BIG TEN WEEKLY PRESS RELEASE!

Big Ten Produces First 11-0 Week in Conference History; Four of Top Seven All-Time Winningest Programs in NCAA Annals Square Off in Week Two   Big Ten’s

Big Ten Produces First 11-0 Week in Conference History; Four of Top Seven All-Time Winningest Programs in NCAA Annals Square Off in Week Two 

  

Big Ten’s First 11-0 Start: For the first time in conference history, the Big Ten produced an 11-0 record with every team picking up victories on Thursday and Saturday. The Big Ten has now opened two straight seasons with perfect records, as the 2005 campaign started with all 10 conference teams in action earning wins. Prior to the Big Ten’s 10-0 record from Sept. 1-3 of 2005, the conference’s last undefeated week took place on Sept. 14, 1985, when Big Ten teams were a perfect 9-0 in the second weekend of non-conference play. The conference’s unblemished mark last week was accomplished in dominating fashion, as schools won their contests by an average of 23.6 points per game, including seven triumphs by 20 or more points by Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin. 

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All-Time Victory Leaders Square Off in Week Two: The second week of the Big Ten’s non-conference season will be highlighted by four of the top seven all-time winningest programs in NCAA history taking the field together. The historic matchups begin on Saturday afternoon with Penn State, ranked seventh with 772 all-time wins, traveling to South Bend to take on Notre Dame, which is rated second in NCAA annals with 812 triumphs. The two programs have not met since 1992, when the Nittany Lions were edged 17-16 on the road against the Fighting Irish, to even the all-time series at 8-8-1. On Saturday night, Ohio State, which is tied for fifth with 775 triumphs, will face a road test at Texas, which enters the game third overall with 801 victories. The Longhorns edged the Buckeyes, 25-22, last season in their first meeting. Michigan currently holds the NCAA record with 850 victories. 

  

Big Ten Hits the Road: Big Ten teams will hit the road in the second week of non-conference action with six of the 11 teams playing away from home, compared to only three road games the opening weekend. Four of the six road opponents this week qualified for a bowl game last season, including California, Notre Dame, Rutgers and Texas . . .  

  

Big Ten vs. Notre Dame: The next four weekends will feature Big Ten teams taking on Notre Dame, beginning with Penn State heading to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish on Saturday . . .  

  

Successful Debuts: The Big Ten’s two newest head coaches both opened their careers with victories last week. The successful opening acts began on Thursday night when Pat Fitzgerald, the youngest head coach in Division I football, led Northwestern to a 21-13 win at Miami (Ohio) . . . On Saturday, Bret Bielema, the nation’s second-youngest head coach, guided Wisconsin to a 35-14 triumph over Bowling Green . . . Fitzgerald and Bielema join six other active Big Ten coaches who began their tenure at their current school with a win, including both new coaches last season -- Illinois’ Ron Zook and Indiana’s Terry Hoeppner. The four other active conference mentors to open with a victory are Michigan State’s John L. Smith (2003), Ohio State’s Jim Tressel (2001), Michigan’s Lloyd Carr (1995) and Penn State’s Joe Paterno (1966). Carr went on to win his first five games with the Wolverines in 1995, the most successful opening stretch of the Big Ten’s active coaches.  

  

Big Ten Candidates for National Awards: The Big Ten now features 50 student-athletes on preseason watch lists with the announcement of the nominees for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback and Doak Walker Awards. The three conference signal callers to appear on the O’Brien Award watch list are Iowa’s Drew Tate, Michigan State’s Drew Stanton and Ohio State’s Troy Smith . . . The Walker Award is presented annually to the nation’s top running back and six Big Ten student-athletes made the list, including Illinois’ Pierre Thomas, Iowa’s Albert Young, Michigan’s Mike Hart, Northwestern’s Tyrell Sutton, Ohio State’s Antonio Pittman and Purdue’s Kory Sheets . . . 

  

Courtesy of the Big Ten