The 2016 Big Ten Conference football season was the 121st season of
college football play for the
Big Ten Conference and is a part of the
2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the Big Ten's third season with 14 teams. The season marked a return to a nine-game conference schedule, something the league has not had since 1984.[2]
Penn State and
Ohio State each finished with identical 8–1 conference records, but Penn State won the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Buckeyes. Accordingly, Penn State won the East Division for the first time since the conference instituted divisions.
Wisconsin won the West Division for the fourth time in the six years the division had existed.
In the Big Ten Championship held on December 3, 2016, at
Lucas Oil Stadium in
Indianapolis, Indiana, Penn State defeated Wisconsin 38–31 to win the Big Ten.
Coaches
Coaching changes
Several Big Ten teams changed head coaches in 2016.
Tracy Claeys at Minnesota had the "interim" tag removed from his title and served as the permanent head coach.
D. J. Durkin was the new head coach at Maryland taking over for
Randy Edsall after having spent the previous year as the defensive coordinator at Michigan, while Rutgers replaced
Kyle Flood with
Chris Ash, who comes to Piscataway after serving as a co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State. In March, new Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman announced he was replacing
Bill Cubit as head football coach with
Lovie Smith.[3]
On October 16, 2016, Purdue announced they were parting ways with head coach
Darrell Hazell. Receivers coach
Gerad Parker was named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2016 season.[4] On December 5, Purdue named
Western Kentucky football coach
Jeff Brohm their next head coach.[5]
On December 1, 2016, Indiana University announced that head coach
Kevin Wilson resigned his position. Indiana associate head coach
Tom Allen was named Wilson's permanent successor.[6] On January 3, 2017, the University of Minnesota announced they were relieving head coach
Tracy Claeys of his duties.[7] Three days later, Minnesota announced the hiring of
Western Michigan coach
P. J. Fleck to take over as head coach.[8]
Head coaches
Note: All records are through the completion of the 2016 season
* Darrell Hazell was fired on Oct. 16, 2016 and Gerad Parker was named interim coach to finish the season.
** Kevin Wilson resigned as head coach at Indiana on Dec. 1, 2016 and Tom Allen was named his full-time replacement and will coach in Indiana's bowl game.
Coaches Honorable Mention:ILLINOIS: Hardy Nickerson,
Carroll Phillips; INDIANA: Marcelino Ball, Ralph Green III, Richard Lagow, Marcus Oliver, Mitchell Paige,
Devine Redding, Nick Westbrook; IOWA: Ike Boettger, LeShun Daniels Jr., Parker Hesse, George Kittle, Greg Mabin, Riley McCarron; MARYLAND: Michael Dunn; MICHIGAN: Kenny Allen (kicker), Ben Bredeson, Matt Godin, Mike McCray, De'Veon Smith, Dymonte Thomas; MICHIGAN STATE: Darian Hicks, Montae Nicholson, L.J. Scott; MINNESOTA: Shannon Brooks, Jonathan Celestin, Scott Epke, Jalen Myrick,
Drew Wolitarsky; NEBRASKA: Tommy Armstrong Jr., Josh Banderas,
Cethan Carter, Ross Dzuris, Nick Gates, Chris Jones, Kevin Maurice,
De'Mornay Pierson-El (return specialist); NORTHWESTERN: Tommy Doles,
Clayton Thorson; OHIO STATE: Jerome Baker, Marcus Baugh, Noah Brown, Michael Hill, Jayln Holmes,
Sam Hubbard, Damon Webb; PENN STATE: Brandon Bell, Brian Gaia,
Mike Gesicki, Blake Gillikin, Chris Godwin, Parker Cothren, John Reid; PURDUE:Markus Bailey,
David Blough, Jason King, Evan Panfil, Jordan Roos, Joe Schopper; RUTGERS: Tariq Cole; WISCONSIN: Jack Cichy, Michael Dieter, D'Cota Dixon,
