2015 Big Ten Conference football season

The 2015 Big Ten Conference football season was the 120th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The conference began its season on Thursday, September 3, with Michigan and Minnesota opening their seasons. The remainder of the teams in the conference began their seasons on September 4 and 5.

2015 Big Ten Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport	Football
Duration	September 3, 2015 through January 2016
Number of teams	14
TV partner(s)	ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Inc., Big Ten Network, FOX (championship game)
2016 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	Joey Bosa (Ohio State)
Picked by	San Diego Chargers, 3rd overall
Regular season
Season MVP	Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State
East Division champions	Michigan State, Ohio State (co-champions)[1]
West Division champions	Iowa
West Division runners-up	Northwestern
Championship Game
Champions	Michigan State Spartans
Runners-up	Iowa Hawkeyes
Finals MVP	Connor Cook, Michigan State (QB)

2015 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 6 Michigan State xy$^		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 4 Ohio State x		7	–	1					12	–	1
No. 12 Michigan		6	–	2					10	–	3
Penn State		4	–	4					7	–	6
Indiana		2	–	6					6	–	7
Rutgers		1	–	7					4	–	8
Maryland		1	–	7					3	–	9
West Division
No. 9 Iowa xy		8	–	0					12	–	2
No. 23 Northwestern		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 21 Wisconsin		6	–	2					10	–	3
Nebraska		3	–	5					6	–	7
Minnesota		2	–	6					6	–	7
Illinois		2	–	6					5	–	7
Purdue		1	–	7					2	–	10
Championship: Michigan State 16, Iowa 13
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

This was the Big Ten's second season with 14 teams. The league was home to the defending national champion and inaugural winner of the College Football Playoff in Ohio State.

The Big Ten also welcomed four new head coaches for the 2015 season. Jim Harbaugh replaced Brady Hoke as head coach at Michigan, Mike Riley took over for Bo Pelini at Nebraska, Paul Chryst came in as the head man at Wisconsin, replacing Gary Andersen, and Bill Cubit served as the interim head coach at Illinois after Tim Beckman was fired just one week before the beginning of the season.^[2] There were also two coaching changes made during the middle of the 2015 season. On October 13, Maryland dismissed coach Randy Edsall and named his offensive coordinator Mike Locksley as interim coach for the rest of the season.^[3] On October 28, Jerry Kill retired as Minnesota's head coach due to health concerns. His defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys was named as interim coach before being named the permanent replacement on November 11.^[4][5]

In preseason polling, Ohio State was unanimously voted to repeat as the Big Ten champion by the media in the Big Ten Preseason poll, receiving all 40 first place votes.^[6] The Badgers were favorites to win the Big Ten West Division with 32 votes, followed by Nebraska with five and Minnesota with three.^[7]

At the conclusion of the regular season, Iowa won the West Division championship with a perfect 12-0 (8-0) record. Michigan State and Ohio State finished tied atop the East Division standings, both at 11-1 (7-1), but Michigan State's head-to-head victory placed the Spartans into the Big Ten Championship Game opposite Iowa. Following the season, Illinois removed the interim tag from Bill Cubit's title and gave him a two-year contract as head coach,^[8] while Rutgers has decided to part ways with Kyle Flood.^[9]

In the Big Ten Championship Game, Michigan State defeated Iowa 16-13 to win their second Big Ten championship in three years. With the win, the Spartans advance to the College Football Playoff. Iowa and Ohio State were both placed into New Year's Six Bowls, going to the Rose and Fiesta Bowls, respectively. A total of 10 Big Ten teams went to bowl games in 2015, including Nebraska and Minnesota, both with 5-7 records.

Rankings

Main article: 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

		Pre	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	Wk 15	Final
Illinois	AP
	C	RV	RV	RV		RV	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released															N/A
Indiana	AP
	C					RV	RV
	CFP	Not released															N/A
Iowa	AP			RV	RV	RV	22	17	12	10	10	8	6	3	4	6	9
	C			RV	RV	RV	23	17	13	11	11	8	6	3	3	7	10
	CFP	Not released									9	5	5	4	4	5	N/A
Maryland	AP
	C	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released															N/A
Michigan	AP	RV				22	18	12	15	15	16	15	14	12	19	17	12
	C	RV		RV		RV	21	14	18	17	17	15	13	12	19	17	11
	CFP	Not released									17	14	12	10	15	14	N/A
Michigan State	AP	5	5	4	2	2	4	7	7	6	6	14	9	6	5	3	6
	C	6	6	4	3	2	3	4	4	5	6	14	9	6	5	4	6
	CFP	Not released									7	13	9	5	5	3	N/A
Minnesota	AP		RV	RV	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released															N/A
Nebraska	AP	RV
	C	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released															N/A
Northwestern	AP		RV	23	17	16	13	20	RV	RV	RV	24	20	17	13	12	23
	C		RV	24	19	17	14	21	RV	RV	RV	24	21	17	13	12	22
	CFP	Not released									21	18	20	16	14	13	N/A
Ohio State	AP	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	8	6	7	4
	C	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	8	6	5	4
	CFP	Not released									3	3	3	8	6	7	N/A
Penn State	AP	RV						RV			RV
	C	RV						RV			RV
	CFP	Not released															N/A
Purdue	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released															N/A
Rutgers	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released															N/A
Wisconsin	AP	20	RV	24	22	19			RV	RV	RV	23	21	RV	25	23	21
	C	18	24	23	21	18	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	20	RV	25	23	21
	CFP	Not released										25	25				N/A

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

Schedule

In 2015, Penn State will be the only Big Ten team that will not play a non-conference game against a Power Five conference team.^[10]

Index to colors and formatting
Big Ten member won
Big Ten member lost
Big Ten teams in bold

All times Eastern time.

† denotes Homecoming game

Week 1

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 3	8:30 p.m.	Michigan	Utah	Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT	FS1	L 24–17	47,825
September 3	9:00 p.m.	No. 2 Texas Christian	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	ESPN	L 23–17	54,147
September 4	7:00 p.m.	No. 5 Michigan State	Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium • Kalamazoo, MI	ESPNU	W 37–24	30,885
September 5	12:00 p.m.	No. 21 Stanford	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	ESPN	W 16–6	36,024
September 5	12:00 p.m.	Richmond	Maryland	Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD	ESPNU	W 50–21	38,117
September 5	12:00 p.m.	Norfolk State	Rutgers	High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	ESPNNEWS	W 63–13	47,453
September 5	12:00 p.m.	Illinois State	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	BTN	W 31–14	59,450
September 5	2:00 p.m.	Kent State	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL		W 52–3	36,693
September 5	3:30 p.m.	Brigham Young	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	ABC	L 33–28	89,959
September 5	3:30 p.m.	Penn State	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPN	L 27–10	69,176
September 5	4:00 p.m.	Southern Illinois	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ESPNNEWS	W 48–47	36,071
September 5	8:00 p.m.	No. 20 Wisconsin	No. 3 Alabama	AT&T Stadium • Arlington, TX (Cowboys Classic)	ABC	L 35–17	64,279
September 6	3:00 p.m.	Purdue	Marshall	Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV	FS1	L 41–31	38,791
September 7	8:00 p.m.	No. 1 Ohio State	Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA	ESPN	W 42-24	65,632
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 2

