2011 Big Ten Conference football season

The 2011 Big Ten Conference football season is the 116th and current season for the Big Ten

Big Ten Conference

The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

. The conference started its season on Saturday, September 3, as each of the conference’s teams began their respective 2011 season

2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level, began on Thursday, September 1, 2011...

of NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) competition. This season is Nebraska's

Nebraska Cornhuskers football

The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...

first season as a member of the Big Ten, and also marks the creation of conference divisions (named Leaders and Legends), and a championship game.

Rankings

		Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13
Illinois	AP				24	24	19	16	23	RV
	C				RV	22	16	15	21	RV
	HAR	Not released						14	20	RV	RV
	BCS	Not released							23
Indiana	AP
	C
	HAR	Not released
	BCS	Not released
Iowa	AP	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV				RV			RV
	HAR	Not released								RV
	BCS	Not released
Michigan	AP	RV	RV	RV	22	19	12	11	18	17	13	22	20	17	17
	C	RV	RV	RV	21	19	11	10	17	17	13	21	18	16	16
	HAR	Not released						10	17	16	13	21	18	16	16
	BCS	Not released							18	18	15	24	18	15	16
Michigan State	AP	17	17	15	RV	RV	RV	23	15	9	15	13	12	11	11
	C	17	16	15	23	25	20	19	13	10	16	13	12	10	9
	HAR	Not released						22	15	11	17	13	12	11	11
	BCS	Not released							16	11	17	17	15	14	11
Minnesota	AP
	C
	HAR	Not released
	BCS	Not released
Nebraska	AP	10	10	10	9	8	14	14	13	13	9	18	16	21	19
	C	11	10	10	9	8	15	14	11	13	9	17	16	22	19
	HAR	Not released						13	11	13	9	17	16	21	19
	BCS	Not released							13	14	10	19	16	21	20
Northwestern	AP	RV	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	HAR	Not released
	BCS	Not released
Ohio State	AP	18	15	17	RV	RV					RV
	C	16	15	16	RV	RV	RV				RV
	HAR	Not released									RV
	BCS	Not released
Penn State	AP	RV	23	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	21	16	12	21	20	23
	C	25	20	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	22	19	15	12	21	19	22
	HAR	Not released						RV	24	19	16	12	19	18	22
	BCS	Not released							21	19	16	12	21	19	23
Purdue	AP
	C
	HAR	Not released
	BCS	Not released
Wisconsin	AP	11	8	7	6	7	4	4	4	12	19	16	15	15	15
	C	10	9	8	7	7	5	4	4	11	17	14	13	12	12
	HAR	Not released						4	4	12	18	14	13	14	13
	BCS	Not released							6	15	20	18	17	16	12

**Legend**
		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
		No change in ranking from previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll

Spring games

April 9

Purdue Boilermakers

April 16

Indiana Hoosiers
Iowa Hawkeyes
Michigan Wolverines
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Northwestern Wildcats
Penn State Nittany Lions

April 23

Illinois Fighting Illini
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Ohio State Buckeyes
Wisconsin Badgers

