2019 Big Ten Conference football season

2019 Big Ten Conference football season
LeagueNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
SportFootball
DurationAugust 29, 2019
through January 2020
Number of teams14
TV partner(s)ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Inc., Big Ten Network, FOX, FS1
2020 NFL Draft
Top draft pickChase Young (Ohio State)
Picked byWashington Redskins, 2nd overall
Regular season
Season MVPChase Young, OSU
East Division championsOhio State
West Division championsWisconsin
Championship Game
ChampionsOhio State
  Runners-upWisconsin
Finals MVPJustin Fields
Football seasons
← 2018
2020 →
2019 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 3 Ohio State xy$^   9 0     13 1  
No. 9 Penn State   7 2     11 2  
No. 18 Michigan   6 3     9 4  
Indiana   5 4     8 5  
Michigan State   4 5     7 6  
Maryland   1 8     3 9  
Rutgers   0 9     2 10  
West Division
No. 11 Wisconsin xy   7 2     10 4  
No. 10 Minnesota x   7 2     11 2  
No. 15 Iowa   6 3     10 3  
Illinois   4 5     6 7  
Purdue   3 6     4 8  
Nebraska   3 6     5 7  
Northwestern   1 8     3 9  
Championship: Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 21
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2019 Big Ten conference football season was the 124th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and was part of the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

This was the Big Ten's sixth season with 14 teams. The defending league champion was Ohio State. The 2019 season consisted of a nine-game conference schedule for the fourth year in a row.[1]

The Big Ten had two new coaches for the 2019 season. Ohio State promoted offensive coordinator Ryan Day to head coach, replacing Urban Meyer who retired at the end of the 2018 season.[2] Maryland also had a new coach for 2019, hiring Mike Locksley to replace D. J. Durkin, who was fired in 2018[3] ultimately due to the events that led to the death of player Jordan McNair.

The first coaching change during the 2019 season came on September 29, 2019 when Rutgers dismissed Chris Ash. Tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile served as interim coach for the remainder of the 2019 season.[4] Then on December 1, Rutgers announced that former coach Greg Schiano would return to coach the team in 2020.[5]

On the field of play, Ohio State won the East Division title and made their fifth appearance in the Big Ten Football Championship Game and third consecutive appearance. In the West Division, Wisconsin and Minnesota tied for the division title, but the Badgers represented the division in the conference title game due to their head-to-head win over the Golden Gophers. Wisconsin made their sixth appearance in the conference title game overall. In that championship game, Ohio State defeated Wisconsin 34-21 to win their third consecutive Big Ten championship. With that win, the Buckeyes landed a spot in the 2019-20 College Football Playoff as the #2 seed.[6]

  1. ^ "Big Ten Announces 2018 and 2019 Conference Football Schedules". Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  2. ^ Ryan Day, Ohio State agree to five-year contract
  3. ^ Collins, David; Hepkins, Andre; Sanudsky, Gerry (November 1, 2018). "UMd. fires head football coach DJ Durkin". WBAL TV 11. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  4. ^ "Rutgers Athletics Announces Change in Football Leadership". www.scarletknights.com. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  5. ^ "Rutgers, Greg Schiano reach agreement for former Knights coach to return". www.cbssports.com. December 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  6. ^ "Ohio State drops to No. 2, LSU up to No. 1 in final College Football Playoff rankings: See social media reaction". December 8, 2019.