| 2018 Big Ten Conference football season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision |
| Sport | Football |
| Duration | August 30, 2018 through January 2019 |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Inc., Big Ten Network, FOX, FS1 |
| 2019 NFL Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Nick Bosa (Ohio State) |
| Picked by | San Francisco 49ers, 2nd overall |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Dwayne Haskins, OSU |
| East Division champions | Ohio State & Michigan (co-champions) |
| West Division champions | Northwestern |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | Ohio State |
| Runners-up | Northwestern |
| Finals MVP | Dwayne Haskins |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Ohio State xy$ | 8 | – | 1 | 13 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 Michigan x | 8 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 Penn State | 6 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 5 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 3 | – | 6 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 2 | – | 7 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 0 | – | 9 | 1 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Northwestern xy | 8 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 5 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 Iowa | 5 | – | 4 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 5 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 3 | – | 6 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 3 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 2 | – | 7 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Ohio State 45, Northwestern 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2018 Big Ten conference football season was the 123rd season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and was part of the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
This was the Big Ten's fifth season with 14 teams. The defending league champion was Ohio State. The 2018 season consisted of a nine–game conference schedule for the third year in a row.[1]
The Big Ten had one new coach for the 2018 season, with Nebraska hiring alumnus Scott Frost. Frost came to Nebraska after having coached UCF to an undefeated 13–0 season in 2017.
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer was suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season by Ohio State for the mishandling of a situation involving domestic abuse charges against former assistant coach Zach Smith. Ohio State offensive coordinator Ryan Day served as acting head coach for the first three games of the 2018 season.[2]
Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin was placed on administrative leave on August 11, 2018 due to the death of a player on his team, Jordan McNair, during summer workouts.[3] On October 30, the school reinstated Durkin to his role as head coach, and was set to rejoin the team in Week #10.[4] However, after a lot of negative reaction, a day later the University of Maryland decided to fire DJ Durkin.[5]
Ohio State and Michigan shared the East Division title, but Ohio State advances to the championship game by virtue of its head-to-head win in the regular season finale. Northwestern clinched the West Division title on November 10. The Buckeyes went on to defeat the Wildcats in the conference championship game in Indianapolis by a score of 45-24 to win their second consecutive Big Ten championship and 37th conference crown in program history.
Nine Big Ten programs advanced to bowl games, with Ohio State and Michigan earning New Year's Six bowl bids in the Rose and Peach Bowls, respectively.
On December 4, 2018, Ohio State announced that head coach Urban Meyer would be stepping down following the Buckeyes' appearance in the Rose Bowl and that offensive coordinator Ryan Day, who served as interim head coach for the first three games of the season, would become the next head coach at Ohio State.[6]
- ^ "Big Ten Announces 2018 and 2019 Conference Football Schedules". Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ "Ohio State suspends Urban Meyer for three games". Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ "Maryland Suspends Football Coach D.J. Durkin After Report of Abuse". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ Markus, Don. "Coach DJ Durkin reinstated at Maryland, expected to be back on sideline against Michigan State". Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ "Maryland fires coach Durkin after reinstatement". Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- ^ "Urban Meyer to retire after Rose Bowl, with Ryan Day taking over as Buckeyes head coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 4, 2018.