The 2024 Big Ten Conference football season was the 129th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and part of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the Big Ten's first season with 18 teams with the additions of UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington, and its first season since 2010 with a non-divisional scheduling format.
Coaching changes The Big Ten saw six head coaching changes for the 2024 season.
On July 10, 2023, Northwestern announced it was parting ways with head coach Pat Fitzgerald after allegations surrounding hazing within the Wildcat football program. On July 14, 2023, Northwestern named defensive coordinator David Braun the interim coach for the 2023 season, and named him the permanent head coach on November 15, 2023.Northwestern DC David Braun to be interim coach
On September 10, 2023, Michigan State coach Mel Tucker was suspended as part of an investigation into a sexual harassment claim. Secondary coach Harlon Barnett served as interim coach while the case was being sorted out during the 2023 season.Mel Tucker suspended amid investigation into sexual harassment of rape survivor Tucker was officially fired on September 27. On November 25, 2023, Michigan State hired Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith as its next head coach.Jonathan Smith Named Michigan State University Head Football Coach
On November 26, 2023, Indiana fired Tom Allen after the Hoosiers completed a third consecutive losing season.Indiana coach Tom Allen fired, owed $20.8M buyout Indiana hired Curt Cignetti as its new head coach, having previously served as head coach at James Madison.Cignetti Named 30th Head Football Coach at Indiana University
In January 2024, Kalen DeBoer left Washington to replace the retiring Nick Saban at Alabama, and was replaced by Jedd Fisch, previously head coach at Arizona.
On January 24, 2024, Jim Harbaugh left the Michigan Wolverines to return to the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers.Jim Harbaugh accepts head coaching job with Chargers Two days later, Michigan elevated its offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, who had served as acting head coach for four games in 2023 from which Harbaugh had been suspended, as Harbaugh's successor.Michigan tabs Sherrone Moore to replace Harbaugh as head coach.
On February 9, 2024, Chip Kelly announced his resignation as head coach at UCLA to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State.Ohio State hires UCLA's Chip Kelly to replace Bill O'Brien as OC On February 12, UCLA announced the hiring of DeShaun Foster as its next head coach.UCLA names former Bruins RB DeShaun Foster new coach.
Preseason
Recruiting classes + Rankings Team Rivals Scout & 24/7On3 Recruits Signees Illinois 14 15 15 20 Indiana 16 16 16 17 Iowa 10 9 8 21 Maryland 9 12 13 24 Michigan 3 4 4 26 Michigan State 13 13 12 21 Minnesota 12 10 10 21 Nebraska 5 6 7 33 Northwestern 17 17 18 17 Ohio State 1 2 2 22 Oregon 2 1 1 27 Penn State 4 3 3 26 Purdue 8 8 9 27 Rutgers 11 11 11 25 UCLA 18 18 17 10 USC 6 5 5 22 Washington 15 14 14 18 Wisconsin 7 7 6 22
Big Ten Media Days
Preseason Media Poll The annual Cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Media Poll.
1 Ohio State 480 (21) 2 Oregon 448 (6) 3 Penn State 418 4 Michigan 411 5 Iowa 363 6 USC 346 7 Wisconsin 313 8 Nebraska 293 9 Rutgers 249 10 Washington 236 11 Maryland 185 12 Minnesota 183 13 Illinois 145 14 Northwestern 138 15 UCLA 124 16 Michigan State 119 17 Indiana 76 18 Purdue 65
Media poll (Big Ten Championship) 1 Ohio State over Oregon 24 2 Oregon over Ohio State 6 3 Ohio State over Penn State 2 4 Ohio State over Michigan 1
Predicted Big Ten Champion 1 Ohio State 27 2 Oregon 6
Preseason Player of the Year Below are the results of the annual Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year awards conducted by Cleveland.com.