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 12	12:00 p.m.	Oregon State	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	ABC	W 35–7	109,651
September 12	12:00 p.m.	Miami (OH)	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	ESPNU	W 58–0	76,535
September 12	12:00 p.m.	Buffalo	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ESPN2	W 27–14	93,065
September 12	12:00 p.m.	Western Illinois	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	W 44–0	37,733
September 12	12:00 p.m.	Bowling Green	Maryland	Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD	BTN	L 48–27	36,332
September 12	12:00 p.m.	Indiana State	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	ESPNNEWS	W 38–14	41,158
September 12	3:30 p.m.	Hawaii	No. 1 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	BTN	W 38–0	107,145
September 12	3:30 p.m.	Washington State	Rutgers	High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	ESPNU	L 37–34	46,536
September 12	3:30 p.m.	Minnesota	Colorado State	Hughes Stadium • Fort Collins, CO	CBS Sports Network	W 23–20 OT	32,500
September 12	4:00 p.m.	Eastern Illinois	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	ESPNNEWS	W 41–0	29,131
September 12	4:30 p.m.	Iowa	Iowa State	Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA (Cy-Hawk Series)	FOX	W 31–17	61,500
September 12	8:00 p.m.	Florida International	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	BTN	W 36–22	41,509
September 12	8:00 p.m.	South Alabama	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	BTN	W 48–9	89,822
September 12	8:00 p.m.	No. 7 Oregon	No. 5 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ABC	W 31–28	76,526
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 3

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 19	12:00 p.m.	Air Force	No. 4 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ABC	W 35–21	74,211
September 19	12:00 p.m.	Illinois	North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC	ESPN2	L 48–14	41,000
September 19	12:00 p.m.	South Florida	Maryland	Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD	ESPNNEWS	W 35–17	36,827
September 19	12:00 p.m.	UNLV	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	BTN	W 28–7	108,683
September 19	12:00 p.m.	Kent State	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 10–7	52,823
September 19	12:30 p.m.	No. 23 Northwestern	Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium • Durham, NC	ESPN3	W 19–10	24,127
September 19	3:30 p.m.	Nebraska	Miami (FL)	Sun Life Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL	ABC / ESPN2	L 36–33 OT	53,580
September 19	3:30 p.m.	Northern Illinois	No. 1 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ABC / ESPN2	W 20–13	104,095
September 19	3:30 p.m.	Virginia Tech	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	ESPNU	L 51–24	45,759
September 19	3:30 p.m.	Troy	No. 24 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	BTN	W 28–3	77,157
September 19	4:00 p.m.	Western Kentucky	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ESPNNEWS	W 38–35	44,823
September 19	8:00 p.m.	Pittsburgh	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	BTN	W 27–24	63,636
September 19	8:00 p.m.	Rutgers	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	BTN	PSU 28–3	103,323
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 4

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 26†	12:00 p.m.	Kansas	Rutgers	High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	W 27–14	46,136
September 26	12:00 p.m.	Bowling Green	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	BTN	L 35–28	33,160
September 26	12:00 p.m.	Central Michigan	No. 2 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	BTN	W 30–10	75,218
September 26	12:00 p.m.	No. 22 Brigham Young	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	ABC	W 31–0	108,940
September 26†	12:00 p.m.	Southern Mississippi	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	ESPNEWS	W 36–28	89,899
September 26	12:30 p.m.	Indiana	Wake Forest	BB&T Field • Winston-Salem, NC	ACCN	W 31–24	22,508
September 26	2:00 p.m.	Maryland	West Virginia	Milan Puskar Stadium • Morgantown, WV (MD-WV rivalry)	FS1	L 45–6	61,174
September 26	3:30 p.m.	San Diego State	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	BTN	W 37–21	95,107
September 26	3:30 p.m.	Western Michigan	No. 1 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ABC/ESPN2	W 38–12	106,123
September 26	3:30 p.m.	North Texas	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	ESPNU	W 62–16	56,401
September 26†	3:30 p.m.	Ohio	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 27–24	53,917
September 26	4:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee State	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	ESPNEWS	W 27–25	44,366
September 26	8:00 p.m.	Ball State	No. 17 Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	W 24–19	30,107
September 26	8:00 p.m.	Hawaii	No. 22 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	BTN	W 28–0	80,829
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 5

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 3	12:00 a.m.	No. 22 Michigan	Maryland	Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD	BTN	MICH 28–0	51,802
October 3	12:00 p.m.	Iowa	No. 19 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI (Heartland Trophy)	ESPN	IA 10–6	80,933
October 3†	12:00 p.m.	Purdue	No. 2 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	MSU 24–21	74,418
October 3	12:00 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 16 Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	NW 27–0	30,044
October 3	12:00 p.m.	Army	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ESPNU	W 20–14	107,387
October 3	3:30 p.m.	No. 1 Ohio State	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ABC/ESPN2	OSU 34–27	52,929
October 3	4:00 p.m.	Nebraska	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	ILL 14–13	40,138
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 3	Rutgers

Week 6

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 10†	12:00 p.m.	Indiana	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ESPN	PSU 29–7	97,873
October 10†	12:00 p.m.	Illinois	No. 22 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	ESPN2	IA 29–20	66,693
October 10†	12:00 p.m.	Maryland	No. 1 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	BTN	OSU 49–28	107,869
October 10	3:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE (Freedom Trophy)	ABC/ESPN2	WIS 23–21	89,886
October 10†	3:30 p.m.	No. 13 Northwestern	No. 18 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	BTN	MICH 38–0	110,452
October 10	3:30 p.m.	Minnesota	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	ESPNU	MIN 41–13	33,780
October 10	8:00 p.m.	No. 4 Michigan State	Rutgers	High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	MSU 31–24	50,373
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 7

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 17†	12:00 p.m.	Purdue	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	BTN	WIS 24–7	80,794
October 17†	12:00 p.m.	No. 17 Iowa	No. 20 Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	ABC/ESPN2	IA 40–10	44,135
October 17	3:30 p.m.	Nebraska	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN ($5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy)	ESPN2	NEB 48–25	52,062
October 17	3:30 p.m.	No. 7 Michigan State	No. 12 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)	ESPN	MSU 27–23	111,740
October 17†	3:30 p.m.	Rutgers	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	BTN	RUT 55–52	40,567
October 17	8:00 p.m.	Penn State	No. 1 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH (OSU-PSU rivalry)	ABC	OSU 38–10	108,423
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 17	Illinois	Maryland

