Conference action continues this week, with five Big Ten contests highlighted by four divisional matchups. Indiana, Maryland, Purdue and Wisconsin will enjoy byes this week, with the complete schedule appearing to the right.
• Two Big Ten teams remain undefeated on the season, as Michigan and Ohio State are both 7-0. The Wolverines and Buckeyes are both undefeated in conference play at 4-0.
• Four Big Ten teams appear in the AP Poll this week, highlighted by two of the top five teams. Ohio State leads the conference at No. 2, followed by No. 4 Michigan, No. 13 Penn State and No. 17 Illinois, with Maryland also receiving votes.
• Michigan and Ohio State are two of only three teams in the country with top-10 rankings in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Wolverines rank third defensively and sixth offensively, while the Buckeyes check in at second offensively and fifth defensively. The only other team to appear in the top 10 of both categories is Georgia.
• With its 54-10 win against Iowa, Ohio State has now scored at least 45 points in six straight games, the longest streak by a Big Ten team since 1903. Quarterback C.J. Stroud threw four touchdown passes in the contest, marking the 12th time in his career that he has thrown for at least four scores to pass J.T. Barrett for the most in school history. Stroud has thrown at least two touchdown passes in 12 straight games, the third-longest streak by a Big Ten player since 2000.
• Michigan is 7-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1974-75. It is the third time under head coach Jim Harbaugh that the Wolverines have started with a 7-0 mark to begin the season (2016, ‘21).
• Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford completed 23-of-31 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns against Minnesota to become the career completions leader at Penn State. He also tied a career high with four touchdown passes in the contest.
• Illinois leads the nation in both scoring defense (8.9 points allowed per game) and total defense (221.1 yards allowed per game). The Illini also rank in the top three nationally in both relative scoring defense (second) and relative total defense (third).
• Led by running back Chase Brown, Illinois ranks fourth nationally in relative rushing offense and 14th in the country in relative total offense. Brown leads the nation with 1,059 rushing yards this season, with 619 of those yards coming after contact.
• Maryland has scored at least 27 points in a school-record 10 consecutive games dating back to last season’s final two contests. The Terps have also won 16 games in a row when scoring 30 or more points. Freshman running back Roman Hemby leads all Big Ten freshmen with seven rushing touchdowns this season.
• With its 24-17 victory against Indiana, Rutgers improved to 56-6 under head coach Greg Schiano when allowing less than 20 points in a game, 57-19 when winning the turnover battle, 58-9 when having more rushing yards and 27-3 when allowing no sacks. Rutgers leads the Big Ten and is third in the country with four blocked kicks, while the punt team has allowed -8 return yards on the season, second-best nationally.
• Iowa’s Jack Campbell was named a finalist for the 2022 William V. Campbell Trophy on Oct. 26. Now in its 33rd year, the Campbell Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s top football scholar-athlete. Each of the 15 finalists, chosen from a group of 156 semifinalists, will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2022 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 6, where one member of the class will be declared as the winner of the 33rd Campbell Trophy and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
• The 2022 Big Ten Football Championship Game will be played at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 3, at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium and will be televised nationally on FOX. The winner will earn the Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy and a chance to play in one of the six bowls that comprise the College Football Playoff, including the Rose Bowl Game.
• The 2022 campaign features 94 All-Big Ten honorees (first-, second-, third-team or honorable mention) selected by either the coaches or the media last season. Ohio State leads the way, welcoming back 17 All-Big Ten honorees this season. Each team has at least one All-Big Ten performer returning this season, with 56 of the 94 returning All-Big Ten players coming from the East Division.
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