| 1977 Big Ten Conference football season | |
|---|---|
| Sport | American football |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Top draft pick | Chris Ward |
| Co-champions | Michigan, Ohio State |
| Runners-up | Michigan State |
| Season MVP | Larry Bethea |
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Michigan + | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 Ohio State + | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 6 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 1 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1977 Big Ten Conference football season was the 82nd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1977 NCAA Division I football season.
The 1977 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, compiled a 10–2 record, tied for the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring offense (29.4 points per games), lost to Washington in the 1978 Rose Bowl, and was ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll and No. 8 in the final UPI Poll. Rick Leach totaled 1,109 passing yards and 370 rushing yards and finished eighth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. Russell Davis led the team with 1,013 rushing yards and finished second in the voting for the Chicago Tribune Silver Football. Three Michigan players received first-team honors on the 1977 College Football All-America Team: (1) offensive guard Mark Donahue (consensus); (2) center Walt Downing; and (3) linebacker John Anderson.
The 1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, compiled a 9–3 record, tied with Michigan for the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring defense (10.0 points allowed per game), lost to Alabama in the 1978 Sugar Bowl, and was ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll. Ron Springs led the conference with 1,166 rushing yards. Four Ohio State players received first-team All-America honors: offensive tackle Chris Ward (consensus); linebacker Tom Cousineau (consensus); middle guard Aaron Brown; and defensive back Ray Griffin.
Mark Herrmann of Purdue led the conference with 2,453 passing yards. Defensive end Larry Bethea of Michigan State won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player.