The 2021 Big Ten conference football season was the 126th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and part of the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the Big Ten's eighth season with 14 teams. The league's champion was Michigan.
With a win on November 26 over Nebraska, and a loss by Wisconsin on November 27, Iowa won the Big Ten West division. With a win over Ohio State on November 27 Michigan 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.
Nine Big Ten teams were bowl-eligible at the completion of the regular season: Iowa, Maryland, Michigan (CFP), Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, and Wisconsin. A tenth, Rutgers, 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 regulations.
Coaching changes Illinois hired former Arkansas and Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema to serve as head coach, replacing Lovie Smith who was fired during the 2020 season.
Preseason
Recruiting classes + Rankings Team ESPN Rivals Scout & 24/7SigneesIllinois >40 72 73 18Indiana >40 66 54 14Iowa 22 24 24 19Maryland 18 19 18 24Michigan 14 11 13 22Michigan State >40 46 45 19Minnesota 27 41 38 18Nebraska 39 18 20 20Northwestern >40 53 50 16Ohio State 2 2 2 23Penn State 24 26 21 17Purdue >40 76 76 16Rutgers 40 40 42 21Wisconsin 20 15 16 21
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. East 1 Ohio State 238 (34) 2 Penn State 192 3 Indiana 169 4 Michigan 144 5 Maryland 79 6 Rutgers 77.5 7 Michigan State 52.5 West 1 Wisconsin 233 (29) 2 Iowa 202 (5) 3 Northwestern 160 4 Minnesota 146 5 Nebraska 91.5 6 Purdue 72.5 7 Illinois 47 Media poll (Big Ten Championship) 1 Ohio State over Wisconsin 28 2 Ohio State over Iowa 5 3 Wisconsin over Ohio State 1
Preseason awards Below are the results of the annual Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year awards conducted by Cleveland.com.Ohio State's Chris Olave voted Preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the YearNorthwestern safety Brandon Joseph voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in Cleveland.com poll.
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year 1 Chris Olave WR Ohio State 58 (11) 2 Michael Penix Jr. QB Indiana 44.5 (8) 3 Mohamed Ibrahim RB Minnesota 36 (4) 4 Tyler Linderbaum C Iowa 13 (1) 5 Garrett Wilson WR Ohio State 12 (1) 6 David Bell WR Purdue 10 (1) 7 C. J. Stroud QB Ohio State 6 (2) 7 Jahan Dotson WR Penn State 6 (1) 7 Graham Mertz QB Wisconsin 6 (1) 10 Tyler Goodson RB Iowa 5 (1) 11 Ty Fryfogle RB Indiana 4 (1) 12 Tanner Morgan QB Minnesota 3.5 (1) Preseason Defensive Player of the Year 1 Brandon Joseph S Northwestern 49 (11) 2 George Karlaftis DE Purdue 33 (8) 3 Haskell Garrett DT Ohio State 30.5 (5) 4 Micah McFadden LB Indiana 28 (6) 5 Olakunle Fatukasi LB Rutgers 18 (3) 6 Aidan Hutchinson DE Michigan 11 7 Jack Sanborn LB Wisconsin 7 7 Tiawan Mullen CB Indiana 7 (1) 9 Zach Harrison DE Ohio State 3.5 10 Jaquan Brisker S Penn State 3 10 Sevyn Banks CB Ohio State 3 12 Boye Mafe DE Minnesota 2 12 Chris Bergin LB Northwestern 2 12 Cam Taylor-Britt CB Nebraska 2 12 Jake Hansen LB Illinois 2 16 JoJo Domann S/LB Nebraska 1 16 Tyshon Fogg LB Rutgers 1 16 Owen Carney LB Illinois 1
Rankings
