2024 Big Ten Conference football season explained

The 2024 Big Ten Conference football season will be the 129th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and part of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This will be 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.

Previous season

Michigan won the East Division championship, with the Wolverines making their third consecutive appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game. In the West Division, Iowa won the division title and made their third championship game appearance. In that championship game, Michigan defeated Iowa 26–0 to win the Big Ten championship. With that win, the Wolverines landed a spot in the 2023–24 College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed and ultimately won the national championship. The Wolverines defeated Alabama in the Rose Bowl in the semifinals of the playoffs and then defeated Washington in the CFP National Championship Game.

Besides Michigan, eight other Big Ten football teams qualified for bowl games: Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, and Wisconsin. The Big Ten overall went 6–4 in postseason games in the 2023 season.

Coaching changes

There are six head coaching changes in the Big Ten 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.^[1] 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.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[4]

On November 26, 2023, Indiana fired Tom Allen after the Hoosiers completed a third consecutive losing season.^[5] Indiana hired Curt Cignetti as its new head coach, having previously served as head coach at James Madison.^[6]

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.^[7] 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.^[8]

On February 9, 2024, Chip Kelly announced his resignation as head coach at UCLA to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State.^[9] On February 12, UCLA announced the hiring of DeShaun Foster as its next head coach.^[10]

Preseason

Recruiting classes

Rankings! Team! Rivals^[11] ! Scout & 24/7^[12] !On3 Recruits^[13] ! Signees

Illinois	45	49	46	19
Indiana	64	65	63	17
Iowa	33	32	29	21
Maryland	32	38	44	24
Michigan	13	16	15	26
Michigan State	44	42	43	20
Minnesota	41	36	34	20
Nebraska	16	18	24	30
Northwestern	81	80	74	17
Ohio State	4	5	3	22
Oregon	6	3	4	27
Penn State	17	15	16	25
Purdue	28	27	30	27
Rutgers	35	35	40	26
UCLA	85	90	69	11
USC	18	17	18	22
Washington	56	47	49	16
Wisconsin	19	23	22	22

Big Ten Media Days

Preseason Media Poll

The annual Cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Media Poll.^[14]

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.^{[15] [16]}

Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
1		QB	Oregon	83 (24)
2		RB	Ohio State	39 (4)
3		WR	Ohio State	27 (5)
T4		QB	Ohio State	10 (2)
T4		RB	Rutgers	10 (1)
T4		RB	Ohio State	10 (1)
Others		WR	USC	N/A
Others		QB	USC	N/A
Others		WR	Oregon	N/A
Others		RB	Minnesota	N/A
Others		RB	Penn State	N/A
Others		QB	Penn State	N/A
Others		RB	Penn State	N/A
Others		QB	Nebraska	N/A
Others		TE	Michigan	N/A

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
1		CB	Michigan	47 (9)
2		S	Ohio State	30 (4)
3T		DT	Michigan	25 (7)
3T		DE	Ohio State	25 (5)
3T		LB	Iowa	25 (3)
6		DE	Penn State	17 (2)
Others		DE	Ohio State	N/A
Others		CB	Iowa	N/A
Others		S	Wisconsin	N/A
Others		CB	Ohio State	N/A
Others		LB	Oregon	N/A
Others		DT	USC	N/A
Others		S	Purdue	N/A

Rankings

See main article: 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.

	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	Final
Illinois	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Indiana	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Iowa	AP	25
	C	25
	CFP	Not released
Maryland	AP
	C	RV
	CFP	Not released
Michigan	AP	9
	C	8 (1)
	CFP	Not released
Michigan State	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Minnesota	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Nebraska	AP	RV
	C	RV
	CFP	Not released
Northwestern	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Ohio State	AP	2 (15)
	C	2 (7)
	CFP	Not released
Oregon	AP	3 (1)
	C	3
	CFP	Not released
Penn State	AP	8
	C	9
	CFP	Not released
Purdue	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Rutgers	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
UCLA	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
USC	AP	23
	C	23
	CFP	Not released
Washington	AP	RV
	C	RV
	CFP	Not released
Wisconsin	AP	RV
	C	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 formatting
Big Ten member won
Big Ten member lost
Big Ten teams in bold

Regular season schedule

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.