T. J. Edwards, Alec James, Leo Musso, Chikwe Obasih, Jazz Peavy, Derrick Tindal.
Position
Player
Team
First Team Offense (Media)
QB
J. T. Barrett
Ohio State
RB
SAQUON BARKLEY
Penn State
RB
Justin Jackson
Northwestern
WR
Austin Carr
Northwestern
WR
Curtis Samuel
Ohio State
TE
Jake Butt
Michigan
C
Pat Elflein
Ohio State
OG
Dan Feeney
Indiana
OG
Billy Price
Ohio State
OT
Erik Magnuson
Michigan
OT
Ryan Ramczyk
Wisconsin
First Team Defense (Media)
DL
Carroll Phillips
Illinois
DL
Taco Charlton
Michigan
DL
Ifeadi Odenigbo
Northwestern
DL
Tyquan Lewis
Ohio State
LB
Jabrill Peppers
Michigan
LB
Raekwon McMillan
Ohio State
LB
T.J. Watt
Wisconsin
DB
Desmond King
Iowa
DB
Jourdan Lewis
Michigan
DB
Malik Hooker
Ohio State
DB
Sojourn Shelton
Wisconsin
First Team Special Teams (Media)
K
Emmit Carpenter
Minnesota
P
Cameron Johnston
Ohio State
RS
Jabrill Peppers
Michigan
Position
Player
Team
Second Team Offense (Media)
QB
Trace McSorley
Penn State
RB
Corey Clement
Wisconsin
RB
Mike Weber
Ohio State
WR
Amara Darboh
Michigan
WR
DeAngelo Yancey
Purdue
TE
Mike Gesicki
Penn State
C
Mason Cole
Michigan
OG
Kyle Kalis
Michigan
OG
Brian Allen
Michigan State
OT
Ben Braden
Michigan
OT
Jamarco Jones
Ohio State
Second Team Defense (Media)
DL
Jaleel Johnson
Iowa
DL
Ryan Glasgow
Michigan
DL
Chris Wormley
Michigan
DL
Malik McDowell
Michigan State
LB
Tegray Scales
Indiana
LB
Josey Jewell
Iowa
LB
Ben Gedeon
Michigan
DB
Rashard Fant
Indiana
DB
Channing Stribling
Michigan
DB
Nathan Gerry
Nebraska
DB
Marson Lattimore
Ohio State
Second Team Special Teams (Media)
K
Tyler Davis
Penn State
P
Kenny Allen
Michigan
RS
Desmond King
Iowa
Position
Player
Team
Third Team Offense (Media)
QB
Wilton Speight
Michigan
RB
L.J. Scott
Michigan State
RB
Rodney Smith
Minnesota
WR
Drew Wolitarsky
Minnesota
WR
Chris Godwin
Penn State
TE
Troy Fumagalli
Wisconsin
C
Sean Welsh
Iowa
OG
James Daniels
Iowa
OG
Beau Benzschawel
Wisconsin
OT
Jonah Pirsig
Minnesota
OT
Nick Gates
Nebraska
Third Team Defense (Media)
DL
Dawuane Smoot
Illinois
DL
Steven Richardson
Minnesota
DL
Evan Schwan
Penn State
DL
Garrett Sickels
Penn State
LB
Riley Bullough
Michigan State
LB
Anthony Walker Jr.