Week 8

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 24	12:00 p.m.	Northwestern	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	ESPN2	NW 30–28	89,493
October 24	3:30 p.m.	Indiana	No. 7 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Old Brass Spittoon)	ABC/ESPN2	MSU 52–26	74,144
October 24	3:30 p.m.	Penn State	Maryland	M&T Bank Stadium • Baltimore, MD (Maryland-PSU rivalry)	ESPN	PSU 31–30	68,948
October 24†	3:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	BTN	WIS 24–13	45,438
October 24	8:00 p.m.	No. 1 Ohio State	Rutgers	High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	ABC	OSU 49–7	53,111
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 24	#12 Iowa	#15 Michigan	Minnesota	Purdue

Week 9

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 31	12:00 p.m.	Rutgers	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	BTN	WIS 48–10	74,575
October 31	12:00 p.m.	Nebraska	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN	ESPNU	PUR 55–45	31,351
October 31	12:00 p.m.	Illinois	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ESPN2	PSU 39–0	94,417
October 31	3:30 p.m.	Maryland	No. 10 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	ABC / ESPN2	IA 31–15	62,667
October 31	7:00 p.m.	No. 15 Michigan	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN (Little Brown Jug)	ESPN	MICH 29–26	50,709
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 31	Indiana	#6 Michigan State	Northwestern	#1 Ohio State

Week 10

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 7	12:00 p.m.	Penn State	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	ESPNU	NW 23–21	34,116
November 7†	12:00 p.m.	Illinois	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Purdue Cannon)	BTN	ILL 48–14	40,197
November 7	3:30 p.m.	No. 10 Iowa	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ESPN	IA 35–27	44,739
November 7	3:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	Maryland	Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD	BTN	WIS 31–24	44,678
November 7	3:30 p.m.	Rutgers	No. 16 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	BTN	MICH 49–16	109,879
November 7	7:00 p.m.	No. 6 Michigan State	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE	ESPN	NEB 39–38	90,094
November 7	8:00 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 1 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ABC	OSU 28–14	108,075
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 11

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 14	12:00 p.m.	Purdue	No. 24 Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, IL	BTN	NW 21–14	30,003
November 14	12:00 p.m.	No. 2 Ohio State	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL (Illibuck)	ABC	OSU 28–3	51,515
November 14	12:00 p.m.	Maryland	No. 14 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	MSU 24–7	73,406
November 14	3:30 p.m.	Nebraska	Rutgers	High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	NEB 31–14	45,606
November 14	3:30 p.m.	No. 15 Michigan	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	ABC/ESPN2	MICH 48–41 2OT	49,557
November 14	8:00 p.m.	Minnesota	No. 8 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale)	BTN	IA 40–35	70,585
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 14	Penn State	#23 Wisconsin

Week 12

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 21	12:00 p.m.	No. 14 Michigan	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA	ABC	MI 28–16	107,418
November 21	12:00 p.m.	Purdue	No. 6 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA	ESPN2	IA 40–20	62,920
November 21	12:00 p.m.	Illinois	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	ESPNNEWS	MIN 32–23	47,976
November 21	12:00 p.m.	Indiana	Maryland	Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD	BTN	IND 47–28	33,685
November 21	12:00 p.m.	Rutgers	Army	Michie Stadium • West Point, NY	CBS Sports Network	W 31–21	30,113
November 21	3:30 p.m.	No. 9 Michigan State	No. 2 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ABC	MSU 17–14	108,975
November 21	3:30 p.m.	No. 20 Northwestern	No. 21 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	BTN	NW 13–7	75,276
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
November 21	Nebraska

Week 13

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 27	3:30 p.m.	No. 3 Iowa	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE (Heroes Trophy)	ABC	IA 28–20	90,830
November 28	12:00 p.m.	No. 8 Ohio State	No. 12 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI (The Game)	ABC	OSU 42–13	111,829
November 28	12:00 p.m.	Indiana	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	BTN	IND 54–36	37,152
November 28	12:00 p.m.	Maryland	Rutgers	High Point Solutions Stadium • Piscataway, NJ	BTN	MD 46–41	44,846
November 28	3:30 p.m.	Penn State	No. 6 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Land Grant Trophy)	ESPN	MSU 55–16	74,705
November 28	3:30 p.m.	Wisconsin	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	BTN	WIS 31–21	52,850
November 28	3:30 p.m.	No. 17 Northwestern	Illinois	Soldier Field • Chicago, IL (Land of Lincoln Trophy)	ESPNU	NW 24–14	33,514
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Big Ten Championship Game

Main article: 2015 Big Ten Football Championship Game

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 5	8:00 p.m.	No. 5 Michigan State	No. 4 Iowa	Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, IN	FOX	MSU 16–13	66,985
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Bowl games

Big Ten bowl games for the 2015 season are:

Bowl game	Date	Site	Television	Time (EST)	Big Ten team	Opponent	Score	Attendance	Ref.
Pinstripe Bowl	December 26	Yankee Stadium • New York, NY	ABC	3:30 p.m.	Indiana	Duke	Duke 44–41 OT	37,218
Foster Farms Bowl	December 26	Levi's Stadium • Santa Clara, CA	ESPN	9:15 p.m.	Nebraska	UCLA	NEB 37–29	33,527
Quick Lane Bowl	December 28	Ford Field • Detroit, MI	ESPN2	5:00 p.m.	Minnesota	Central Michigan	MIN 21–14	34,217
Holiday Bowl	December 30	Qualcomm Stadium • San Diego, CA	ESPN	10:30 p.m.	#23 Wisconsin	USC	WIS 23–21	48,329
Outback Bowl	January 1	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPN2	12:00 p.m.	#12 Northwestern	Tennessee	TENN 45–6	53,202
Citrus Bowl	January 1	Florida Citrus Bowl • Orlando, FL	ABC	1:00 p.m.	#17 Michigan	#19 Florida	MICH 41–7	63,113
TaxSlayer Bowl	January 2	EverBank Field • Jacksonville, FL	ESPN	12:00 p.m.	Penn State	Georgia	UGA 24–17	58,212
New Year's Six Bowls
Fiesta Bowl	January 1	University of Phoenix Stadium • Glendale, AZ	ESPN	1:00 p.m.	#7 Ohio State	#8 Notre Dame	OSU 44–28	71,123
Rose Bowl	January 1	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA	ESPN	5:00 p.m.	#6 Iowa	#5 Stanford	STAN 45–16	94,268
College Football Playoff
Cotton Bowl (Semifinal)	December 31	AT&T Stadium • Arlington, TX	ESPN	8:00 p.m.	#3 Michigan State	#2 Alabama	ALA 38–0	82,812

Rankings are from AP Poll. All times Eastern Time Zone.

