The 2008 Big Ten Conference football season was the 113th season for the Big Ten.
Preseason Ohio State was selected as the preseason favorite to win the conference with Wisconsin and Illinois second and third, respectively by the Media. Ohio State running back Chris Wells was chosen as the Preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the year while fellow Buckeye linebacker James Laurinaitis was named the Preseason Big Ten Defensive Player of the year.
Purdue Head Coach Joe Tiller entered his final season, while Michigan's Rich Rodriguez began his first in Ann Arbor.
In a given year, each Big Ten team will play eight of the other Big Ten teams. Thus for any given team in a given year, there are two others which will not be competed against. Below is the breakdown of "no-plays" for 2008:
Team—Does not play Illinois—Michigan State, Purdue Indiana—Michigan, Ohio State Iowa—Michigan, Ohio State Michigan—Indiana, Iowa Michigan State—Illinois, Minnesota Minnesota—Michigan State, Penn State Northwestern—Penn State, Wisconsin Ohio State—Indiana, Iowa Penn State—Minnesota, Northwestern Purdue—Illinois, Wisconsin Wisconsin—Northwestern, Purdue
Standings Team Conference Overall RankWinsLossesWinsLossesAPCoaches Penn State7111288 Ohio State 71103911 Michigan State 62942424 Northwestern 5394RVRV Iowa 53942020 Wisconsin 3576 Minnesota3576 Illinois3557 Purdue 2648 Michigan2639 Indiana 1739
Rankings
AP Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Final Illinois 20 24T 24 22 22 Indiana Iowa 20 Michigan 24 Michigan State 23 20 22 18 18 17 22 21 19 24 Minnesota 25 20 Northwestern 24 24 22 Ohio State 2 (21) 3 (15) 5 (1) 13 14 14 12 12 10 13 12 10 10 10 10 10 9 Penn State 22 19 17 16 12 663 3 3 3 (6) 7 7 6 6 6 8 Purdue Wisconsin 13 11 10 8 9 18
Schedule August 30: Akron @ Wisconsin Coastal Carolina @ Penn State Maine @ Iowa Syracuse @ Northwestern Western Kentucky @ Indiana Youngstown State @ Ohio State Utah @ Michigan Northern Illinois @ Minnesota Michigan State @ California Illinois @ Missouri September 6: Eastern Illinois @ Illinois Eastern Michigan @ Michigan State Marshall @ Wisconsin Miami (Ohio) @ Michigan Northern Colorado @ Purdue Ohio @ Ohio State Florida International @ Iowa Oregon State @ Penn State Murray State @ Indiana Northwestern @ Duke Minnesota @ Bowling Green September 13: Florida Atlantic @ Michigan State Louisiana @ Illinois Montana State @ Minnesota Southern Illinois @ Northwestern Iowa State @ Iowa Oregon @ Purdue Penn State @ Syracuse Michigan @ Notre Dame Ohio State @ Southern California Wisconsin @ Fresno State September 20: Central Michigan @ Purdue Florida Atlantic @ Minnesota Iowa @ Pittsburgh Ohio @ Northwestern Temple @ Penn State Troy @ Ohio State Notre Dame @ Michigan State Ball State @ Indiana September 27: Michigan State @ Indiana Minnesota @ Ohio State Northwestern @ Iowa Purdue @ Notre Dame Wisconsin @ Michigan Illinois @ Penn State October 4: Indiana @ Minnesota Iowa @ Michigan State Penn State @ Purdue Illinois @ Michigan Ohio State @ Wisconsin October 11: Iowa @ Indiana Minnesota @ Illinois Toledo @ Michigan Michigan State @ Northwestern Purdue @ Ohio State Penn State @ Wisconsin October 18: Purdue @ Northwestern Wisconsin @ Iowa Ohio State @ Michigan State Michigan @ Penn State Indiana @ Illinois October 25: Illinois @ Wisconsin Minnesota @ Purdue Northwestern @ Indiana Penn State @ Ohio State Michigan State @ Michigan November 1: Northwestern @ Minnesota Central Michigan @ Indiana Iowa @ Illinois Michigan @ Purdue Wisconsin @ Michigan State November 8: Illinois @ Western Michigan Michigan @ Minnesota Ohio State @ Northwestern Penn State @ Iowa Purdue @ Michigan State Wisconsin @ Indiana November 15: Indiana @ Penn State Minnesota @ Wisconsin Northwestern @ Michigan Ohio State @ Illinois Purdue @ Iowa November 22: Iowa @ Minnesota Cal Poly @ Wisconsin Illinois @ Northwestern Indiana @ Purdue Michigan @ Ohio State Michigan State @ Penn State
Key matchups