April 30

Michigan State Spartans

Attendance

Attendance>

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Game 8	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Illinois	Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (Champaign) thumb\|right\|300px\|Original plan for Memorial Stadium circa 1921. Caption from [[Popular Mechanics]] Magazine, 1921Memorial Stadium is a football stadium located in Champaign, Illinois, in the United States, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The stadium is dedicated as...	60,670	45,154	42,212	50,669	43,684	53,243	55,229	60,670	54,633	405,494	50,687	83.5%
Indiana	Memorial Stadium	52,929	41,549	41,203	42,621	41,665	39,239	42,005			248,282	41,380	78.2%
Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Kinnick Stadium Kinnick Stadium, formerly known as Iowa Stadium, and known in the area simply as Kinnick, is a stadium located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the home stadium of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, in the sport of college football...	70,585	70,585	70,585	70,585	70,585	70,585	70,585	70,585		494,095	70,585	100%
Michigan	Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan Stadium was built in 1927 at a cost of $950,000 and had an original capacity of 72,000. Before playing football at the stadium, the Wolverines played on Ferry Field...	109,901	110,506	114,804	110,343	110,707	111,106	112,115	113,718	114,132	897,431	112,179	102%
Michigan State	Spartan Stadium Spartan Stadium (East Lansing) Spartan Stadium opened in 1923 in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of the Michigan State University Spartans...	75,005	75,910	70,249	72,119	77,515	76,405	72,219	74,128		518,545	74,078	98.8%
Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium TCF Bank Stadium TCF Bank Stadium, sometimes referred to as either "The Bank" or "The Gopher Hole," is the football stadium for the Minnesota Golden Gophers college football team at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota...	50,805	48,807	49,950	48,802	49,187	46,543	49,158	41,549		333,996	47,714	93.9%
Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium, Lincoln Memorial Stadium is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team....	81,067	84,883	85,101	85,110	85,426	85,641	85,115	85,595		596,871	85,267	105%
Northwestern	Ryan Field	47,130	28,042	47,330	40,004	26,886	26,215	27,137			195,614	32,602	69.1%
Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Ohio Stadium Ohio Stadium is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is located on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The stadium was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on March 22, 1974...	102,329	105,001	105,016	105,096	105,306	105,511	105,159	105,493		736,582	105 226	102.8%
Penn State	Beaver Stadium Beaver Stadium Beaver Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, on the campus of The Pennsylvania State University. It is home to the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference. The stadium is named for James A...	107,282	96,461	107,846	95,636	103,497	100,820	97,828	107,193		709,281	101,326	94.4%
Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium Ross-Ade Stadium Ross–Ade Stadium is a stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States. It is the home of the Purdue University Boilermakers football team.-History:...	62,500	42,110	46,116	61,555	38,207	45,146	43,334	40,106		316,574	45,225	72.3%
Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Camp Randall Stadium Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a complete stadium since 1917. It is located on the center-southern region of the University of Wisconsin campus. The stadium seats...	80,312	77,085	80,337	78,880	81,384	80,732	79,708			478,126	79,688	99.2%

Head coaches

Ron Zook
Ron Zook
Ron Zook is a former American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2004 and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2005 to 2011. Zook is a native of Ohio and an alumnus of Miami University, where he...

, Illinois
Kevin Wilson
Kevin R. Wilson
Kevin R. Wilson is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers.-Playing career:Wilson played offensive line and linebacker at Maiden High School...

, Indiana
Kirk Ferentz
Kirk Ferentz
Kirk James Ferentz is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the University of Iowa, a position he has held since 1999. From 1990 to 1992, Ferentz was the head football coach at the University of Maine. He has also served as an assistant coach...

, Iowa
Brady Hoke
Brady Hoke
Brady Hoke is the head football coach at the University of Michigan. He is in his first season. He grew up in Ohio and attended Ball State University where he played linebacker from 1977 to 1980...

, Michigan
Mark Dantonio
Mark Dantonio
Mark Dantonio is the current head football coach at Michigan State University. He was hired on November 27, 2006 and became the 24th head coach at Michigan State. He is credited for winning the 2010 Big Ten Championship and his 4 game win streak over arch-rival Michigan...

, Michigan State
Jerry Kill
Jerry Kill
Jerry Kill is the head football coach at the University of Minnesota. Before assuming this position with the Golden Gophers in December 2010, Kill served as the head coach at Saginaw Valley State University , Emporia State University , Southern Illinois University Carbondale , and Northern...

, Minnesota

Bo Pelini
Bo Pelini
Mark "Bo" Pelini is the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He had previously been defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers...

, Nebraska
Pat Fitzgerald
Pat Fitzgerald
-External links:*...

, Northwestern
Luke Fickell
Luke Fickell
-External links:*...

, Ohio State
Joe Paterno
Joe Paterno
Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno is a former college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for 46 years from 1966 through 2011. Paterno, nicknamed "JoePa," holds the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football coach with...

(first nine games)/Tom Bradley
Tom Bradley (American football)
-External links:*...

(last three games), Penn State
Danny Hope
Danny Hope
-External links:*...

, Purdue
Bret Bielema
Bret Bielema
-Personal life:Bielema announced on April 1, 2011 that he was engaged to his girlfriend, Jen. The wedding is scheduled for spring 2012.-External links:* *...

, Wisconsin

Joe Paterno was fired as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State Nittany Lions football

The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...

on November 9 in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal

Penn State sex abuse scandal

The Penn State sex abuse scandal refers to allegations that former Pennsylvania State University football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulted or had inappropriate contact with at least eight underage boys on or near university property...

. Defensive Coordinator Tom Bradley was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

External links

Big Ten Football website

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