Records against FBS conferences

2015 records against FBS conferences (through January 2, 2016):

Conference	Record
ACC	3–4
American	2–1
Big 12	2–2
C-USA	5–1
Independents	4–1
MAC	11-2
Mountain West	6–0
Pac-12	5–3
SEC	1–4
Sun Belt	2–0
Total	41-18

Players of the Week

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special Teams			Freshman
	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team
Week 1[11]	Braxton Miller	HB	OSU	Anthony Walker	LB	NW	William Likely	DB	MD	Clayton Thorson	QB	NW
Week 2[12]	C. J. Beathard	QB	IA	Riley Bullough	LB	MSU	Janarion Grant	WR	RUT	L.J. Scott	RB	MSU
	Terrell Newby	RB	NEB							Saquon Barkley	RB	PSU
Week 3[13]	Aaron Burbridge	WR	MSU	Anthony Walker	LB	NW	Marshall Koehn	PK	IA	Jonathan Crawford	S	IND
										Saquon Barkley	RB	PSU
Week 4[14]	Tommy Armstrong	QB	NEB	Shilique Calhoun	DE	MSU	Cameron Johnston	P	OSU	Taiwan Deal	RB	WIS
	Jordan Howard	RB	IND	Anthony Zettel	DT	PSU
Week 5[15]	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	OSU	Desmond King	DB	IA	Sam Foltz	P	NEB	L.J. Scott	RB	MSU
				Joe Schobert	LB	WIS
Week 6[16]	Jordan Canzeri	RB	IA	Jourdan Lewis	CB	MI	Jehu Chesson	WR	MI	Jabrill Peppers	S	MI
										Shannon Brooks	RB	MIN
Week 7[17]	Akrum Wadley	RB	IA	Shilique Calhoun	DE	MSU	Jalen Watts-Jackson	DB	MSU	T. J. Edwards	LB	WIS
Week 8[18]	Connor Cook	QB	MSU	Dean Lowry	DE	NW	Drew Meyer	P	WIS	Clayton Thorson	QB	NW
	J. T. Barrett	QB	OSU
Week 9[19]	David Blough	QB	PUR	Anthony Brown	CB	PUR	William Likely	DB	MD	Jabrill Peppers	S	MICH
Week 10[20]	Tommy Armstrong Jr.	QB	NEB	Vonn Bell	S	OSU	Janarion Grant	WR	RUT	Ke'Shawn Vaughn	RB	ILL
Week 11[21]	Jehu Chesson	WR	MICH	Malik McDowell	DL	MSU	Griffin Oakes	PK	IND	Shannon Brooks	RB	MINN
	Jake Rudock	QB	MICH
Week 12[22]	Nate Sudfeld	QB	IND	Jon Reschke	LB	MSU	Griffin Oakes	PK	IND	Shannon Brooks	RB	MIN
				Deonte Gibson	DE	NW	Michael Geiger	PK	MSU
Week 13[23]	Nate Sudfeld	QB	IND	Anthony Walker	LB	NW	Drew Meyer	P	WIS	Parker Hesse	DE	IA
	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	OSU

Players of the Year

2015 Big Ten Player of the Year Awards^[24]

Award	Player	School
Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year	Ezekiel Elliott	Ohio State
Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year	Carl Nassib	Penn State
Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year	Jabrill Peppers	Michigan
Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year	Connor Cook	Michigan State
Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year	Aaron Burbridge	Michigan State
Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year	Ezekiel Elliott	Ohio State
Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year	Jake Butt	Michigan
Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year	Taylor Decker	Ohio State
Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year	Joey Bosa	Ohio State
Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year	Joe Schobert	Wisconsin
Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year	Desmond King	Iowa
Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year	Griffin Oakes	Indiana
Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year	Sam Foltz	Nebraska
Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year	William Likely	Maryland
Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year (coaches vote)	Kirk Ferentz	Iowa
Dave McClain Coach of the Year (media vote)	Kirk Ferentz	Iowa

All-conference players

2015 Big Ten All-Conference Honors^[25]

Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS

Position Player Team First Team Offense (Coaches) QB Connor Cook Michigan State RB Jordan Howard Indiana RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT Ohio State WR Jehu Chesson Michigan WR Aaron Burbridge Michigan State TE Jake Butt Michigan C Jack Allen Michigan State OG Jordan Walsh Iowa OG Pat Elflein Ohio State OT Jack Conklin Michigan State OT TAYLOR DECKER Ohio State First Team Defense (Coaches) DL Joe Bosa Ohio State DL Shilique Calhoun Michigan State DL Carl Nassib Penn State DL Yannick Ngakoue Maryland LB Anthony Walker Jr. Northwestern LB Joshua Perry Ohio State LB Joe Schobert Wisconsin DB Desmond King Iowa DB William Likely Maryland DB Jourdan Lewis Michigan DB Jabrill Peppers Michigan First Team Special Teams (Coaches) K Griffin Oakes Indiana P Sam Foltz Nebraska RS William Likely Maryland

Position Player Team Second Team Offense (Coaches) QB C.J. Beathard Iowa RB Justin Jackson Northwestern RB Saquon Barkley Penn State WR Jordan Westerkamp Nebraska WR Alex Erickson Wisconsin TE Dan Vitale Northwestern C Austin Blythe Iowa OG Dan Feeney Indiana OG Brian Allen Michigan State OT Alex Lewis Nebraska OT Jason Spriggs Indiana Second Team Defense (Coaches) DL Malik McDowell Michigan State DL Maliek Collins Nebraska DL Dean Lowry Northwestern DL Adolphus Washington Ohio State LB Josey Jewell Iowa LB Darron Lee Ohio State LB Raekwon McMillan Ohio State DB Nick VanHoose Northwestern DB Eli Apple Ohio State DB Vonn Bell Ohio State DB Michael Caputo Wisconsin Second Team Special Teams (Coaches) K Marshall Koehn Iowa P Cameron Johnston Ohio State RS Jabrill Peppers Michigan

Position Player Team Third Team Offense (Coaches) QB Nate Sudfeld Indiana RB Josh Ferguson Illinois RB Jordan Canzeri Iowa WR Michael Thomas Ohio State WR Chris Godwin Penn State TE Josiah Price Michigan State C Jacoby Boren Ohio State OG Donavon Clark Michigan State OG Billy Price Ohio State OT Erik Magnuson Michigan OT Tyler Marz Wisconsin Third Team Defense (Coaches) DL Nate Meier Iowa DL Chris Wormley Michigan DL Austin Johnson Penn State DL Anthony Zettel Penn State LB Riley Bullough Michigan State LB Darien Harris Michigan State LB Vince Biegel Wisconsin DB Jordan Lomax Iowa DB Demetrious Cox Michigan State DB Eric Murray Minnesota DB Matthew Harris Northwestern Third Team Special Teams (Coaches) K Ryan Santoso Minnesota P Peter Mortell Minnesota RS Janarion Grant Rutgers

