Big Ten Football Weekly Release - August 29, 2011
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BIG TEN FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE - AUGUST 29, 2011 Contact: Scott Chipman, Assistant Commissioner, Communications • Office: 847-696-1010 ext. 141 • E-mail: [email protected] • Cell: 630-936-6005 • Twitter: @B1Gfootball 2011 CONFERENCE & OVERALL STANDINGS TOP STORIES LEGENDS DIVISION • Big Ten set to kick off 116th season when teams Conference Games All Games begin play Sept. 1, 2 or 3. W-L PCT H A Div. Strk W-L PCT H A N Top 25^ Strk Iowa 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- • Nebraska readies for first Big Ten campaign. Michigan 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- Michigan State 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- • Big Ten boasts four of the six winningest programs in Minnesota 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- college football history. Nebraska 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- Northwestern 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- • Inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game to be held on Dec. 3 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. LEADERS DIVISION Conference Games All Games • Eight conference squads receiving votes in W-L PCT H A Div. Strk W-L PCT H A N Top 25^ Strk preseason Associated Press and USA Today rankings. Illinois 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- Indiana 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- Ohio State 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- Penn State 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- Purdue 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- WEEK 1 SCHEDULE Wisconsin 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 -- THURSDAY, SEPT. 1 ^ - AP or USA Today UNLV at #11/10 WISCONSIN 8 p.m. ET - ESPN and ESPN 3D FRIDAY, SEPT. 2 BIG TEN. BIG NEWS. Youngstown State at #17/17 MICHIGAN STATE That Time of Year Again: Big Ten football will each appeared at No. 10, the Cornhuskers in the 7:30 p.m. ET - BTN open its 116th season of play when conference AP poll and the Badgers in the USA Today rankings. SATURDAY, SEPT. 3 squads open the 2011 campaign, beginning the Ohio State checked in at No. 16 in USA Today’s Arkansas State at ILLINOIS first weekend of September. For the third straight rankings, while Michigan State was ranked 17th 3:30 p.m. ET - BTN season, a conference team will open the new year in in both polls. Penn State is the fifth team voted primetime as Wisconsin hosts UNLV at 8 p.m. ET on into USA Today’s top 25, rounding out the list of INDIANA vs. Ball State (Indianapolis, Ind.) Thursday on ESPN. On Friday, Michigan State wel- ranked squads. Iowa, Michigan and Northwestern 7 p.m. ET - ESPN3.com comes Youngstown State for a 7:30 p.m. ET contest are among other squads also receiving votes in to be televised by BTN. The remaining 10 conference the preseason polls. The complete rankings can be Tennessee Tech at IOWA teams will begin the new season on Saturday. The found on Page 5 of this release. Noon ET - BTN full Week 1 schedule appears to the right. Western Michigan at MICHIGAN Keep a Close Watch: This season, the Big Ten de- 3:30 p.m. ET - ABC (regional); ESPN2 (outer market) Welcome to the Big Ten: The University of buted its Players to Watch list, honoring 12 players Nebraska-Lincoln officially became a conference with preseason recognition. Five standouts were MINNESOTA at USC member on July 1, 2011. The Huskers become the selected from the Legends Division, while a tie in 3:30 p.m. ET - ABC conference’s 12th member institution and bring the Leaders Division resulted in seven players earn- Tennessee-Chattanooga at #10/11 NEBRASKA with it a rich football history. Nebraska boasts five ing the honor. Michigan’s Denard Robinson, Michi- 3:30 p.m. ET - BTN national championships (1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, gan State’s Kirk Cousins, Nebraska’s Jared Crick 1997), 107 All-Americans, three Heisman Trophy and Lavonte David and Northwestern’s Dan Persa NORTHWESTERN at Boston College winners and numerous other national honors. were selected from the Legends Division. Illinois’ Noon ET - ESPNU Nathan Scheelhaase, Indiana’s Damarlo Belcher, Akron at #18/16 OHIO STATE A Winning Tradition:The Big Ten boasts four of the Ohio State’s Mike Brewster and John Simon, Penn Noon ET - ESPN2 