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year 1 Dillon Gabriel QB Oregon 83 (24) 2 Quinshon Judkins RB Ohio State 39 (4) 3 Emeka Egbuka WR Ohio State 27 (5) T4 Will Howard QB Ohio State 10 (2) T4 Kyle Monangai RB Rutgers 10 (1) T4 TreVeyon Henderson RB Ohio State 10 (1) Others Zachariah Branch WR USC N/A Others Miller Moss QB USC N/A Others Tez Johnson WR Oregon N/A Others Darius Taylor RB Minnesota N/A Others Nick Singleton RB Penn State N/A Others Drew Allar QB Penn State N/A Others Kaytron Allen RB Penn State N/A Others Dylan Raiola QB Nebraska N/A Others Colston Loveland TE Michigan N/A Preseason Defensive Player of the Year 1 Will Johnson CB Michigan 47 (9) 2 Caleb Downs S Ohio State 30 (4) 3T Mason Graham DT Michigan 25 (7) 3T JT Tuimoloau DE Ohio State 25 (5) 3T Jay Higgins LB Iowa 25 (3) 6 Abdul Carter DE Penn State 17 (2) Others Jack Sawyer DE Ohio State N/A Others Sebastian Castro CB Iowa N/A Others Hunter Wohler S Wisconsin N/A Others Denzel Burke CB Ohio State N/A Others Jeffrey Bassa LB Oregon N/A Others Bear Alexander DT USC N/A Others Dillon Thieneman S Purdue N/A
Rankings
Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Final Illinois AP RV 24 19 24 23 22 20 24 22 21 21 16C RV RV 21 25 23 21 21 RV 25 21 21 16 CFP Not released 25 23 21 20 Indiana AP RV RV 23 18 16 13 8 5 5 10 9 9 10C RV RV RV 24 20 18 13 10 6 5 10 9 9 10 CFP Not released 8 5 5 10 9 8 Iowa AP 25 21 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV C 25 21 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Maryland AP C RV RV CFP Not released Michigan AP 9 10 17 18 12 10 24 24 RV RVC 8 (1) 9 16 17 12 10 21 22 RV RV CFP Not released Michigan State AP C RV RV CFP Not released Minnesota AP C RV CFP Not released Nebraska AP RV RV 23 22 RV RV RV RV RV C RV RV 24 22 RV RV RV 25 RV CFP Not released Northwestern AP C CFP Not released Ohio State AP 2 (15) 2 (5) 3 (5) 3 (5) 3 (5) 3 (4) 2 (9) 4 4 3 2 2 2 7 6 1 (56)C 2 (7) 2 (3) 2 (3) 3 (3) 3 (2) 3 (7) 2 (11) 5 4 3 2 2 2 8 7 1 (53) CFP Not released 2 2 2 2 6 6 Oregon AP 3 (1) 7 9 9 8 6 3 2 (6) 1 (59) 1 (62) 1 (62) 1 (62) 1 (61) 1 (62) 1 (62) 3 C 3 6 6 6 7 6 3 2 (2) 1 (51) 1 (53) 1 (55) 1 (55) 1 (55) 1 (53) 1 (54) 4 CFP Not released 1 1 1 1 1 1 Penn State AP 8 8 8 10 9 7 4 3 3 6 4 4 4 3 5 5C 9 8 7 8 8 7 5 3 3 7 5 4 4 3 5 5 CFP Not released 6 4 4 4 3 4 Purdue AP C CFP Not released Rutgers AP RV C RV RV CFP Not released UCLA AP C CFP Not released USC AP 23 13 11 11 12 11 RV C 23 14 11 12 16 15 RV CFP Not released Washington AP RV RV RV RV RV C RV 25 22 RV RV RV CFP Not released Wisconsin AP RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV CFP Not released
+ 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
Regular season schedule
Week 1
Week 2
Date Bye WeekSeptember 7 Purdue UCLA
Week 3
Date Bye WeekSeptember 14 #3 Ohio State #8 Penn State Rutgers #11 USC
Week 4
Date Bye WeekSeptember 21 #9 Oregon Wisconsin
Week 5
Date Bye WeekSeptember 28 Iowa Northwestern
Week 6
Date Bye WeekOctober 5 #24 Illinois Maryland
Week 7
Date Bye WeekOctober 12 No. 18 Indiana No. 24 Michigan Michigan State Nebraska
Week 8
Date Bye WeekOctober 19 Minnesota No. 4 Ohio State No. 3 Penn State Washington
Week 9
Date Bye WeekOctober 26 Purdue UCLA
Week 10
Date Bye WeekNovember 2 Maryland Rutgers
Week 11
Date Bye WeekNovember 9 Illinois Michigan State Nebraska Northwestern USC Wisconsin
Week 12
Date Bye WeekNovember 16 No. 5 Indiana Iowa Michigan Minnesota
Week 13
Date Bye WeekNovember 23 No. 1 Oregon Washington
Week 14
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 is among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking.