Coaches Honorable Mention: ILLINOIS: Geronimo Allison, Taylor Barton, V'Angelo Bentley (return specialist), Clayton Fejedelem, Ted Karras, Mason Monheim, T.J. Neal, Austin Schmidt, Dawuane Smoot, Jihad Ward; INDIANA: Simmie Cobbs, Michael Cooper, Darius Latham, Nick Mangieri, Zack Shaw; IOWA: Cole Fisher, Jaleel Johnson, Dillon Kidd, Desmond King (return specialist), Ben Niemann, Matt VandeBerg, Sean Welsh; MARYLAND: Jermaine Carter, Michael Dunn, Quinton Jefferson; MICHIGAN: Kenny Allen, Joe Bolden, Ben Braden, Mason Cole, Amara Darboh, Graham Glasgow, Ryan Glasgow, Willie Henry, Kyle Kalis, Desmond Morgan, Blake O'Neil, Jake Rudock, De'Veon Smith, Jarrod Wilson; MICHIGAN STATE: Jon Reschke, R.J. Shelton, Lawrence Thomas; MINNESOTA: Briean Boddy-Calhoun, Shannon Brooks, De'Vondre Campbell, Theiren Cockran, Brandon Lingen, KJ Maye, Jalen Myrick, Jonah Pirsig, Steven Richardson; NEBRASKA: Drew Brown, Nate Gerry, Andy Janovich, Joshua Kalu; NORTHWESTERN: Deonte Gibson, Solomon Vault (return specialist); OHIO STATE: Tyquan Lewis, Jalin Marshall (return specialist), Braxton Miller, Tyvis Powell, Nick Vannett; PENN STATE: Marcus Allen, Jason Cabinda, Trevor Williams; PURDUE: Anthony Brown, Markell Jones, Robert Kugler, Jake Replogle, Frankie Williams; RUTGERS: Leonte Caroo, Steve Longa, Keith Lumpkin; WISCONSIN: T.J. Edwards, Troy Fumagalli, Darius Hillary, Tanner McEvoy.

Position Player Team First Team Offense (Media) QB Connor Cook Michigan State RB Jordan Howard Indiana RB EZEKIEL ELLIOTT Ohio State WR Alex Erickson Wisconsin WR Aaron Burbridge Michigan State TE Jake Butt Michigan C Jack Allen Michigan State OG Dan Feeney Indiana OG Pat Elflein Ohio State OT Jack Conklin Michigan State OT Taylor Decker Ohio State First Team Defense (Media) DL Joey Bosa Ohio State DL Yannick Ngakoue Maryland DL Shilique Calhoun Michigan State DL Carl Nassib Penn State LB Anthony Walker Jr. Northwestern LB Raekwon McMillan Ohio State LB Joe Schobert Wisconsin DB DESMOND KING Iowa DB Jourdan Lewis Michigan DB Jabrill Peppers Michigan DB Vonn Bell Ohio State First Team Special Teams (Media) K Griffin Oakes Indiana P Sam Foltz Nebraska RS William Likely Maryland

Position Player Team Second Team Offense (Media) QB C.J. Beathard Iowa RB Justin Jackson Northwestern RB Saquon Barkley Penn State WR Jordan Westerkamp Nebraska WR Chris Godwin Penn State TE Dan Vitale Northwestern C Austin Blythe Iowa OG Jordan Walsh Iowa OG Brian Allen Michigan State OT Jason Spriggs Indiana OT Tyler Marz Wisconsin Second Team Defense (Media) DL Malik McDowell Michigan State DL Dean Lowry Northwestern DL Adolphus Washington Ohio State DL Austin Johnson Penn State LB Josey Jewell Iowa LB Riley Bullough Michigan State LB Joshua Perry Ohio State DB William Likely Maryland DB Clayton Fejedelem Illinois DB Nick VanHoose Northwestern DB Michael Caputo Wisconsin Second Team Special Teams (Media) K Drew Brown Nebraska P Cameron Johnston Ohio State RS Janarion Grant Rutgers

Position Player Team Third Team Offense (Media) QB Nate Sudfeld Indiana RB Josh Ferguson Illinois RB Jordan Canzeri Iowa WR Michael Thomas Ohio State WR Leonte Carroo Rutgers TE Josiah Price Michigan State C Jacoby Boren Ohio State OG Ted Karras Illinois OG Kyle Kalis Michigan OT Erik Magnuson Michigan OT Alex Lewis Nebraska Third Team Defense (Media) DL Nate Meier Iowa DL Maliek Collins Nebraska DL Deonte Gibson Northwestern DL Anthony Zettel Penn State LB Darron Lee Ohio State LB Steve Longa Rutgers LB Vince Biegel Wisconsin DB Eric Murray Minnesota DB Nate Gerry Nebraska DB Matthew Harris Northwestern DB Briean Boddy-Calhoun Minnesota Third Team Special Teams (Media) K Kenny Allen Michigan P Peter Mortell Minnesota RS Solomon Vault Northwestern

Media Honorable Mention: ILLINOIS: Geronimo Allison, Taylor Barton, V'Angelo Bentley (return specialist), Mason Monheim, T.J. Neal, Austin Schmidt, Dawuane Smoot, Jihad Ward; INDIANA: Simmie Cobbs, Michael Cooper, Nick Mangieri, Marcus Oliver, Mitchell Paige (return specialist); IOWA: Cole Fisher, Jaleel Johnson, Dillon Kidd, Jordan Lomax, Desmond King (return specialist), Marshall Koehn, Matt VandeBerg, Sean Welsh; MARYLAND: Jermaine Carter, Sean Davis, Brandon Ross; MICHIGAN: Joe Bolden, Ben Braden, Jehu Chesson, Mason Cole, Amara Darboh, Graham Glasgow, Ryan Glasgow, Willie Henry, Royce Jenkins-Stone, Jourdan Lewis (return specialist), Desmond Morgan, Blake O'Neil, Jabrill Peppers (return specialist), Jake Rudock, Chris Wormley; MICHIGAN STATE: Donavan Clark, Demetrious Cox, Darien Harris, Joel Heath, Jon Reschke; MINNESOTA: Shannon Brooks, De'Vondre Campbell, Theiren Cockran, Brandon Lingen, Jack Lynn, KJ Maye, Jonah Pirsig, Cody Poock, Steven Richardson, Ryan Santoso; NEBRASKA: Cethan Carter; OHIO STATE: Eli Apple, Gareon Conley, Tyquan Lewis, Jalin Marshall (wide receiver/return specialist), Braxton Miller, Billy Price, Tyvis Powell, Nick Vannett; PENN STATE: Marcus Allen, Jason Cabinda, Grant Haley, DaeSean Hamilton; PURDUE: Anthony Brown, Markell Jones, Robert Kugler, Jake Replogle, Frankie Williams; RUTGERS: Quentin Gause, Keith Lumpkin, Chris Muller; WISCONSIN: Michael Dieter, Tanner McEvoy, Troy Fumagalli, Chikwe Obasih, Sojourn Shelton.