Northwestern
LB
Vince Biegel
Wisconsin
DB
Godwin Igwebuike
Northwestern
DB
Gareon Conley
Ohio State
DB
D'Cota Dixon
Wisconsin
DB
Leo Musso
Wisconsin
Third Team Special Teams (Media)
K
Tyler Durbin
Ohio State
P
Ron Coluzzi
Iowa
RS
Solomon Vault
Northwestern
Media Honorable Mention:ILLINOIS: Hardy Nickerson, Joe Spencer, Malik Turner, Tre Watson; INDIANA: Marcelino Ball, Jonathan Crawford, Ricky Jones, Marcus Oliver, Mitchell Paige, Devine Redding, Nick Westbrook; IOWA: Nathan Bazata, C.J. Beathard, Ike Boettger, Cole Croston, LeShun Daniels Jr., Parker Hesse, George Kittle, Riley McCarron, Akrum Wadley; MARYLAND:Jermaine Carter, Shane Cockerille, Michael Dunn; MICHIGAN: Kenny Allen, Ben Bredeson, Jehu Chesson, Delano Hill, Mike McCray, De'Veon Smith, Dymonte Thomas; MICHIGAN STATE: Chris Frey, Darian Hicks, Montae Nicholson, Josiah Price, R.J. Shelton; MINNESOTA: Jonathan Celestin, Scott Epke,
Jack Lynn, Jalen Myrick, Damarius Travis; NEBRASKA: Tommy Armstrong Jr., Josh Banderas, Drew Brown, Cethan Carter, Ross Dzuris, Chris Jones, Kevin Maurice, Terrell Newby, De'Mornay Pierson-El (return specialist), Jordan Westerkamp; NORTHWESTERN: Garrett Dickerson, Tommy Doles, Montre Hartage, Clayton Thorson; OHIO STATE: Jerome Baker, Marcus Baugh, Noah Brown, Parris Campbell (return specialist), Michael Hill, Jalyn Holmes, Sam Hubbard, Denzel Ward, Chris Worley; PENN STATE: Marcus Allen, Brandon Bell, Jason Cabinda, Brian Gaia, Blake Gillikin, John Reid; PURDUE: Markus Bailey, Jason King, Evan Panfil, Jake Replogle, Jordan Roos, Joe Schopper; RUTGERS: Blessuan Austin; WISCONSIN: Jack Cichy, Michael Dieter, T.J. Edwards, Chikwe Obasih, Jazz Peavy, Conor Sheehy, Derrick Tindal.
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]
Trades
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 2017 draft. Please note that this is the first year where teams will be allowed to trade compensatory picks.
^No. 70: New York Jets → Minnesota (D). The
Jets traded their third-round selection (
70th) to
Minnesota in exchange for Minnesota ‘s third-round selection (
79th) and their fifth-round selection (
160th).[source 1]
^No. 74: Philadelphia → Baltimore (PD).Philadelphia traded their third-round selection (
74th) to
Baltimore in exchange for Baltimore's third-round compensatory selection (
99th) and defensive tackle
Timmy Jernigan.[source 3]
^No. 161: Washington → San Francisco (PD).Washington traded their fifth-round selection to
San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's 2017 seventh-round selection and tight end
Derek Carrier.[source 5]
The 2016 Big Ten Conference football season was the 121st season of
college football play for the
Big Ten Conference and is a part of the
2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the Big Ten's third season with 14 teams. The season marked a return to a nine-game conference schedule, something the league has not had since 1984.[2]
Penn State and
Ohio State each finished with identical 8–1 conference records, but Penn State won the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Buckeyes. Accordingly, Penn State won the East Division for the first time since the conference instituted divisions.
Wisconsin won the West Division for the fourth time in the six years the division had existed.
In the Big Ten Championship held on December 3, 2016, at
Lucas Oil Stadium in
Indianapolis, Indiana, Penn State defeated Wisconsin 38–31 to win the Big Ten.
Coaches
Coaching changes
Several Big Ten teams changed head coaches in 2016.
Tracy Claeys at Minnesota had the "interim" tag removed from his title and served as the permanent head coach.
D. J. Durkin was the new head coach at Maryland taking over for
Randy Edsall after having spent the previous year as the defensive coordinator at Michigan, while Rutgers replaced
Kyle Flood with
Chris Ash, who comes to Piscataway after serving as a co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State. In March, new Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman announced he was replacing
Bill Cubit as head football coach with
Lovie Smith.[3]
On October 16, 2016, Purdue announced they were parting ways with head coach
Darrell Hazell. Receivers coach
Gerad Parker was named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2016 season.[4] On December 5, Purdue named
Western Kentucky football coach
Jeff Brohm their next head coach.[5]
On December 1, 2016, Indiana University announced that head coach
Kevin Wilson resigned his position. Indiana associate head coach
Tom Allen was named Wilson's permanent successor.[6] On January 3, 2017, the University of Minnesota announced they were relieving head coach
Tracy Claeys of his duties.[7] Three days later, Minnesota announced the hiring of
Western Michigan coach
P. J. Fleck to take over as head coach.[8]
Head coaches
Note: All records are through the completion of the 2016 season
* Darrell Hazell was fired on Oct. 16, 2016 and Gerad Parker was named interim coach to finish the season.