six winningest college football programs in history, in- State’s Michael Mauti and Wisconsin’s Montee Ball cluding Michigan with its national-best 884 triumphs. and James White earned preseason honors in the Indiana State at #-/25 PENN STATE Additionally, only eight teams have won 800 or more Leaders Division. Noon ET - BTN games in history, giving the Big Ten half of the nation’s Middle Tennessee at PURDUE programs to have reached the milestone. Among Legends and Leaders: A new era of Big Ten football Noon ET - BTN the top eight, Nebraska ranks third all-time with 836 starts this fall with divisional play. With the addi- wins, Ohio State is fifth with 819 triumphs and Penn tion of Nebraska, the conference’s 12 teams will Rankings: AP/USA Today State is sixth all-time with 818 victories. now play in two divisions. The Big Ten football division alignments include the Legends Division Where We Rank: Eight Big Ten teams received at featuring Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minne- FOLLOW THE BIG TEN least one vote in the preseason Associated Press sota, Nebraska and Northwestern, and the Leaders Now there are more ways than ever to follow Big Ten (AP) and USA Today coaches poll, with two teams Division featuring Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn football. The Big Ten football blog can be accessed di- earning top-10 status. Nebraska and Wisconsin State, Purdue and Wisconsin. Each school will rectly at www.bigten.org/blog/football and will feature daily notes, links to articles, previews, recaps and more. You can also keep track of Big Ten football in real-time by following the conference on Twitter @BigTenConf and @B1Gfootball or become a fan of the Big Ten Con- ference on Facebook and receive exclusive updates. HONORING LEGENDS. BUILDING LEADERS. BIG TEN FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE - WEEK 1 2 BIG TEN. BIG NEWS. WEEKLY COACHES TELECONFERENCE play the other five schools within its division and returning in 2011, four individual award winners will also face three teams from the other division, from 2010 will hit the fields again this fall. including one cross-division matchup guaranteed Michigan’s Denard Robinson won the Big Ten The Big Ten Conference football coaches weekly on an annual basis. The guaranteed cross-division Offensive Player of the Year award, while media teleconferences will begin on Tuesday, Aug. 30 matchups are Iowa-Purdue, Michigan-Ohio State, Wisconsin’s James White reeled in Freshman of and continue through Tuesday, Nov. 22. Michigan State-Indiana, Minnesota-Wisconsin, the Year laurels. Nebraska’s Lavonte David won Big The calls are held on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Nebraska-Penn State and Northwestern-Illinois. 12 Newcomer of the Year honors, while teammate CT. The calls are available for playback roughly two Taylor Martinez picked up Offensive Freshman of hours following the conclusion of each call through A First Time for Everything: The inaugural Big Ten the Year accolades. Thursday of each week. It will also be archived online Football Championship Game will begin at 8:17 at www.bigten.org. p.m. ET on December 3, 2011, and will be held at New Men in Charge: The Big Ten will feature five Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The champion new head coaches roaming the sidelines in 2011, Contact the Big Ten Communications office for the of the Legends Division will meet the champion including four in their first year at their respective phone number and weekly passcode. of the Leaders Division, with the winner earning schools. Indiana’s Kevin Wilson, Michigan’s Brady the Big Ten Championship and a chance to play in Hoke, Minnesota’s Jerry Kill, Nebraska’s Bo Pelini The coaches order on each call is as follows either the Rose Bowl Game or Bowl Championship and Ohio State’s Luke Fickell will all enter their first (all times are CT): Series National Championship Game. FOX Sports seasons as Big Ten head coaches. Wilson joins the will serve as the official broadcast partner of the Hoosiers after spending nine seasons as an assis- LEGENDS DIVISION COACHES Big Ten Football Championship Games from 2011- tant coach, most recently as the offensive coordi- 11:00 a.m. - Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern 16 and Lucas Oil Stadium will host the title games nator at Oklahoma. Hoke returns to Ann Arbor 11:10 a.m. - Brady Hoke, Michigan from 2011-15.