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Final Illinois AP C CFP Not released Indiana AP 17 RV RV C 17 RV RV RV CFP Not released Iowa AP 18 10 5 5 5 3 2 11 9 19 19 18 17 15 17 23C 18 12 7 6 5 3 2(1) 11 10 16 14 14 12 12 16 23 CFP Not released 22 20 17 16 13 15 Maryland AP RV RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Michigan AP RV RV 25 19 14 9 8 6 6 9 9 8 6 2 2 3C RV RV 25 19 14 8 7 6 6 10 8 7 6 3 2 3 CFP Not released 7 6 6 5 2 2 Michigan State AP RV RV 20 17 11 10 9 8 5 8 7 12 11 11 9C RV RV 21 16t 11 9 7 7 6 9 8 13 13 10 8 CFP Not released 3 7 7 12 11 10 Minnesota AP RV RV RV RV RVC RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released 20 Nebraska AP C CFP Not released Northwestern AP RV C RV CFP Not released Ohio State AP 4 (1) 3 9 10 11 7 6 5 5 6 6 5 2 7 7 6C 4 3 11 12 10 7 6 5 5 5 5 4 3 7 7 5 CFP Not released 5 4 4 2 7 6 Penn State AP 19 11 10 6 4 4 7 7 20 22 23 RV RV RV RV C 20 13 12 8 6 4 8 8 17 23 23 RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Purdue AP 25 RV RV RV RV RV RVC RV RV RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released 19 Rutgers AP RV C RV RV RV CFP Not released Wisconsin AP 12 18 18 18 RV RV 20 19 18 RV RV RVC 15 17 17 15 RV RV 24 20 18 RV RV RV CFP Not released 21 18 15 14
+ 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 schedule
Week 0
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Date Bye WeekSeptember 18 #18 Wisconsin
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Date Bye WeekOctober 9 Indiana Minnesota Northwestern Purdue
Week 7
Date Bye WeekOctober 16 Illinois Maryland #8 Michigan #6 Ohio State #7 Penn State
Week 8
Date Bye WeekOctober 23 #11 Iowa #9 Michigan State Nebraska Rutgers
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Date Bye WeekNovember 13 Illinois Nebraska
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, Guaranteed Rate Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, Music City Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, Quick Lane Bowl, and Outback Bowl. 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 in the final College Football Playoff rankings. The Big Ten champion is also eligible for the College Football Playoff if it's among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking.
On December 22, Texas A&M 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 Rutgers as the first bowl alternate, under rules where five-win teams are calculated by Academic Progress Rate 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.
Legend Big Ten win Big Ten loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (EST)Big Ten teamOpponentScoreAttendanceGuaranteed Rate BowlDecember 28, 2021Chase Field • Phoenix, AZESPN10:15 p.m.MinnesotaWest VirginiaW 18–621,220Pinstripe BowlDecember 29, 2021Yankee Stadium • New York, NYESPN2:15 p.m.MarylandVirginia TechW 54–1029,653Music City Bowl December 30, 2021Nissan Stadium • Nashville, TNESPN3:00 p.m.PurdueTennesseeW 48–45 OT69,489 Las Vegas Bowl December 30, 2021 Allegiant Stadium • Las Vegas, NV ESPN 10:30 p.m.WisconsinArizona StateW 20–13 32,515Gator BowlDecember 31, 2021TIAA Bank Field • Jacksonville, FLESPN11:00 a.m.Rutgers#20 Wake ForestL 10–3828,508Outback BowlJanuary 1, 2022Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FLESPN212:30 p.m.Penn State#22 ArkansasL 10–2446,577Citrus BowlJanuary 1, 2022Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FLABC1:00 p.m.#17 Iowa#25 KentuckyL 17–2050,769New Year's Six BowlsPeach BowlDecember 30, 2021Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, GAESPN7:00 p.m. #11 Michigan State #13 Pittsburgh W 31–2141,230Rose BowlJanuary 1, 2022Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CAESPN5:00 p.m. #7 Ohio State #10 UtahW 48–4587,842College Football PlayoffOrange Bowl (semifinal)December 31, 2021Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FLESPN7:30 p.m.#2 Michigan#3 GeorgiaL 11–3466,839
Rankings are from AP Poll. All times Eastern Time Zone.
