2021 Big Ten Conference football season

2021 Big Ten Conference football season
LeagueNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
SportFootball
DurationAugust 28, 2021
through January 1, 2022
Number of teams14
TV partner(s)Fox Sports (Fox/FS1, Big Ten Network), ESPN (ESPN, ESPN2, ABC)
2022 NFL Draft
Top draft pickAidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan
Picked byDetroit Lions, 2nd overall
Regular season
Season MVPAidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan
East Division championsMichigan & Ohio State[1] (co-champions)
West Division championsIowa
Big Ten Championship Game
ChampionsMichigan
  Runners-upIowa
Finals MVPAidan Hutchinson, DE, Michigan
Football seasons
← 2020
2022 →
2021 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 3 Michigan xy$^   8 1     12 2  
No. 6 Ohio State x   8 1     11 2  
No. 9 Michigan State   7 2     11 2  
Penn State   4 5     7 6  
Maryland   3 6     7 6  
Rutgers   2 7     5 8  
Indiana   0 9     2 10  
West Division
No. 23 Iowa xy   7 2     10 4  
Minnesota   6 3     9 4  
Wisconsin   6 3     9 4  
Purdue   6 3     9 4  
Illinois   4 5     5 7  
Nebraska   1 8     3 9  
Northwestern   1 8     3 9  
Championship: Michigan 42, Iowa 3
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2021 Big Ten conference football season was the 126th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and part of the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the Big Ten's eighth season with 14 teams. The league's champion was Michigan.

With a win on November 26 over Nebraska, and a loss by Wisconsin on November 27, Iowa won the Big Ten West division.[2] With a win over Ohio State on November 27[3] Michigan clinched a share of the Big Ten East division championship and a spot in the Big Ten Championship game against Iowa on December 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium.[4]

Nine Big Ten teams were bowl-eligible at the completion of the regular season: Iowa, Maryland, Michigan (CFP), Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, and Wisconsin.[5] A tenth, Rutgers, was added by NCAA contingency plans on December 23 as Texas A&M withdrew from the Gator Bowl, and with no bowl eligible teams available, the NCAA chose their replacement using Academic Progress Rate regulations.

  1. ^ "Ohio State Earns Share of East Division Title". BigTen.org. November 20, 2021. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  2. ^ Peterson, Chloe. "How the West was won: Iowa football wins Big Ten West outright". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  3. ^ VanHaaren, Tom (November 27, 2021). "Wolverines batter Buckeyes, clinch Big Ten East". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  4. ^ Horner, Scott. "Michigan vs. Iowa: Big Ten football championship TV, odds, fan events". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  5. ^ "College football bowl projections: Team eligibility tracker by conference for 2021-22 bowl games". CBSSports.com. November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.