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.
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, 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 and scoring 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. RankTeamHead coachAP finalAP highOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAGMVP
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
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1985 season
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold
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:

Statistical leaders

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

Passing yards

1. Jim Everett, Purdue
2. Chuck Long, Iowa
3. Jack Trudeau, Illinois
4. Jim Karsatos, Ohio State
5. Mike Greenfield, Northwestern

Rushing yards

1. Lorenzo White, Michigan State
2. Larry Emery, Wisconsin
3. Ronnie Harmon, Iowa
4. Jamie Morris, Michigan
5. Bobby Howard, Indiana

Receiving yards

1. Rodney Carter, Purdue
2. David Williams, Illinois
3. Cris Carter, Ohio State
4. Kenny Allen, Indiana
5. Bill Happel, Iowa

Total offense

1. Jim Everett, Purdue
2. Jack Trudeau, Illinois
3. Chuck Long, Iowa
4. Jim Karsatos, Ohio State
5. Mike Greenfield, Northwestern

Passing efficiency rating

1. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
2. Chuck Long, Iowa
3. Jim Karsatos, Ohio State
4. Jim Everett, Purdue
5. Jack Trudeau, Illinois

Rushing yards per attempt

1. Joe Armentrout, Wisconsin
2. Valdez Baylor, Minnesota
3. Thomas Rooks, Illinois
4. Ronnie Harmon, Iowa
5. Jamie Morris, Michigan

Yards per reception

1. Mark Ingram Sr., Michigan State
2. Tim Fullington, Wisconsin
3. Paul Jokisch, Michigan
4. Mike Lanese, Ohio State
5. Mark Jackson, Purdue

Points scored

1. Lorenzo White, Michigan State
2. Rob Houghtlin, Iowa
3. Mike Gillette, Michigan
4. Rich Spangler, Ohio State
5. Chris White, Illinois

Awards and honors

All-conference players

The following players were picked by the Associated Press and/or the United Press International as first-team players on the 1985 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
Offense
PositionNameTeamSelectors
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
PositionNameTeamSelectors
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
PositionNameTeamSelectors
PlacekickerRob HoughtlinIowaAP
PlacekickerChris WhiteIllinoisUPI
PunterGreg MontgomeryMichigan StateAP
PunterTom TupaOhio StateUPI

All-Americans

At the end of the season, five Big Ten players were consensus first-team picks for the 1985 College Football All-America Team. The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
PositionNameTeamSelectors
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:
PositionNameTeamSelectors
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 ; Michigan State running back Lorenzo White ; and Purdue quarterback Jim Everett.
Chuck Long and Lorenzo White tied for the Big Ten Player of the Year award. Long received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award.
Bo Schembechler of Michigan received the Big Ten Coach of the Year award.

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:
NamePositionTeamRoundOverall pick
Jim EverettQuarterbackPurdue13
Anthony BellLinebackerMichigan State15
Keith ByarsFullbackOhio State110
Chuck LongQuarterbackIowa112
Ronnie HarmonRunning BackIowa116
Mike HaightOffensive TackleIowa122