All-Americans

For the complete All-America selections, see 2015 College Football All-America Team.

The 2015 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following College Football All-American first teams chosen by the following selector organizations: Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Walter Camp Foundation (WCFF), The Sporting News (TSN), Sports Illustrated (SI), USA Today (USAT) ESPN, CBS Sports (CBS), College Football News (CFN), Scout.com, and Yahoo! Sports (Yahoo!).

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I-FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points. Football consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American.^[26]

Position	Player	School	Selector	Unanimous	Consensus
First Team All-Americans
TE	Jake Butt	Michigan	CBS, SI
OL	Jack Allen	Michigan State	AP, CBS, SI, FOX
OL	Jack Conklin	Michigan State	TSN, USA Today, CBS, Athlon
OL	Taylor Decker	Ohio State	AFCA, AP, WCFF, CBS, SI, FOX		*
OL	Dan Feeney	Indiana	ESPN
OL	Jason Spriggs	Indiana	FWAA, Phil Steele
OL	Jordan Walsh	Iowa	FOX
DL	Joey Bosa	Ohio State	AFCA, WCFF, USA Today, CBS, SI, ESPN, Athlon, Phil Steele		*
DL	Malik McDowell	Michigan State	FOX
DL	Carl Nassib	Penn State	AFCA, AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF, CBS, SI, ESPN, FOX, Athlon, Phil Steele	*	*
DL	Adolphus Washington	Ohio State	TSN
LB	Joe Schobert	Wisconsin	FWAA, ESPN, Phil Steele
CB	Desmond King	Iowa	AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, WCFF, USA Today, CBS, SI, ESPN, FOX, Athlon, Phil Steele	*	*
CB	Jourdan Lewis	Michigan	USA Today, SI
S	Vonn Bell	Ohio State	AP, TSN, SI, Athlon
PR	William Likely	Maryland	FWAA, Phil Steele

Position	Player	School	Selector
Second Team All-Americans
RB	Ezekiel Elliott	Ohio State	USA Today, SI, AP, FWAA, Athlon, Phil Steele
TE	Jake Butt	Michigan	AP, FOX, TSN, Athlon
OL	Jack Allen	Michigan State	USA Today, WCFF, FWAA, Athlon, Phil Steele
OL	Jack Conklin	Michigan State	AP, WCFF, FWAA
OL	Taylor Decker	Ohio State	USA Today, FWAA, TSN, Athlon, Phil Steele
OL	Pat Elflein	Ohio State	SI, AP
OL	Dan Feeney	Indiana	CBS, Athlon
OL	Jason Spriggs	Indiana	WCFF, TSN
DL	Joey Bosa	Ohio State	AP, FOX, TSN
DL	Shilique Calhoun	Michigan State	CBS, WCFF, FWAA
DL	Carl Nassib	Penn State	USA Today
DL	Adolphus Washington	Ohio State	CBS
LB	Darron Lee	Ohio State	SI
LB	Raekwon McMillan	Ohio State	WCFF
LB	Joe Schobert	Wisconsin	USA Today, CBS, WCFF, AP, TSN, Athlon
LB	Anthony Walker	Northwestern	SI, FOX
CB	Jourdan Lewis	Michigan	WCFF, AP, FWAA, FOX, Athlon, Phil Steele
S	Vonn Bell	Ohio State	FOX
S	Jabrill Peppers	Michigan	CBS, SI, TSN
RET	William Likely	Maryland	USA Today, SI, Athlon
AP	Jabrill Peppers	Michigan	FOX

Position	Player	School	Selector
Third Team All-Americans
OL	Austin Blythe	Iowa	AP, Athlon
OL	Jack Conklin	Michigan State	Phil Steele
OL	Pat Elflein	Ohio State	Athlon
OL	Dan Feeney	Indiana	AP
OL	Jason Spriggs	Indiana	AP
OL	Jordan Walsh	Iowa	Athlon
DL	Joey Bosa	Ohio State	Phil Steele
DL	Shilique Calhoun	Michigan State	AP, Phil Steele
LB	Anthony Walker	Northwestern	AP, Athlon
LB	Raekwon McMillan	Ohio State	Phil Steele

Position	Player	School	Selector
Fourth Team All-Americans
OL	Austin Blythe	Iowa	Phil Steele
DL	Yannick Ngakoue	Maryland	Phil Steele
K	Griffin Oakes	Indiana	Phil Steele
AP	Jabrill Peppers	Michigan	Phil Steele

Position	Player	School	Selector
Honorable Mention All-Americans
QB	Connor Cook	Michigan State	SI
WR	Aaron Burbridge	Michigan State	SI
TE	George Kittle	Iowa	SI
WR	Aaron Burbridge	Michigan State	SI
OL	Austin Blythe	Iowa	SI
OL	Jack Conklin	Michigan State	SI
OL	Dan Feeney	Indiana	SI
OL	Jason Spriggs	Indiana	SI
OL	Jordan Walsh	Iowa	SI
DT	Shilique Calhoun	Michigan State	SI
DT	Adolphus Washington	Ohio State	SI
DT	Anthony Zettel	Penn State	SI
LB	Raekwon McMillan	Ohio State	SI
LB	Joshua Perry	Ohio State	SI
LB	Joe Schobert	Wisconsin	SI
CB	Nick VanHoose	Northwestern	SI
P	Cameron Johnston	Ohio State	SI
AP	Jabrill Peppers	Michigan	SI

*AFCA All-America Team
*USA Today All-America Team
*CBS Sports All-America Team
*Sports Illustrated All-America Team
*Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America Team
*Associated Press All-America Team Archived 2017-05-27 at archive.today
*ESPN.com All-America Team
*Football Writers Association of America All-America Team
*Fox Sports All-America Team
*Sporting News All-America Team Archived 2015-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
*Athlon Sports All-America Team
*Phil Steele All-America Team Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine

Academic All-Americans

2015 CoSIDA Academic-All Americans^[27]

Player	School	Team
CoSIDA Academic All-Americans
Jacoby Boren	Ohio State	First Team
Jack Willoughby	Ohio State	First Team
Jordan Lomax	Iowa	Second Team
Brandon Lingen	Minnesota	Second Team
Tyler Yazujian	Penn State	Second Team
Robert Kugler	Purdue	Second Team