Big Ten records vs other conferences

2024–2025 records against non-conference foes

Power 5 conferences	Record
ACC	0–0
Big 12	0–0
Notre Dame	0–0
Pac-12	0–0
SEC	0–0
Power 5 total	0–0
Other FBS conferences	Record
American	0–0
C–USA	0–0
Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)	0–0
MAC	0–0
Mountain West	0–0
Sun Belt	0–0
Other FBS total	0–0
FCS opponents	Record
Football Championship Subdivision	0–0
Total non-conference record	0–0

Post season

Power 5 conferences	Record
ACC	0–0
Big 12	0–0
Notre Dame	0–0
Pac-12	0–0
SEC	0–0
Power 5 total	0–0
Other FBS conferences	Record
American	0–0
C–USA	0–0
Independents (Excluding Notre Dame)	0–0
MAC	0–0
Mountain West	0–0
Sun Belt	0–0
Other FBS total	0–0
Total bowl record	0–0

Awards and honors

All-Conference teams

Home attendance

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Game 8	Total	Average	% of capacity
Illinois	Memorial Stadium	60,670
Indiana	Memorial Stadium	52,626
Iowa	Kinnick Stadium	69,250
Maryland	SECU Stadium	51,802
Michigan	Michigan Stadium	107,601
Michigan State	Spartan Stadium	75,005
Minnesota	Huntington Bank Stadium	50,805
Nebraska	Memorial Stadium	85,458
Northwestern	Lanny and Sharon Martin Lakeside Facility	15,000
Ohio State	Ohio Stadium	102,780
Oregon	Autzen Stadium	54,000
Penn State	Beaver Stadium	106,572
Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium	61,441
Rutgers	SHI Stadium	52,454
UCLA	Rose Bowl	80,816
USC	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	77,500
Washington	Husky Stadium	70,138
Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium	75,822

Bold – At or Exceed capacity
†Season High

2025 NFL draft

See main article: 2025 NFL draft.

The following list includes all Big Ten players who were drafted in the 2025 NFL draft

Player	Position	School	Draft round	Round pick	Overall pick	Team

Head coaches

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	B1G record
Illinois	Bret Bielema	4	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Indiana	Curt Cignetti	1	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Iowa	Kirk Ferentz	26	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Maryland	Mike Locksley	6	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Michigan	Sherrone Moore	1	1-0 (1.000)	1-0 (1.000)	1-0 (1.000)
Michigan State	Jonathan Smith	1	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Minnesota	P. J. Fleck	8	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Nebraska	Matt Rhule	2	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Northwestern	David Braun	2	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Ohio State	Ryan Day	6	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Oregon	Dan Lanning	3	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Penn State	James Franklin	11	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Purdue	Ryan Walters	2	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Rutgers	Greg Schiano	16	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
UCLA	DeShaun Foster	1	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
USC	Lincoln Riley	3	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Washington	Jedd Fisch	1	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=
Wisconsin	Luke Fickell	2	data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=		data-sort-value=

Notes and References

1. Web site: Northwestern fires football coach Pat Fitzgerald. Thamel, Pete. July 10, 2023. January 12, 2023. ESPN.
2. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38007901/northwestern-defensive-coordinator-david-braun-school-interim-coach-sources-say Northwestern DC David Braun to be interim coach
3. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/michigan-state-coach-mel-tucker-suspended-amid-investigation-into-sexual-harassment-of-rape-survivor-reports/ Mel Tucker suspended amid investigation into sexual harassment of rape survivor
4. https://msuspartans.com/news/2023/11/25/jonathan-smith-named-michigan-state-university-head-football-coach.aspx Jonathan Smith Named Michigan State University Head Football Coach
5. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/38983344/indiana-coach-tom-allen-fired-3rd-straight-losing-season Indiana coach Tom Allen fired, owed $20.8M buyout
6. https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2023/11/30/cignetti-named-30th-head-football-coach-at-indiana-university Cignetti Named 30th Head Football Coach at Indiana University
7. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39380148/sources-jim-harbaugh-accepts-head-coaching-job-chargers Jim Harbaugh accepts head coaching job with Chargers
8. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39395815/michigan-announces-sherrone-moore-full-head-coach Michigan tabs Sherrone Moore to replace Harbaugh as head coach.
9. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39492371/ohio-state-hires-ucla-chip-kelly-replace-bill-obrien-oc Ohio State hires UCLA's Chip Kelly to replace Bill O'Brien as OC
10. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/39512094/ucla-set-name-deshaun-foster-new-coach UCLA names former Bruins RB DeShaun Foster new coach.
11. Web site: 2024 All Teams Football Recruiting Team Rankings . April 10, 2024 . Rivals.com . May 28, 2024.
12. Web site: 2024 Recruit Football Team Rankings . April 9, 2024 . 247Sports.com . May 28, 2024.
13. Web site: 2024 Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings . April 9, 2024 . On3.com . May 28, 2024.
14. Web site: Ohio State picked as runaway 2024 Big Ten favorite in 14th annual cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Football Poll. July 22, 2024.
15. Web site: Ohio State picked as runaway 2024 Big Ten favorite in 14th annual cleveland.com Preseason Big Ten Football Poll. July 22, 2024. Cleveland.com.
16. Web site: Big Ten preseason poll puts Nebraska in middle of the pack, mentions Dylan Raiola. July 22, 2024. Omaha.com.