WEEK 11 SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, NOV. 11
INDIANA at ILLINOIS Noon | Big Ten Network
MARYLAND at NEBRASKA Noon | Peacock
MICHIGAN at PENN STATE Noon | FOX
RUTGERS at IOWA 3:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
MINNESOTA at PURDUE 3:30 p.m. | NBC
NORTHWESTERN at WISCONSIN 3:30 p.m. | FS1
MICHIGAN STATE at OHIO STATE 7:30 p.m. | NBC
All times Eastern
BIG TEN BIG NEWS
• With just three weekends remaining in the regular season, all 14 Big Ten teams will take the field this week. The action opens on Saturday at noon ET and features seven conference games and four divisional matchups.
• Michigan and Ohio State sit atop the East Division standings with matching 6-0 Big Ten records, while Penn State is third at 5-1 in conference play. Iowa leads the West Division with a 4-2 Big Ten record, followed by Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin in second at 3-3.
• Three Big Ten teams appear in the AP Poll this week. Michigan leads the conference at No. 2, followed by No. 3 Ohio State and No. 9 Penn State, while Iowa is receiving votes. The Big Ten (three teams) and the SEC are the only conferences with more than two teams ranked in the top-10 of the AP Poll.
• The Big Ten had three teams included in the College Football Playoff’s first rankings of the season on Oct. 30: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan, and No. 11 Penn State. The CFP will release its next top 25 rankings on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
• There are just seven undefeated teams remaining in the FBS, including two Big Ten teams: Michigan (9-0) and Ohio State (9-0). The Wolverines travel to Happy Valley this weekend to face Penn State, while the Buckeyes welcome Michigan State.
• Michigan and Penn State currently rank among the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Wolverines lead the nation in scoring defense (6.7 points per game), while ranking No. 5 nationally in scoring offense (40.7 points per game). The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 3 nationally in scoring defense (11.9 points per game), while ranking sixth in scoring offense (40.2 points per game).
• Five additional Big Ten teams rank in the top 25 in terms of scoring defense: Ohio State (2nd, 10.7 points per game), Iowa (4th, 13.7 points per game), Rutgers (20th, 17.9 points per game), Nebraska (22nd, 18.8 points per game) and Wisconsin (24th, 19.1 points per game).
• The Iowa defense has allowed just one touchdown in their last 12 quarters and three touchdowns over their last 20 quarters (five games). The Hawkeyes have given up one touchdown or less in seven of nine games this season. The unit has allowed one touchdown or less in 16 of the last 22 contests and has held eight teams without a touchdown since the start of the 2022 season.
• Michigan and Penn State will meet for the fourth time with both teams entering the game ranked in the top 10 of the polls. The Nittany Lions won the first match-up, a 31-24 victory at Michigan Stadium in 1994. The Wolverines claimed victories in the previous two top-10 match-ups, a 34-8 victory at Beaver Stadium during the 1997 national championship season, and a 41-17 win at Michigan Stadium last year.
• With a 35-16 victory against Rutgers last weekend, Ohio State improves to 20-1 in road games under Ryan Day, the best record of any FBS coach this century with a minimum 20 games. They’ve held all nine opponents to 17 points or fewer, their longest streak since 2007. The Buckeyes improve to 37-2 in Big Ten play under Ryan Day and have won an FBS-high 37 straight games against unranked teams.
• Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers have all secured bowl eligibility by reaching six wins this season, while Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin need just one more win to become eligible. The Big Ten will continue to feature the largest bowl lineup in conference history.
• Seven Big Ten Conference programs appear in the top 20 of the latest NCAA attendance rankings, including the nation’s top three schools: No. 1 Michigan (109,864 fans per game), No. 2 Penn State (108,579), No. 3 Ohio State (103,399), No. 12 Nebraska (86,920), No. 18 Wisconsin (75,876), No. 19 Michigan State (70,211) and No. 20 Iowa (69,250). Additionally, Big Ten teams own 13 of the top 15 single-game attendance highs this season, including the top nine spots.
• Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa, Michigan’s Zak Zinter and Penn State’s Olumuyiwa Fashanu were named finalists for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy on Oct. 25. Now in its 34th year, the Campbell Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s top football scholarathlete. The finalists will travel to the 65th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 5, where one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 34th Campbell Trophy and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
• The 2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game will be played at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 2, at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium and will be televised nationally on FOX. The winner will earn the Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy and a chance to play in one of the six bowls that comprise the College Football Playoff.
• This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Monday, January 1, 2024, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl. Houston will host the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 8, 2024, at NRG Stadium. The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game.