National award winners

Jim Thorpe Award
Desmond King, Iowa

Lombardi Award
Carl Nassib, Penn State

Lott IMPACT Trophy
Carl Nassib, Penn State

Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

NCAA List of National Award Winners

Attendance

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Illinois	Memorial Stadium	60,670	36,693	37,733	44,366	40,138	45,438	51,515	–	255,883	42,647	70.3%
Indiana	Memorial Stadium	52,929	36,071	41,509	44,823	52,929	40,567	44,739	49,557	310,195	44,314	83.7%
Iowa	Kinnick Stadium	70,585	59,450	63,636	56,401	66,693	62,667	70,585	62,920	442,352	63,193	89.5%
Maryland	Byrd Stadium	51,802	38,117	36,332	36,827	51,802	44,678	33,685	–	241,441	40,240	77.7%
Michigan	Michigan Stadium	107,601	109,651	108,683	108,940	110,452	111,740	109,879	111,829	771,174	110,168	102.4%
Michigan State	Spartan Stadium	75,005	76,526	74,211	75,218	74,418	74,144	73,406	74,705	522,628	74,661	99.5%
Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium	52,525	54,147	52,823	53,917	52,062	50,709	47,976	52,850	364,484	52,069	99.1%
Nebraska	Memorial Stadium	87,091	89,959	89,822	89,899	89,886	89,493	90,094	90,830	629,983	89,998	103.3%
Northwestern	Ryan Field	47,130	36,024	29,131	30,107	30,044	44,135	34,116	30,003	233,560	33,366	70.8%
Ohio State	Ohio Stadium	104,944	107,145	104,095	106,123	107,869	108,423	108,075	108,975	750,705	107,244	102.2%
Penn State	Beaver Stadium	106,572	93,065	103,323	95,107	107,387	97,873	94,417	107,418	698,590	99,799	93.6%
Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium	57,236	41,158	45,759	33,160	33,780	31,351	40,197	37,152	262,557	37,508	65.5%
Rutgers	High Point Solutions Stadium	52,454	47,453	46,536	46,136	50,373	53,111	45,606	44,846	334,061	47,723	91.0%
Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium	80,321	76,535	77,157	80,829	80,933	80,794	74,575	75,276	546,099	78,014	97.1%
Total	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,363,712	65,782	–

2016 Big Ten NFL Draft Selections

2016 NFL Draft

Main article: 2016 NFL draft

47 Big Ten athletes were selected in the 2016 NFL Draft.^[28]

Team	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Total
Illinois		1				1	1	3
Indiana		1			1	1		3
Iowa							1	1
Maryland		1	1		1			3
Michigan			1	1		1		3
Michigan State	1		1	1		1	1	5
Minnesota				2				2
Nebraska			2	1		1		4
Northwestern				1		1		2
Ohio State	5	2	3	2				12
Penn State		2	1			2		5
Purdue						1		1
Rutgers			1					1
Wisconsin				1		1		2

Main article: 2016 NFL draft

*

= Compensatory Selections

	Rnd.	Pick No.	NFL team	Player	Pos.	College	Conf.	Notes
	1	3	San Diego Chargers	Joey Bosa	DE	Ohio State	Big Ten
	1	4	Dallas Cowboys	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	Ohio State	Big Ten
	1	8	Tennessee Titans	Jack Conklin	OT	Michigan State	Big Ten	from Miami via Philadelphia and Cleveland [R1 - 1]
	1	10	New York Giants	Eli Apple	CB	Ohio State	Big Ten
	1	16	Detroit Lions	Taylor Decker	OT	Ohio State	Big Ten
	1	20	New York Jets	Darron Lee	LB	Ohio State	Big Ten
	2	43	Tennessee Titans	Austin Johnson	DT	Penn State	Big Ten	from Philadelphia via Los Angeles [R2 - 1]
	2	44	Oakland Raiders	Jihad Ward	DT	Illinois	Big Ten
	2	47	New Orleans Saints	Michael Thomas	WR	Ohio State	Big Ten
	2	48	Green Bay Packers	Jason Spriggs	OT	Indiana	Big Ten	from Indianapolis [R2 - 2]
	2	51	New York Jets	Christian Hackenberg	QB	Penn State	Big Ten
	2	58	Pittsburgh Steelers	Sean Davis	CB	Maryland	Big Ten
	2	61	New Orleans Saints	Vonn Bell	S	Ohio State	Big Ten	from Arizona via New England [R2 - 3]
	3	65	Cleveland Browns	Carl Nassib	DE	Penn State	Big Ten
	3	67	Dallas Cowboys	Maliek Collins	DT	Nebraska	Big Ten
	3	69	Jacksonville Jaguars	Yannick Ngakoue	LB	Maryland	Big Ten
	3	75	Oakland Raiders	Shilique Calhoun	DE	Michigan State	Big Ten
	3	80	Buffalo Bills	Adolphus Washington	DT	Ohio State	Big Ten
	3	85	Houston Texans	Braxton Miller	WR	Ohio State	Big Ten
	3	86	Miami Dolphins	Leonte Carroo	WR	Rutgers	Big Ten	from Minnesota [R3 - 1]
	3	94	Seattle Seahawks	Nick Vannett	TE	Ohio State	Big Ten	from Denver [R3 - 2]
	3*	95	Detroit Lions	Graham Glasgow	G	Michigan	Big Ten
	3*	96	New England Patriots	Vincent Valentine	DT	Nebraska	Big Ten
	4	99	Cleveland Browns	Joe Schobert	LB	Wisconsin	Big Ten
	4	100	Oakland Raiders	Connor Cook	QB	Michigan State	Big Ten	from Tennessee via Philadelphia [R4 - 1]
	4	102	San Diego Chargers	Joshua Perry	LB	Ohio State	Big Ten
	4	106	Kansas City Chiefs	Eric Murray	CB	Minnesota	Big Ten	from Chicago via Tampa Bay [R4 - 2]
	4	115	Atlanta Falcons	De'Vondre Campbell	LB	Minnesota	Big Ten
	4	130	Baltimore Ravens	Alex Lewis	OT	Nebraska	Big Ten	from Denver [R4 - 3]
	4*	132	Baltimore Ravens	Willie Henry	DT	Michigan	Big Ten
	4*	137	Green Bay Packers	Dean Lowry	DE	Northwestern	Big Ten
	4*	139	Buffalo Bills	Cardale Jones	QB	Ohio State	Big Ten	Extra compensatory pick authorized by NFLMC and NFLPA[29][30]
	5	147	Seattle Seahawks	Quinton Jefferson	DT	Maryland	Big Ten
	5	150	Chicago Bears	Jordan Howard	RB	Indiana	Big Ten
	6	176		Andy Janovich	FB	Nebraska	Big Ten	from Cleveland [R6 - 1]
	6	187	Washington Redskins	Nate Sudfeld	QB	Indiana	Big Ten	from New Orleans [R6 - 2]
	6	189	Dallas Cowboys	Anthony Brown	CB	Purdue	Big Ten	from Oakland [R6 - 3]
	6	191	Detroit Lions	Jake Rudock	QB	Michigan	Big Ten
	6	197	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Dan Vitale	FB	Northwestern	Big Ten	from Washington [R6 - 4]
	6	198	San Diego Chargers	Derek Watt	FB	Wisconsin	Big Ten	from Minnesota [R6 - 5]
	6	202	Detroit Lions	Anthony Zettel	DE	Penn State	Big Ten	from Seattle [R6 - 6]
	6	204	Miami Dolphins	Jordan Lucas	S	Penn State	Big Ten	from New England via Chicago [R6 - 7]
	6*	213	San Francisco 49ers	Aaron Burbridge	WR	Michigan State	Big Ten
	6*	221	New England Patriots	Ted Karras III	G	Illinois	Big Ten
	7	224	San Diego Chargers	Donavon Clark	G	Michigan State	Big Ten
	7	245	Cincinnati Bengals	Clayton Fejedelem	S	Illinois	Big Ten
	7	248	Indianapolis Colts	Austin Blythe	C	Iowa	Big Ten