Legend Big Ten win Big Ten loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (EST)Big Ten teamOpponentScoreAttendance Rate Bowl December 26, 2024 Chase Field • Phoenix, AZ ESPN 5:30 p.m. Rutgers Kansas State L 41–44 21,659 Las Vegas Bowl December 27, 2024 Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, NV ESPN 10:30 p.m. USC Texas A&M W 35-31 26,671 Pinstripe Bowl December 28, 2024 Yankee Stadium • The Bronx, NY ABC 12:00 p.m. Nebraska Boston College W 20-15 30,062 Music City Bowl December 30, 2024 Nissan Stadium • Nashville, TN ESPN 2:30 p.m. Iowa No. 19 Missouri L 24-27 43,375 ReliaQuest Bowl December 31, 2024 Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN 12:00 p.m. Michigan No. 11 Alabama W 19-13 51,439 Sun Bowl December 31, 2024 Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX CBS 2:00 p.m. Washington Louisville L 34-35 40,826 Citrus Bowl December 31, 2024 Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL ABC 3:00 p.m. No. 20 Illinois No. 15 South Carolina W 21-17 47,129 Duke's Mayo Bowl January 3, 2025 Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC ESPN 7:30 p.m. Minnesota Virginia Tech W 24-10 31,927 College Football Playoff bowl games College Football Playoff (First Round) December 20, 2024 Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN ABC/ESPN 8:00 p.m. No. 8 Indiana No. 5 Notre Dame L 17–27 77,622 College Football Playoff (First Round) December 21, 2024 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA TNT/Max 12:00 p.m. No. 4 Penn State No. 10 SMUW PSU 38–10 106,013 College Football Playoff (First Round) December 21, 2024 Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH ABC/ESPN 8:00 p.m. No. 6 Ohio State No. 7 Tennessee W 42–17 102,819 Fiesta Bowl (Quarterfinal) December 31, 2024 State Farm Stadium • Glendale, AZ ESPN 7:30 p.m. No. 4 Penn State No. 9 Boise StateW PSU 31–1463,854 Rose Bowl (Quarterfinal) January 1, 2025 Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA ESPN 5:00 p.m. No. 1 Oregon No. 6 Ohio State OSU 41-21 90,732 Orange Bowl (Semifinal) January 9, 2025 Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL ESPN 7:30 p.m. No. 4 Penn State No. 5 Notre DameL 27–24 66,881 Cotton Bowl (Semifinal) January 10, 2025 AT&T Stadium • Arlington, TX ESPN 7:30 p.m. No. 6 Ohio State No. 3 Texas W 28-14 74,527 CFP National Championship Game January 20, 2025 Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, GA ESPN 7:30 p.m. No. 6 Ohio State No. 5 Notre DameW 34–2377,660
For the 2020–2025 bowl cycle, the Big Ten is scheduled to annually have 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, Rate Bowl (formerly the Guaranteed Rate Bowl), Las Vegas Bowl, Music City Bowl, Pinstripe Bowl, GameAbove Sports Bowl (formerly the Quick Lane Bowl), and ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly the 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 Four conferences in the final College Football Playoff rankings. The Big Ten champion is also eligible for the College Football Playoff if it is among the qualifying teams in the final CFP ranking.
Big Ten records vs other conferences
2024–2025 records against non-conference foes
Power 5 conferencesRecordACC2–3Big 123–1Notre Dame0–2Pac-121–2SEC1–3Power 5 total7–11Other FBS conferencesRecordAmerican2-0CUSA2–0Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)1–0MAC9-0Mountain West6-0Sun Belt3-0Other FBS total23-0FCS opponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision13-0Total non-conference record43-11
Post season
Power 5 conferencesRecordACC3-1Big 120–1Notre Dame1–2Pac-120–0SEC5–1Power 5 total9–5Other FBS conferencesRecordAmerican0–0CUSA0–0Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)0–0MAC0–0Mountain West1–0Sun Belt0–0Other FBS total1–0Total bowl record10–5
Awards and honors
Player of the Week Honors