Big Ten records vs other conferences
2021–2022 records against non-conference foes:
Power Conferences 5RecordACC2–2Big 122–1BYU/Notre Dame0–2Pac-123–1SEC1–0Power 5 Total8–6Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican2–1C–USA4–1Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)1–0MAC10–1Mountain West1–0Sun Belt0–0Other FBS Total18–3FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision7–0Total Non-Conference Record33–9
Post Season
Power Conferences 5RecordACC2–1Big 121–0BYU/Notre Dame0–0Pac-122–0SEC1–3Power 5 Total6–4Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican0–0C–USA0–0Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)0–0MAC0–0Mountain West0–0Sun Belt0–0Other FBS Total0–0Total Bowl Record6–4
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 0 (Aug. 30)Artur SitkowskiQBILLCalvin Hart Jr.LBILLBlake HayesPILLDeuce SpannWRILLWeek 1 (Sept. 6)Kenneth Walker IIIRBMSURiley MossDBIAJordan StoutK/PPSUC. J. StroudQBOSUWeek 2 (Sept. 13)Blake CorumRBMICHLuke ReimerLBNEBAdam KorsakPRUTC. J. StroudQBOSUTory TaylorPIAWeek 3 (Sept. 20)Payton ThorneQBMSUBrandon SmithLBPSUAron CruickshankWRRUTTreVeyon HendersonRBOSUTreVeyon HendersonRBOSUJoseph PetrinoKMDWeek 4 (Sept. 27)Sean CliffordQBPSUJack CampbellLBIAJayden ReedWRMSUKyle McCordQBOSUEvan HullRBNWWeek 5 (Oct. 4)Chase BrownRBILLDavid OjaboLBMICHMark CrawfordPMINC. J. StroudQBOSUJoJo DomannLBNEBJordan StoutP/KPSUWeek 6 (Oct. 11)Jalen NailorWRMSUMatt HankinsDBIAJake MoodyKMICHC. J. StroudQBOSUC. J. StroudQBOSUBrad HawkinsDBMICHWeek 7 (Oct. 18)David BellWRPURCam AllenSPURMatt CoghlinKMSUBraelon AllenRBWISWeek 8 (Oct. 25)Chase BrownRBILLLeo ChenalLBWISCollin LarshKWISC. J. StroudQBOSU\Week 9 (Nov. 1)Kenneth Walker IIIRBMSUJalen GrahamLB/SPURNoah RugglesKOSUAndrel AnthonyWRMICHAdam KorsakPRUTMar'Keise IrvingRBMINWeek 10 (Nov. 8)Jahan DotsonWRPSUJi'Ayir BrownSPSUBlake HayesPILLBraelon AllenRBWISAidan O'ConnellQBPURWeek 11 (Nov. 15)Garrett WilsonWROSUAidan HutchinsonDEMICHJordan StoutP/KPSUC. J. StroudQBOSUBraelon AllenRBWISWeek 12 (Nov. 22)C. J. StroudQBOSUIsaiah GayLBILLJordan StoutK/PPSUC. J. StroudQBOSUWeek 13 (Nov. 29)Hassan HaskinsRBMICHAidan HutchinsonDEMICHCaleb ShudakKIAJustin WalleyCBMIN
Big Ten individual awards
The following individuals won the conference's annual player and coach awards:
Award Player School Most Valuable Player Aidan Hutchinson Michigan Graham–George Offensive Player of the Year C. J. Stroud Ohio State Griese–Brees Quarterback of the Year C. J. Stroud Ohio State Richter–Howard Receiver of the Year David Bell Purdue Ameche–Dayne Running Back of the Year Kenneth Walker III Michigan State Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year Austin Allen Nebraska Rimington–Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year Tyler Linderbaum Iowa Nagurski–Woodson Defensive Player of the Year Aidan Hutchinson Michigan Smith–Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year Aidan Hutchinson Michigan Butkus–Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year Leo Chenal Wisconsin Tatum–Woodson Defensive Back of the Year Riley Moss Iowa Thompson–Randle El Freshman of the Year C. J. Stroud Ohio State Bakken–Andersen Kicker of the Year Jake Moody Michigan Eddleman–Fields Punter of the Year Jordan Stout Penn State Rodgers–Dwight Return Specialist of the Year Charlie Jones Iowa Hayes–Schembechler Coach of the Year Mel Tucker Michigan State Dave McClain Coach of the Year Mel Tucker Michigan State Dungy–Thompson Humanitarian Award Malcolm Jenkins Ohio State Ford–Kinnick Leadership Award Pat Richter Wisconsin