In the explanations below, (PD) indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft (i.e. Pre-Draft), while (D) denotes trades that took place during the 2016 draft.

Round one

1. No. 8: multiple trades:
          No. 8: Miami → Philadelphia (PD). Miami traded its first-round selection (8th) to Philadelphia in exchange for linebacker Kiko Alonso, cornerback Byron Maxwell, and Philadelphia's first-round selection (13th).^{[source 1]}
           No. 8: Philadelphia → Cleveland (PD). see No. 2: Cleveland → Philadelphia.^{[source 2]}
           No. 8: Cleveland → Tennessee (D). Cleveland traded its first- and sixth-round selections (8th and 176th) to Tennessee in exchange for Tennessee's first- and third-round selections (15th and 76th) as well as its 2017 second-round selection.^{[source 3]}

Round two

1. No. 43: multiple trades:
          No. 43: Philadelphia → Los Angeles (PD). Philadelphia traded its second-round selection in this year's draft, a 2015 fourth-round selection and quarterback Nick Foles to Los Angeles in exchange for Los Angeles's 2015 fifth-round selection and quarterback Sam Bradford. The trade also included a possible conditional fourth-round selection in this year's draft that Philadelphia would have received if Bradford took less than 50 percent of the snaps in 2015. Bradford took the majority of snaps for Philadelphia in 2015, so the fourth-round pick was returned to Los Angeles.^{[source 4]}
          No. 43: Los Angeles → Tennessee (PD). see No. 1: Tennessee → Los Angeles.^{[source 5]}
2. No. 48: Indianapolis → Green Bay (D). Indianapolis traded its second-round selection (48th) to Green Bay in exchange for Green Bay's second-, fourth- and seventh-round selections (57th, 125th, and 248th).^{[source 6]}
3. No. 61: multiple trades:
          No. 61: Arizona → New England (PD). Arizona traded its second-round selection and guard Jonathan Cooper to New England in exchange for defensive end Chandler Jones.^{[source 7]}
          No. 61: New England → New Orleans (D). New England traded its second-round selection to New Orleans in exchange for New Orleans' third- and fourth-round selections (78th and 112nd).^{[source 8]}

Round three

1. No. 86: Minnesota → Miami (D). Minnesota traded this selection to Miami in exchange for Miami's sixth-round selection (186th) and Miami's third- and fourth-round selections in 2017.^{[source 9]}
2. No. 94: Denver → Seattle (PD). see No. 26: Seattle → Denver.^{[source 10]}

Round four

1. No. 100: multiple trades:
          No. 100: Tennessee → Philadelphia (PD). Tennessee traded its fourth-round selection to Philadelphia in exchange for running back DeMarco Murray and Philadelphia's fourth-round selection (113th).^{[source 11]}
          No. 100: Philadelphia → Cleveland (PD). see No. 2: Cleveland → Philadelphia.^{[source 3]}
2. No. 106: multiple trades:
          No. 106: Chicago → Tampa Bay (D). see No. 9: Tampa Bay → Chicago.^{[source 3]}
          No. 106: Tampa Bay → Kansas City (D). see No. 59: Kansas City → Tampa Bay.^{[source 3]}
3. No. 130: Denver → Baltimore (PD). Denver traded this selection to Baltimore in exchange for Baltimore's fifth-round selection (144th) and center Gino Gradkowski.^{[source 12]}

Round five

Round six

1. No. 176: Cleveland → Tennessee (D). see No. 8: Cleveland → Tennessee.^{[source 3]}
2. No. 187: New Orleans → Washington (PD). New Orleans traded this selection along with its sixth-round selection in the 2015 NFL draft (187th) to Washington in exchange for Washington's fifth-round selection.^{[source 3]}
3. No. 189: Oakland → Dallas (PD). see No. 143: Dallas → Oakland.^{[source 13]}
4. No. 197: Washington → Tampa Bay (PD). Washington traded this selection to Tampa Bay in exchange for Tampa Bay's seventh-round selection (232nd) and safety Dashon Goldson.^{[source 14]}
5. No. 198: Minnesota → San Diego (PD). Minnesota traded this selection to San Diego in exchange for offensive lineman Jeremiah Sirles.^{[source 15]}
6. No. 202: Seattle → Detroit (PD). Seattle traded this selection to Detroit in exchange for cornerback Mohammed Seisay.^{[source 16]}
7. No. 204: multiple trades:
          No. 204: New England → Chicago (PD). New England traded this selection to Chicago in exchange for linebacker Jon Bostic.^{[source 17]}
          No. 204: Chicago → New England (PD). see No. 127: New England → Chicago^{[source 18]}

Round seven

Head coaches

Bill Cubit, Illinois (interim) Kevin R. Wilson, Indiana Kirk Ferentz, Iowa Randy Edsall / Mike Locksley (interim)*, Maryland Jim Harbaugh, Michigan Mark Dantonio, Michigan State Jerry Kill / Tracy Claeys*, Minnesota

Mike Riley, Nebraska Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern Urban Meyer, Ohio State James Franklin, Penn State Darrell Hazell, Purdue Kyle Flood, Rutgers Paul Chryst, Wisconsin

*Maryland fired Randy Edsall six games into the season. Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley was named interim coach for the remainder of the season

*Jerry Kill stepped down as Minnesota's coach on October 28, 2015 due to health reasons. Defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys was named interim coach for a couple of weeks and then named the permanent replacement on November 11.^[31][32]