled by a Pac-12 team if champion is in the playoffs),

Citrus Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Pop-Tarts Bowl and Florida Classic. The g ...

Guaranteed Rate Bowl The Rate Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played in the state of Arizona since 1989, under several different names. Played as the Copper Bowl from inception through 1996, it was known as the Insight.com Bowl from 1997 ...

Las Vegas Bowl The Las Vegas Bowl is an NCAA Division I FBS annual post-season college football bowl game held in the Las Vegas area. First played in 1992, the bowl was originally held at the 40,000-seat Sam Boyd Stadium in Whitney, Nevada, before moving t ...

Pinstripe Bowl The Pinstripe Bowl is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game held annually since 2010 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York City. Through 2025 it is affiliated ...

Quick Lane Bowl The GameAbove Sports Bowl is a post-season college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that began play in the 2014 season. The game was previously known as the Quick Lane Bowl with Ford Motor Company serving as title sponsor of the game fo ...

, and

Outback Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played in Tampa, Florida. The event was known as the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022. It was held at Tampa Stadium from 1986 until 1999, when it ...

. The Big Ten teams will go to a New Year's Six bowl if a team finishes higher than the champions of

Power Five conferences The power conferences are the most prominent athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I, the highest level o ...

in the final College Football Playoff rankings. The Big Ten champion is also eligible for the

if it's among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking. On December 22,

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

withdrew from the Gator Bowl, citing a breakout of positive COVID-19 cases and season-ending injuries limiting them to few players. On December 23, the NCAA football oversight committee approved

as the first bowl alternate, under rules where five-win teams are calculated by

calculations. Rutgers finished first in APR among the five-win schools and was given the offer to accept the bid. The NCAA also allowed the game to be postponed as late as January 10 in order to allow any replacement teams time. Rankings are from AP Poll. All times Eastern Time Zone.

Big Ten records vs other conferences

2021–2022 records against non-conference foes: Post Season

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Big Ten individual awards

The following individuals won th
conference's annual player and coach awards

Individual awards

All-Conference Teams

2021 Big Ten All-Conference Teams and Awards Coaches Honorable Mention: ILLINOIS: Sydney Brown, Owen Carney,

Vederian Lowe Vederian Lowe (born April 17, 1999) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini. Professional career Min ...

Alex Palczewski Alex Andrzej "Palcho" Palczewski ( ; born August 3, 1999) is an American professional football offensive tackle for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Palczewski played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini whe ...

; INDIANA: Matthew Bedford, Peyton Hendershot; IOWA: Tyler Goodson, Jack Koerner, Mason Richman, Noah Shannon, Tory Taylor; MARYLAND: Jakorian Bennett, Dontay Demus, Jaelyn Duncan, Ami Finau, Rakim Jarrett, Chigoziem Okonkwo, Taulia Tagovailoa; MICHIGAN: Erick All, Christopher Hinton Jr., Trevor Keegan,

Josh Ross Josh Ross (born May 27, 1996) is a Canadian country music, country singer and songwriter. He is managed by The Core Entertainment and jointly signed to Universal Music Canada and Universal Music Group Nashville. Ross has charted with the singles ...

, Brad Robbins,

Luke Schoonmaker Luke Schoonmaker ( ; born September 28, 1998) is an American professional football tight end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the Cowboys in t ...

Mazi Smith Mazi Smith (born June 16, 2001) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the Cowboys in the fir ...

, D. J. Turner, Andrew Vastardis; MICHIGAN STATE: Matt Allen, Quavaris Crouch, Xavier Henderson,

Connor Heyward Connor Heyward (born January 22, 1999) is an American professional football tight end and fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans. Heyward is the son ...

, Jarrett Horst, Kevin Jarvis, Jacob Slade,

Payton Thorne Payton Thorne (born June 26, 2001) is an American professional football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans and the Auburn Tigers. Early life Th ...

; MINNESOTA: Ko Kieft, Esezi Otomewo, Sam Schlueter, Mariano Sori-Marin; NEBRASKA: Damion Daniels, Marquel Dismuke, Adrian Martinez, Luke Reimer,

Ben Stille Ben Stille (born November 12, 1997) is an American professional football defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and was signed by the Miami Dolphins as a ...

, Deontai Williams; NORTHWESTERN: Adetomiwa Adebawore, A. J. Hampton, Evan Hull, Brandon Joseph, Cameron Mitchell; OHIO STATE: Sevyn Banks, Cameron Brown,

Emeka Egbuka Emeka Egbuka (born October 14, 2002) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, finishing as their career recept ...

Antwuan Jackson Antwuan Jackson (born September 21, 1997) is an American professional football defensive end for the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Ohio State. Early life Jackson grew up in Ellenwood, Geo ...

, Jeremy Ruckert; PENN STATE:

Tariq Castro-Fields Tariq Quinton Castro-Fields (born January 14, 1999) is an American professional football cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected b ...

, Sean Clifford, Jesse Luketa, Juice Scruggs, Rasheed Walker; PURDUE: Jaylan Alexander,

Cam Allen Cameron Allen (born November 22, 1999) is an American professional American football, football Safety (gridiron football position), safety. He played college football at Purdue Boilermakers football, Purdue. Early life Allen grew up in Bluefiel ...

Branson Deen Branson Milan Deen (born February 12, 2000) is an American professional football defensive tackle. He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and Miami Hurricanes. Early life Deen was born on February 12, 2000, and grew up in Indiana ...

, Payne Durham, Mitchell Fineran,

Jalen Graham Jalen A. Graham (born January 11, 2001) is an American professional football linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was selected by the San Francisc ...

, Greg Long, Dedrick Mackey, Tyler Witt, Milton Wright; RUTGERS: Olakunle Fatukasi,

Isiah Pacheco Isiah Pacheco (born March 2, 1999), is nicknamed "Pop", and is an American professional football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Pacheco ...

