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1985 Big Ten Conference football season

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1985 Big Ten Conference football season
LeagueNCAA Division I-A
SportFootball
Number of teams10
TV partner(s)ABC, CBS, PASS, SportsVision
Top draft pickJim Everett
ChampionIowa
  Runners-upMichigan
Season MVPChuck Long
Top scorerLorenzo White
Football seasons
1986 →
1985 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

Season overview

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Results and team statistics

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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

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Regular season

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Bowl games

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Six Big Ten teams played in bowl games:

Rankings

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Statistical leaders

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

Awards and honors

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All-conference players

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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
Quarterback Chuck Long Iowa AP, UPI
Running back Lorenzo White Michigan State AP, UPI
Running back Ronnie Harmon Iowa AP, UPI
Running back Rodney Carter Purdue UPI
Center Bob Maggs Ohio State AP, UPI
Guard Jim Juriga Illinois AP, UPI
Guard John Wojciechowski Michigan State AP
Guard Bob Landsee Wisconsin UPI
Tackle Mike Haight Iowa AP, UPI
Tackle Clay Miller Michigan AP
Tackle Rory Graves Ohio State UPI
Tight end Eric Kattus Michigan AP
Receiver David Williams Illinois AP, UPI
Receiver Cris Carter Ohio State AP, UPI

Defense

Position Name Team Selectors
Defensive line Jeff Drost Iowa AP, UPI
Defensive line Mike Hammerstein Michigan AP, UPI
Defensive line Hap Peterson Iowa AP, UPI
Defensive line Mark Messner Michigan AP
Defensive line Guy Teafatiler Illinois UPI
Linebacker Pepper Johnson Ohio State AP, UPI
Linebacker Mike Mallory Michigan AP, UPI
Linebacker Chris Spielman Ohio State AP, UPI
Linebacker Larry Station Iowa AP, UPI
Defensive back Brad Cochran Michigan AP, UPI
Defensive back Rod Woodson Purdue AP, UPI
Defensive back Jay Norvell Iowa AP
Defensive back Phil Parker Michigan State UPI

Special teams

Position Name Team Selectors
Placekicker Rob Houghtlin Iowa AP
Placekicker Chris White Illinois UPI
Punter Greg Montgomery Michigan State AP
Punter Tom Tupa Ohio State UPI

All-Americans

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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
Quarterback Chuck Long Iowa AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCFF, GNS, NEA, SH, TSN
Running back Lorenzo White Michigan State AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCFF, GNS, NEA, SH, TSN
Wide receiver David Williams Illinois AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCFF, NEA, SH, TSN
Linebacker Larry Station Iowa AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, WCFF, NEA, SH
Defensive tackle Mike Hammerstein Michigan AFCA, AP, UPI, GNS, NEA, SH
Defensive back Brad Cochran Michigan AFCA, 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
Linebacker Pepper Johnson Ohio State UPI
Linebacker Chris Spielman Ohio State NEA
Defensive back Rod Woodson Purdue NEA

Other awards

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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

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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 Everett Quarterback Purdue 1 3
Anthony Bell Linebacker Michigan State 1 5
Keith Byars Fullback Ohio State 1 10
Chuck Long Quarterback Iowa 1 12
Ronnie Harmon Running Back Iowa 1 16
Mike Haight Offensive Tackle Iowa 1 22

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "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. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2020. 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.