** Kevin Wilson resigned as head coach at Indiana on Dec. 1, 2016 and Tom Allen was named his full-time replacement and will coach in Indiana's bowl game.
Coaches Honorable Mention:ILLINOIS: Hardy Nickerson,
Carroll Phillips; INDIANA: Marcelino Ball, Ralph Green III, Richard Lagow, Marcus Oliver, Mitchell Paige,
Devine Redding, Nick Westbrook; IOWA: Ike Boettger, LeShun Daniels Jr., Parker Hesse, George Kittle, Greg Mabin, Riley McCarron; MARYLAND: Michael Dunn; MICHIGAN: Kenny Allen (kicker), Ben Bredeson, Matt Godin, Mike McCray, De'Veon Smith, Dymonte Thomas; MICHIGAN STATE: Darian Hicks, Montae Nicholson, L.J. Scott; MINNESOTA: Shannon Brooks, Jonathan Celestin, Scott Epke, Jalen Myrick,
Drew Wolitarsky; NEBRASKA: Tommy Armstrong Jr., Josh Banderas,
Cethan Carter, Ross Dzuris, Nick Gates, Chris Jones, Kevin Maurice,
De'Mornay Pierson-El (return specialist); NORTHWESTERN: Tommy Doles,
Clayton Thorson; OHIO STATE: Jerome Baker, Marcus Baugh, Noah Brown, Michael Hill, Jayln Holmes,
Sam Hubbard, Damon Webb; PENN STATE: Brandon Bell, Brian Gaia,
Mike Gesicki, Blake Gillikin, Chris Godwin, Parker Cothren, John Reid; PURDUE:Markus Bailey,
David Blough, Jason King, Evan Panfil, Jordan Roos, Joe Schopper; RUTGERS: Tariq Cole; WISCONSIN: Jack Cichy, Michael Dieter, D'Cota Dixon,
T. J. Edwards, Alec James, Leo Musso, Chikwe Obasih, Jazz Peavy, Derrick Tindal.
Position
Player
Team
First Team Offense (Media)
QB
J. T. Barrett
Ohio State
RB
SAQUON BARKLEY
Penn State
RB
Justin Jackson
Northwestern
WR
Austin Carr
Northwestern
WR
Curtis Samuel
Ohio State
TE
Jake Butt
Michigan
C
Pat Elflein
Ohio State
OG
Dan Feeney
Indiana
OG
Billy Price
Ohio State
OT
Erik Magnuson
Michigan
OT
Ryan Ramczyk
Wisconsin
First Team Defense (Media)
DL
Carroll Phillips
Illinois
DL
Taco Charlton
Michigan
DL
Ifeadi Odenigbo
Northwestern
DL
Tyquan Lewis
Ohio State
LB
Jabrill Peppers
Michigan
LB
Raekwon McMillan
Ohio State
LB
T.J. Watt
Wisconsin
DB
Desmond King
Iowa
DB
Jourdan Lewis
Michigan
DB
Malik Hooker
Ohio State
DB
Sojourn Shelton
Wisconsin
First Team Special Teams (Media)
K
Emmit Carpenter
Minnesota
P
Cameron Johnston
Ohio State
RS
Jabrill Peppers
Michigan
Position
Player
Team
Second Team Offense (Media)
QB
Trace McSorley
Penn State
RB
Corey Clement
Wisconsin
RB
Mike Weber
Ohio State
WR
Amara Darboh
Michigan
WR
DeAngelo Yancey
Purdue
TE
Mike Gesicki
Penn State
C
Mason Cole
Michigan
OG
Kyle Kalis
Michigan
OG
Brian Allen
Michigan State
OT
Ben Braden
Michigan
OT
Jamarco Jones
Ohio State
Second Team Defense (Media)
DL
Jaleel Johnson
Iowa
DL
Ryan Glasgow
Michigan
DL
Chris Wormley
Michigan
DL
Malik McDowell
Michigan State
LB
Tegray Scales
Indiana
LB
Josey Jewell
Iowa
LB
Ben Gedeon
Michigan
DB
Rashard Fant
Indiana
DB
Channing Stribling
Michigan
DB
Nathan Gerry
Nebraska
DB
Marson Lattimore
Ohio State
Second Team Special Teams (Media)
K
Tyler Davis
Penn State
P
Kenny Allen
Michigan
RS
Desmond King
Iowa
Position
Player
Team
Third Team Offense (Media)
QB
Wilton Speight
Michigan
RB
L.J. Scott
Michigan State
RB
Rodney Smith
Minnesota
WR
Drew Wolitarsky
Minnesota
WR
Chris Godwin
Penn State
TE
Troy Fumagalli
Wisconsin
C
Sean Welsh
Iowa
OG
James Daniels
Iowa
OG
Beau Benzschawel
Wisconsin
OT
Jonah Pirsig
Minnesota
OT
Nick Gates
Nebraska
Third Team Defense (Media)
DL
Dawuane Smoot
Illinois
DL
Steven Richardson
Minnesota
DL
Evan Schwan
Penn State
DL
Garrett Sickels
Penn State
LB
Riley Bullough
Michigan State
LB
Anthony Walker Jr.
