2009 Big Ten Conference football season

2009 Big Ten Conference football season
LeagueNCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sportfootball
DurationSeptember 3, 2009
through January 7, 2010
Number of teams11
TV partner(s)ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Big Ten Network
2010 NFL Draft
Top draft pickBrandon Graham (Michigan)
Picked byPhiladelphia Eagles, 1st round (13th overall)
Regular Season
ChampionOhio State
  Runners-upIowa / Penn State
Season MVPBrandon Graham / Daryll Clark
Football seasons
← 2008
2010 →
2009 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 5 Ohio State $   7 1     11 2  
No. 7 Iowa %   6 2     11 2  
No. 9 Penn State   6 2     11 2  
Northwestern   5 3     8 5  
No. 16 Wisconsin   5 3     10 3  
Michigan State   4 4     6 7  
Purdue   4 4     5 7  
Minnesota   3 5     6 7  
Illinois   2 6     3 9  
Michigan   1 7     5 7  
Indiana   1 7     4 8  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2009 Big Ten Conference football season was the 114th for the conference, and saw Ohio State conclude the regular season as Big Ten Conference champion for the 5th consecutive time, their 34th Big Ten title. This earned them the conference's automatic selection to a Bowl Championship Series game in which it emerged victorious in the January 1, 2010 Rose Bowl against Oregon Ducks. Co-runner-up, Iowa, earned the conference's at-large BCS invitation to the January 5, 2010 Orange Bowl. The season started on Thursday, September 3, as conference member Indiana hosted Eastern Kentucky. The conference’s other 10 teams began their respective 2009 season of NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) competition two days later.[1] All teams started their season at home except Illinois who started their season on neutral turf for the third consecutive season against Missouri and Minnesota who traveled to Syracuse.[2]

Although several players had post season All-star games remaining, the season concluded for Big Ten teams with the 2010 Orange Bowl in which Iowa defeated Georgia Tech. This was the seventh bowl game for the conference which compiled a 4–3 record. Over the course of 77 home games, the conference set a new attendance record. During the season, Minnesota opened a new athletic stadium, TCF Bank Stadium, and Purdue welcomed a new head coach, Danny Hope.

The season saw John Clay selected as offensive player of the year by both the coaches and the media. Jared Odrick and Greg Jones won defensive player of the year awards from the coaches and media, respectively. Chicago Tribune Silver Football recipients as the Big Ten co-MVPs were Daryll Clark and Brandon Graham. Jones was the conferences only consensus 2009 College Football All-America Team representative. The Big Ten Conference enjoyed two national statistical championships. Graham led the nation in tackles for a loss (TFL). Ray Fisher earned the national statistical championship in kickoff return average and established a new Big Ten single-season record with his performance. The Big Ten led the nation with six first team Academic All-Americans. After the season, 34 athletes were selected in the 2010 NFL Draft including three in the first round and six each by Iowa and Penn State.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference OSNPFf2FS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Big Ten Weekly Football Release - Preseason: Big Ten set to kick off 114th year of football on Sept. 3 and Sept. 5". CBS Interactive. August 3, 2009. Archived from the original on August 13, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2009.