, Julius Turner; WISCONSIN: Noah Burks, Nick Herbig,

Faion Hicks Faion Hicks (born September 2, 1997) is an American professional football cornerback. He played college football at Wisconsin and was selected by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft. College career Being ranked as a thr ...

, Isiah Mullens, Jack Nelson, Scott Nelson, Joe Tippmann, Collin Wilder. Media Honorable Mention: ILLINOIS: Sydney Brown, Owen Carney, Blake Hayes,

Doug Kramer Douglas Rimorin Kramer (born July 10, 1983) is a Filipino former basketball player. Playing power forward for the Ateneo Blue Eagles, he then played for eight teams in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Early life Kramer grew up in ...

, James McCourt, Johnny Newton,

, Keith Randolph, Devon Witherspoon; INDIANA: Ryder Anderson, Matthew Bedford, Ty Fryfogle, Jaylin Williams; IOWA: Seth Benson, Jack Koerner, Sam LaPorta, Mason Richman, Noah Shannon, Tory Taylor; MARYLAND: Spencer Anderson, Jakorian Bennett, Nick Cross, Ami Finau, Rakim Jarrett, Jordan Mosley, Chigoziem Okonkwo, Sam Okuayinonu, Taulia Tagovailoa; MICHIGAN: Erick All, Blake Corum,

Ryan Hayes Ryan Hayes may refer to: * Ryan Hayes (ice hockey) (born 1989), American ice hockey player * Ryan Hayes (American football) (born 2000), American football player {{hndis, Hayes, Ryan ...

, Christopher Hinton Jr., Trevor Keegan, Brad Robbins,

, D. J. Turner; MICHIGAN STATE: Matt Allen, A. J. Arcuri, Blake Bueter, Matt Coghlin, Quavaris Crouch, J. D. Duplain, Cal Haladay,

, Jarrett Horst, Kevin Jarvis,

Jalen Nailor Jalen Rasheed Nailor (born March 2, 1999), nicknamed "Speedy", is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Sta ...

, Darius Snow,

; MINNESOTA: Chris Autman-Bell, Jack Gibbens, Ko Kieft, Tyler Nubin, Conner Olson, Esezi Otomewo, Sam Schlueter, Mariano Sori-Marin; NEBRASKA: Damion Daniels,

Cam Jurgens Cameron Jurgens (born August 21, 1999) is an American professional football center for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Early life Jurgens grew up in Pickre ...

, Luke Reimer,

Samori Toure Samori Toure may refer to: * Samori Ture Samori Ture ( – June 2, 1900), also known as Samori Toure, Samory Touré, or Almamy Samore Lafiya Toure, was a Mandinka people, Malinke and a Soninke people, Soninke Muslim cleric, military strategist, a ...

, Deontai Williams; NORTHWESTERN: Adetomiwa Adebawore, A. J. Hampton, Evan Hull; OHIO STATE: Sevyn Banks, Cameron Brown,

Denzel Burke Denzel Burke (born November 10, 2002) is an American professional football cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes and was selected by the Cardinals in the ...

, Steele Chambers,

Tommy Eichenberg Tommy Eichenberg (born January 11, 2001) is an American professional American football, football linebacker for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio St ...

, Matthew Jones, Jeremy Ruckert, Bryson Shaw, Taron Vincent, Tyleik Williams,

Luke Wypler Luke Wypler ( ; born May 3, 2001) is an American professional football center for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Early life Wypler was born on May 3, 2001, in ...

; PENN STATE: Ellis Brooks, Ji'Ayir Brown,

, Sean Clifford,

Jahan Dotson Jahan Waltè Dotson ( ; born March 22, 2000) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the ...

, Curtis Jacobs, Mike Miranda, P. J. Mustipher, Joey Porter Jr., Juice Scruggs, Brandon Smith,

Jordan Stout Jordan Connor Stout (born August 4, 1998) is an American professional football punter for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Tech Hokies and Penn State Nittany Lions. Early l ...

, Brenton Strange; PURDUE: Jaylan Alexander,

, Mitchell Fineran,

Gus Hartwig Gus Hartwig (born January 21, 2002) is an American professional football center for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers. Early life Hartwig attended Zionsville Comm ...

, Tyler Witt, Milton Wright; RUTGERS: Christian Izien,

, Julius Turner; WISCONSIN: Tyler Beach, Keeanu Benton, Noah Burks, Nick Herbig,

, Chez Mellusi, Isiah Mullens, Jack Nelson, Scott Nelson, Joe Tippmann, Collin Wilder, Caesar Williams.

Home attendance

2022 NFL Draft

Trades In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2022 draft. Round one Round two Round three Round four Round five Round six Round seven

Head coaches

''* Bret Bielema coached in the Big Ten from 2006 through 2012 at Wisconsin Badgers football, Wisconsin, going 37-19 in Big Ten play and winning three Big Ten championships.'' ''* Tom Allen was hired to replace Kevin Wilson (American football), Kevin Wilson in December 2016 at Indiana and coached the Hoosiers in their 2016 bowl game, going 0–1.'' ''* Mike Locksley served as interim head coach at Maryland in 2015 and coached for six games, going 1–5.'' ''* Ryan Day served as interim head coach at Ohio State for the first three games of the 2018 season while Urban Meyer served a three-game suspension and went 3–0.'' ''* Greg Schiano served as head coach at Rutgers from 2001 through 2011 then left for the NFL. Following the conclusion of the 2019 season, Schiano returned to Rutgers for his second stint as head coach. The Scarlet Knights competed in the Big East Conference (1979–2013), Big East Conference in his previous stay at the school.''

References

{{2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season navbox 2021 Big Ten Conference football season,