Northwestern
LB
Vince Biegel
Wisconsin
DB
Godwin Igwebuike
Northwestern
DB
Gareon Conley
Ohio State
DB
D'Cota Dixon
Wisconsin
DB
Leo Musso
Wisconsin
Third Team Special Teams (Media)
K
Tyler Durbin
Ohio State
P
Ron Coluzzi
Iowa
RS
Solomon Vault
Northwestern
Media Honorable Mention:ILLINOIS: Hardy Nickerson, Joe Spencer, Malik Turner, Tre Watson; INDIANA: Marcelino Ball, Jonathan Crawford, Ricky Jones, Marcus Oliver, Mitchell Paige, Devine Redding, Nick Westbrook; IOWA: Nathan Bazata, C.J. Beathard, Ike Boettger, Cole Croston, LeShun Daniels Jr., Parker Hesse, George Kittle, Riley McCarron, Akrum Wadley; MARYLAND:Jermaine Carter, Shane Cockerille, Michael Dunn; MICHIGAN: Kenny Allen, Ben Bredeson, Jehu Chesson, Delano Hill, Mike McCray, De'Veon Smith, Dymonte Thomas; MICHIGAN STATE: Chris Frey, Darian Hicks, Montae Nicholson, Josiah Price, R.J. Shelton; MINNESOTA: Jonathan Celestin, Scott Epke,
Jack Lynn, Jalen Myrick, Damarius Travis; NEBRASKA: Tommy Armstrong Jr., Josh Banderas, Drew Brown, Cethan Carter, Ross Dzuris, Chris Jones, Kevin Maurice, Terrell Newby, De'Mornay Pierson-El (return specialist), Jordan Westerkamp; NORTHWESTERN: Garrett Dickerson, Tommy Doles, Montre Hartage, Clayton Thorson; OHIO STATE: Jerome Baker, Marcus Baugh, Noah Brown, Parris Campbell (return specialist), Michael Hill, Jalyn Holmes, Sam Hubbard, Denzel Ward, Chris Worley; PENN STATE: Marcus Allen, Brandon Bell, Jason Cabinda, Brian Gaia, Blake Gillikin, John Reid; PURDUE: Markus Bailey, Jason King, Evan Panfil, Jake Replogle, Jordan Roos, Joe Schopper; RUTGERS: Blessuan Austin; WISCONSIN: Jack Cichy, Michael Dieter, T.J. Edwards, Chikwe Obasih, Jazz Peavy, Conor Sheehy, Derrick Tindal.
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]
Trades
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 2017 draft. Please note that this is the first year where teams will be allowed to trade compensatory picks.
^No. 70: New York Jets → Minnesota (D). The
Jets traded their third-round selection (
70th) to
Minnesota in exchange for Minnesota ‘s third-round selection (
79th) and their fifth-round selection (
160th).[source 1]
^No. 74: Philadelphia → Baltimore (PD).Philadelphia traded their third-round selection (
74th) to
Baltimore in exchange for Baltimore's third-round compensatory selection (
99th) and defensive tackle
Timmy Jernigan.[source 3]
^No. 161: Washington → San Francisco (PD).Washington traded their fifth-round selection to
San Francisco in exchange for San Francisco's 2017 seventh-round selection and tight end
Derek Carrier.[source 5]