• Nine Big Ten schools were selected for bowl competition, highlighted by invitations to College Football Playoff bowls for Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.
• Big Ten champion Michigan was ranked No. 1 by the College Football Playoff selection committee and will face No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 at 5 p.m. ET at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. The winner of that semifinal will advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship against either No. 2 Washington or No. 3 Texas on Jan. 8 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
• Michigan returns to the Rose Bowl for the 21st time in program history and the first time since 2006. The Wolverines have appeared in more Rose Bowls than any other Big Ten school, and trail only Southern California (34) in overall appearances by both conferences. Michigan has compiled an 8-12 overall record in Rose Bowl games. This will be Michigan’s third appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Wolverines are in search of the 12th national championship in program history, having last won the title in 1997.
• No. 7 Ohio State will face No. 9 Missouri in the 88th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday, Dec. 29, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The Buckeyes will be making their 55th overall bowl appearance and will be participating in the Cotton Bowl for the third time in program history.
• No. 10 Penn State will face No. 11 Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl on at noon ET on Saturday, Dec. 30, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Nittany Lions will appear in the Peach Bowl for the first time in program history and becomes the eighth Big Ten team to play in the game.
• Northwestern gets the bowl season started on Saturday, Dec. 23, when it takes on Utah in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. The Wildcats make their 17th bowl appearance and first since defeating Auburn, 35-19, in the 2021 Citrus Bowl.
• Three Big Ten standouts took home national honors this season. Iowa’s Tory Taylor took home the Ray Guy Award (Punter of the Year), Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. claimed the Biletnikoff Award (Outstanding Receiver), while Hawkeyes’ DC/DB Coach Phil Parker earned the Broyles Award (Best Assistant Coach).
• Michigan and Penn State currently rank among the top 15 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Wolverines lead the nation in scoring defense (9.5 points per game), while ranking No. 14 nationally in scoring offense (36.7 points per game). The Nittany Lions rank No. 3 nationally in scoring defense (11.4 points per game), while ranking 12th in scoring offense (37.2 points per game).
• Four additional Big Ten teams rank in the top 20 in terms of scoring defense: Ohio State (2nd, 11.0 points per game), Iowa (4th, 13.2), Nebraska (15th, 18.2) and Wisconsin (18th, 18.9).
• Additionally, the Big Ten has four teams in the top 15 in terms of rushing defense: No. 1 Penn State (69.7 yards per game), No. 5 Michigan (87.1), No. 7 Nebraska (92.9) and No. 13 Iowa (102.5), and five teams in the top 15 in terms of defensive passing efficiency: Ohio State (3rd, 97.21), Iowa (5th, 100.46), Michigan (6th, 100.81), Penn State (8th, 109.34) and Nebraska (14th, 117.83).
• The Big Ten posted the fifth-highest single-season attendance total in conference history with 6,344,869 fans attending home games. Excluding 2020, this marks the 10th consecutive season and 11th time in 12 seasons that more than six million fans have attended Big Ten home football games.
• Michigan was crowned Big Ten Champion after its 26-0 win over Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game presented by Discover on Dec. 2 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. It was the Wolverines’ conference-leading 45th Big Ten title and their third in as many years.
• A total of 22 Big Ten standouts from eight different schools have earned All-America status, including 10 that earned first-team distinction from at least one organization. In addition, seven Big Ten students were named consensus All-Americans, including four unanimous first-team honorees. Iowa’s Cooper DeJean and Tory Taylor, Michigan’s Zak Zinter, and Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., were unanimous first-team All-Americans, while Illinois’ Jer’Zahn Newton, Iowa’s Jay Higgins and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu earned consensus All-America status. A list of Big Ten All-Americans can be found on Page 5.
• A total of 586 football student-athletes were named Academic All-Big Ten honorees on December 11, including unblemished GPAs for eight honorees.
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