1985 Big Ten Conference football season
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| 1985 Big Ten Conference football season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | NCAA Division I-A |
| Sport | Football |
| Teams | 10 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC, CBS, PASS, SportsVision |
| Top draft pick | Jim Everett |
| Champion | Iowa |
| Runners-up | Michigan |
| Season MVP | Chuck Long |
| Top scorer | Lorenzo White |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 10 Iowa $ | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Michigan | 6 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 5 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 Ohio State | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1985 Big Ten Conference football season was the 90th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season.
The 1985 Big Ten champion was the 1985 Iowa Hawkeyes football team. The Hawkeyes began the season 7-0 and rose to the No. 1 ranking, including a 12–10 win over No. 2 Michigan at Kinnick Stadium, before losing to Ohio State. Iowa entered the Rose Bowl at 10–1 with an outside shot at a national championship, but were upset by UCLA in the 1986 Rose Bowl, 45–28. Iowa quarterback Chuck Long received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the conference's most valuable player. Long and linebacker Larry Station were consensus first-team All-Americans.
The 1985 Michigan Wolverines football team finished in second place in the Big Ten, compiled a 10–1–1 record, defeated Nebraska in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl, and was ranked No. 2 in the final AP and Coaches Polls. Quarterback Jim Harbaugh set a school record with 1,976 passing yards, and Jamie Morris rushed for 1,030 yards. Led by consensus first-team All-Americans Mike Hammerstein at defensive tackle and Brad Cochran at cornerback, the defense tallied three shutouts, gave up only 75 points in 11 regular season games (6.8 points per game), and led the nation in scoring defense. Bo Schembechler was selected as Big Ten Coach of the Year.
The 1985 Ohio State Buckeyes football team compiled a 9–3 record, defeated BYU in the 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl, and was ranked No. 11 in the final Coaches Poll. Linebackers Chris Spielman and Pepper Johnson both received first-team All-American honors. Wide receiver Cris Carter had 950 receiving yards and received first-team All-Big Ten honors.
Running back Lorenzo White of Michigan State led the conference in both rushing (2,066 yards) and scoring (102 points) and was a consensus first-team All-American. Wide receiver David Williams of Illinois was also a consensus first-team All-American.
Results and team statistics
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa | Hayden Fry | #10 | #1 | 10–2 | 7–1 | 36.7 | 15.6 | Chuck Long |
| 2 | Michigan | Bo Schembechler | #2 | #2 | 10–1–1 | 6–1–1 | 28.5 | 8.2 | Mike Hammerstein |
| 3 | Illinois | Mike White | NR | #11 | 6–5–1 | 5–2–1 | 25.3 | 27.8 | David Williams |
| 4 | Ohio State | Earle Bruce | #14 | #3 | 9–3 | 5–3 | 27.1 | 17.7 | Jim Karsatos |
| 5 | Michigan State | George Perles | NR | NR | 7–5 | 5–3 | 21.5 | 18.3 | Lorenzo White |
| 6 | Minnesota | Lou Holtz | NR | #20 | 7–5 | 4–4 | 24.4 | 20.0 | Rickey Foggie |
| 7 | Purdue | Leon Burtnett | NR | NR | 5–6 | 3–5 | 26.1 | 27.8 | Jim Everett |
| 8 | Wisconsin | Dave McClain | NR | NR | 5–6 | 2–6 | 21.0 | 23.9 | Larry Emery |
| 9 | Indiana | Bill Mallory | NR | NR | 4–7 | 1–7 | 22.8 | 30.9 | Bobby Howard |
| 10 | Northwestern | Dennis Green | NR | NR | 3–8 | 1–7 | 15.5 | 30.2 | |
Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1985 season[1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1985 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold
Pre-season
Regular season
Bowl games
Six Big Ten teams played in bowl games:
- Iowa lost to UCLA, 45–28, in the 1986 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
- Michigan defeated Nebraska, 27–23, in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona.
- Michigan State lost to Georgia Tech, 17–14, in the 1985 Hall of Fame Classic in Birmingham, Alabama.
- Illinois lost to Army, 31–29, in the 1985 Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia.
- Ohio State defeated BYU, 10–7, in the 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
- Minnesota defeated Clemson, 20–13, in the 1985 Independence Bowl, in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Rankings
Statistical leaders
The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders include the following:[1]
Passing yards1. Jim Everett, Purdue (3,651) Rushing yards1. Lorenzo White, Michigan State (2,066) Receiving yards1. Rodney Carter, Purdue (1,099) Total offense1. Jim Everett, Purdue (3,589) |
Passing efficiency rating1. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan (157.9) Rushing yards per attempt1. Joe Armentrout, Wisconsin (6.4) Yards per reception1. Mark Ingram Sr., Michigan State (21.9) Points scored1. Lorenzo White, Michigan State (102) |