1985 Big Ten Conference football season

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.

1985 Big Ten Conference football season
LeagueNCAA Division I-A
SportFootball
Number of teams10
Top draft pickJim Everett
ChampionIowa
Runners-upMichigan
Season MVPChuck Long
Top scorerLorenzo White
1985 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

Season overview

Results and team statistics
Conf. Rank Team Head coach AP final AP high Overall record Conf. record PPG PAG MVP
1IowaHayden Fry#10#110–27–136.715.6Chuck Long
2MichiganBo Schembechler#2#210–1–16–1–128.58.2Mike Hammerstein
3IllinoisMike WhiteNR#116–5–15–2–125.327.8David Williams
4Ohio StateEarle Bruce#14#39–35–327.117.7Jim Karsatos
5Michigan StateGeorge PerlesNRNR7–55–321.518.3Lorenzo White
6MinnesotaLou HoltzNR#207–54–424.420.0Rickey Foggie
7PurdueLeon BurtnettNRNR5–63–526.127.8Jim Everett
8WisconsinDave McClainNRNR5–62–621.023.9Larry Emery
9IndianaBill MalloryNRNR4–71–722.830.9Bobby Howard
10NorthwesternDennis GreenNRNR3–81–715.530.2

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:

Rankings
Main article: 1985 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Statistical leaders

The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders include the following:[1]

Awards and honors

All-conference players
For the complete All-Big Ten selections, see 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[2][3][4]

Offense

Position Name Team Selectors
QuarterbackChuck LongIowaAP, UPI
Running backLorenzo WhiteMichigan StateAP, UPI
Running backRonnie HarmonIowaAP, UPI
Running backRodney CarterPurdueUPI
CenterBob MaggsOhio StateAP, UPI
GuardJim JurigaIllinoisAP, UPI
GuardJohn WojciechowskiMichigan StateAP
GuardBob LandseeWisconsinUPI
TackleMike HaightIowaAP, UPI
TackleClay MillerMichiganAP
TackleRory GravesOhio StateUPI
Tight endEric KattusMichiganAP
ReceiverDavid WilliamsIllinoisAP, UPI
ReceiverCris CarterOhio StateAP, UPI

Defense

Position Name Team Selectors
Defensive lineJeff DrostIowaAP, UPI
Defensive lineMike HammersteinMichiganAP, UPI
Defensive lineHap PetersonIowaAP, UPI
Defensive lineMark MessnerMichiganAP
Defensive lineGuy TeafatilerIllinoisUPI
LinebackerPepper JohnsonOhio StateAP, UPI
LinebackerMike MalloryMichiganAP, UPI
LinebackerChris SpielmanOhio StateAP, UPI
LinebackerLarry StationIowaAP, UPI
Defensive backBrad CochranMichiganAP, UPI
Defensive backRod WoodsonPurdueAP, UPI
Defensive backJay NorvellIowaAP
Defensive backPhil ParkerMichigan StateUPI

Special Teams

Position Name Team Selectors
PlacekickerRob HoughtlinIowaAP
PlacekickerChris WhiteIllinoisUPI
PunterGreg MontgomeryMichigan StateAP
PunterTom TupaOhio StateUPI

All-Americans
For the complete All-America selections, see 1985 College Football All-America Team.

At the end of the season, five Big Ten players were consensus first-team picks for the 1985 College Football All-America Team.[5] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

Position Name Team Selectors
QuarterbackChuck LongIowaAFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCFF, GNS, NEA, SH, TSN
Running backLorenzo WhiteMichigan StateAFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCFF, GNS, NEA, SH, TSN
Wide receiverDavid WilliamsIllinoisAFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCFF, NEA, SH, TSN
LinebackerLarry StationIowaAFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCFF, NEA, SH
Defensive tackleMike HammersteinMichiganAFCA, AP, UPI, GNS, NEA, SH
Defensive backBrad CochranMichiganAFCA, FWAA, UPI, WCFF, SH

Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

Position Name Team Selectors
LinebackerPepper JohnsonOhio StateUPI
LinebackerChris SpielmanOhio StateNEA
Defensive backRod WoodsonPurdueNEA

Other awards

Three Big Ten players finished among the top six in voting for the Heisman Trophy: Iowa quarterback Chuck Long (second, trailing Bo Jackson by one percent); Michigan State running back Lorenzo White (fourth); and Purdue quarterback Jim Everett (sixth).[6]

Chuck Long and Lorenzo White tied for the Big Ten Player of the Year award.[1] Long received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award.

Bo Schembechler of Michigan received the Big Ten Coach of the Year award.[1]

1986 NFL Draft

The 1986 NFL Draft was held April 29-30, 1986. The following Big Ten players were selected in the first round of the draft:[7]

Name Position Team Round Overall pick
Jim EverettQuarterbackPurdue13
Anthony BellLinebackerMichigan State15
Keith ByarsFullbackOhio State110
Chuck LongQuarterbackIowa112
Ronnie HarmonRunning BackIowa116
Mike HaightOffensive TackleIowa122
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References
  1. "1985 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  2. "Soph White, Station, Unanimous Choices". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1985. p. 33.
  3. "Long nips Everett for UPI first team". The Indianapolis Star. November 26, 1985. p. 22.
  4. "Long Nips Everett For Spot On All-Big Ten First Team". Logansport Pharos-Tribune. November 26, 1985. p. 10.
  5. "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. pp. 5–6. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  6. "1985 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  7. "1986 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
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