Thursday, August 31, 2017

The 2017 College Football kicks off with a Big Ten showdown in Bloomington

Iowa will kickoff on Saturday hosting Wyoming in a B1G-MWC
showdown, as MLB 43 Josey Jewell leads the Hawkeyes defense ...


The Big Ten Conference kicks off the 122nd season, as The Ohio State Buckeyes travel to Bloomington for Big Ten opener against the Indiana Hoosiers, for the first Week One conference opener in 19 seasons.

Big Ten Football Release PDF Get Acrobat Reader
  The 122nd season of Big Ten football will commence this weekend with all 14 schools kicking off the 2017 campaign. For the first time since 1996, there will be a Big Ten matchup on the opening weekend of the season as Ohio State visits Indiana at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday. That same night, Minnesota will make its 2017 debut, playing host to Buffalo. Rutgers and Wisconsin will open the season on Friday night, as the Scarlet Knights entertain Washington and the Badgers welcome Utah State to Camp Randall. The remaining 10 schools will begin the 2017 campaign on Saturday. The complete opening weekend schedule appears to the right.
  The first Saturday of the season will feature a pair of Big Ten teams competing at neutral sites. Michigan will face Florida at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, while Purdue will take on Louisville at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
  The 2017 campaign will feature 33 All-Big Ten players (seven first-team, 12 second-team, 14 third-team) and 46 honorable mention selections from last season.
• Nearly 160 Academic-All Big Ten selections return from the 2017 season, along with 19 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars.
  The winners of five regular-season individual awards from last season will also hit the field again this fall, including Minnesota’s Emmit Carpenter, Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett and Mike Weber and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley.
  The Big Ten will continue to feature the largest bowl lineup in conference history. This season, the Big Ten’s bowl lineup will be highlighted by 16 potential bowl destinations in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Tennessee and Texas.
  Penn State was crowned Big Ten Champion last season after its 38-31 victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game. It was the Nittany Lions’ fourth Big Ten title and first since 2008. Penn State will look to repeat as conference champions for the first time in program history.
  Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin will all look to repeat as division champions this season, as the Badgers finished 7-2 to win the Big Ten West Division and the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions both completed the season with 8-1 marks to finish tied atop the East Division. Last season’s divisional crowns marked the second for Penn State, third for the Badgers and fifth for the Buckeyes.


This Week's Schedule
DATEGAMELOCATIONTIME (ET)TV
Aug. 31, 2017 Buffalo at MinnesotaMinneapolis, MN7:00 pm   BTN
 Ohio State at IndianaBloomington, IN8:00 pm   ESPN
Sep. 1, 2017 Washington at RutgersPiscataway, NJ8:00 pm   FS1
 Utah St. at WisconsinMadison, WI9:00 pm   ESPN
Sep. 2, 2017 Ball State at IllinoisChampaign, IL12:00 pm   BTN
 Wyoming at IowaIowa City, IA12:00 pm   BTN
 Bowling Green at Michigan StateEast Lansing, MI12:00 pm   ESPNU
 Akron at Penn StateUniversity Park, PA12:00 pm   ABC
 Maryland at TexasAustin, TX12:00 pm   FS1
 Michigan at FloridaAT&T Stadium, Dallas, TX3:30 pm   ABC
 Nevada at NorthwesternEvanston, IL3:30 pm   BTN
 Louisville at PurdueIndianapolis, Ind.7:30 pm   FOX
 Arkansas St. at NebraskaLincoln, NE8:00 pm   BTN


Ranking the Big Ten heading into 2017 ...
  1. Penn State - defending champions look to repeat in Year 4 under James Franklin ...
  2. Ohio State - Urban Meyer's seventh season is primed for a B1G run and another birth in the CFP, but over the past two season, the Buckeyes have fallen once and missed out in Indy!
  3. Wisconsin - consistency has become a staple for AD Barry Alvarez's Badgers, who begin Year 3 under Paul Chryst.
  4. Michigan - Jim Harbaugh opens 2017 with only five starters back, as the Wolverines look to climb the B1G ladder in Year 3 ...
  5. Northwestern - could this be the year for the Wildcats and Pat Fitzgerald to break out in the B1G West?
  6. Michigan State - this may appear to be a little high, but Mark Dantonio is looking to rebound, after 1-8 campaign last season.
  7. Iowa - the Hawkeyes are home to the dean of college football, as Kirk Ferentz enters his 19th season at the helm ...
  8. Nebraska - the Mike Riley era turns 3, with a new QB, Tanner Lee, new DC, Bobby Diaco, with a new 3-4 defense to unveil in Lincoln ...
  9. Indiana - new head coach Tom Allen hosts his former boss, new Ohio State OC Kevin Wilson, in the biggest game in Bloomington, since the 1967 championship season, 50 years ago!
  10. Maryland - D.J. Durkin enters Year 2, with a challenging road trip to Austin ...
  11. Minnesota - the P.J. Fleck era begins, with some urban renewal needed, as the row the boat mantra moves from the MAC to the Big Ten ...
  12. Purdue - the Jeff Brohm era begins, with a match up against his alma mater in Indianapolis ...
  13. Illinois - Lovie Smith enters Year 2 with questions in the trenches ...
  14. Rutgers - there is a lot of work to do, entering Year 2 under Chris Ash ...
  • Does the Big Ten get a team in the College Football Playoff in 2017?
  • Alabama vs. Florida State is a heck of kickoff match up on Saturday
  • Can the Big 12 get back into the CFP picture in 2017?
  • Can Clemson stay on top, after winning it all in 2017?
  • Does the Pac 12 keep improving in 2017?
  • Does anyone other than Alabama represent the SEC nationally?
It should be a great kickoff weekend in 2017 ...