2016 Big Ten Conference football season
The 2016 Big Ten Conference football season was the 121st season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and is a part of the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the Big Ten's third season with 14 teams. The season marked a return to a nine-game conference schedule, something the league has not had since 1984.
Penn State and Ohio State each finished with identical 8–1 conference records, but Penn State won the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Buckeyes. Accordingly, Penn State won the East Division for the first time since the conference instituted divisions. Wisconsin won the West Division for the fourth time in the six years the division had existed.
In the Big Ten Championship held on December 3, 2016 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, Penn State defeated Wisconsin 38–31 to win the Big Ten.
Coaches
Coaching changes
Several Big Ten teams changed head coaches in 2016. Tracy Claeys at Minnesota had the "interim" tag removed from his title and served as the permanent head coach. D. J. Durkin was the new head coach at Maryland taking over for Randy Edsall after having spent the previous year as the defensive coordinator at Michigan, while Rutgers replaced Kyle Flood with Chris Ash, who comes to Piscataway after serving as a co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State. In March, new Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman announced he was replacing Bill Cubit as head football coach with Lovie Smith.On October 16, 2016, Purdue announced they were parting ways with head coach Darrell Hazell. Receivers coach Gerad Parker was named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2016 season. On December 5, Purdue named Western Kentucky football coach Jeff Brohm their next head coach.
On December 1, 2016, Indiana University announced that head coach Kevin Wilson resigned his position. Indiana associate head coach Tom Allen was named Wilson's permanent successor. On January 3, 2017, the University of Minnesota announced they were relieving head coach Tracy Claeys of his duties. Three days later, Minnesota announced the hiring of Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck to take over as head coach.
Head coaches
Note: All records are through the completion of the 2016 season| Team | Head coach | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school | Big Ten record | Big Ten titles |
| Illinois | Lovie Smith | 1 | 0 | |||
| Indiana | Kevin Wilson Tom Allen** | 6 1 | 0 | |||
| Iowa | Kirk Ferentz | 18 | 2 | |||
| Maryland | D.J. Durkin | 1 | 0 | |||
| Michigan | Jim Harbaugh | 2 | 0 | |||
| Michigan State | Mark Dantonio | 10 | 3 | |||
| Minnesota | Tracy Claeys | 2 | 0 | |||
| Nebraska | Mike Riley | 2 | 0 | |||
| Northwestern | Pat Fitzgerald | 11 | 0 | |||
| Ohio State | Urban Meyer | 5 | 1 | |||
| Penn State | James Franklin | 3 | 1 | |||
| Purdue | Darrell Hazell Gerad Parker* | 4 1 | 0 | |||
| Rutgers | Chris Ash | 1 | 0 | |||
| Wisconsin | Paul Chryst | 2 | 0 |
Regular season
Rankings
Schedule
Source| Index to colors and formatting |
| Big Ten member won |
| Big Ten member lost |
| Big Ten teams in bold |
All times Eastern time.† denotes Homecoming game
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Players of the Week
Records against FBS conferences
2016 records against FBS conferencesPower-Five conferences & independents
| Conference | Record | Winning % |
| ACC | 2–6 | .250 |
| Big 12 | 2–0 | 1.000 |
| Independents | 1–1 | .500 |
| Pac-12 | 4–3 | .571 |
| SEC | 1–2 | .333 |
| Total | 10–12 | .455 |
Group of Five Conferences
| Conference | Record | Winning % |
| American | 3–1 | .750 |
| C-USA | 3–0 | 1.000 |
| MAC | 6–2 | .750 |
| Mountain West | 6–0 | 1.000 |
| Sun Belt | 1–0 | 1.000 |
| Total | 19–3 | .864 |
Regular season attendance
Bold – Exceed capacity†Season High
Big Ten Championship Game
Bowl games
Big Ten went 3–7 in the 2016–17 Bowl SeasonRankings are from AP Poll. All times Eastern Time Zone.
Awards and honors
Players of the Year
2016 Big Ten Player of the Year Awards| Award | Player | School |
| Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year | Saquon Barkley | Penn State |
| Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year | Jabrill Peppers | Michigan |
| Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year | Mike Weber | Ohio State |
| Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year | J.T. Barrett | Ohio State |
| Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year | Austin Carr | Northwestern |
| Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year | Saquon Barkley | Penn State |
| Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year | Jake Butt | Michigan |
| Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year | Pat Elflein | Ohio State |
| Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year | Tyquan Lewis | Ohio State |
| Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year | Jabrill Peppers | Michigan |
| Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year | Jourdan Lewis | Michigan |
| Bakken-Andersen Kicker of the Year | Emmit Carpenter | Minnesota |
| Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year | Cameron Johnston | Ohio State |
| Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year | Jabrill Peppers | Michigan |
| Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year | Paul Chryst | Wisconsin |
| Dave McClain Coach of the Year | James Franklin | Penn State |
| Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award | Trent Green | Indiana |
| Ford-Kinnick Leadership Award | Reggie McKenzie | Michigan |
All-conference players
2016 Big Ten All-Conference HonorsUnanimous selections in ALL CAPS
Coaches Honorable Mention: ILLINOIS: Hardy Nickerson, Carroll Phillips; INDIANA: Marcelino Ball, Ralph Green III, Richard Lagow, Marcus Oliver, Mitchell Paige, Devine Redding, Nick Westbrook; IOWA: Ike Boettger, LeShun Daniels Jr., Parker Hesse, George Kittle, Greg Mabin, Riley McCarron; MARYLAND: Michael Dunn; MICHIGAN: Kenny Allen, Ben Bredeson, Matt Godin, Mike McCray, De'Veon Smith, Dymonte Thomas; MICHIGAN STATE: Darian Hicks, Montae Nicholson, L.J. Scott; MINNESOTA: Shannon Brooks, Jonathan Celestin, Scott Epke, Jalen Myrick, Drew Wolitarsky; NEBRASKA: Tommy Armstrong Jr., Josh Banderas, Cethan Carter, Ross Dzuris, Nick Gates, Chris Jones, Kevin Maurice, De'Mornay Pierson-El ; NORTHWESTERN: Tommy Doles, Clayton Thorson; OHIO STATE: Jerome Baker, Marcus Baugh, Noah Brown, Michael Hill, Jayln Holmes, Sam Hubbard, Damon Webb; PENN STATE: Brandon Bell, Brian Gaia, Mike Gesicki, Blake Gillikin, Chris Godwin, Parker Cothren, John Reid; PURDUE: Markus Bailey, David Blough, Jason King, Evan Panfil, Jordan Roos, Joe Schopper; RUTGERS: Tariq Cole; WISCONSIN: Jack Cichy, Michael Dieter, D'Cota Dixon, T. J. Edwards, Alec James, Leo Musso, Chikwe Obasih, Jazz Peavy, Derrick Tindal.
Media Honorable Mention: ILLINOIS: Hardy Nickerson, Joe Spencer, Malik Turner, Tre Watson; INDIANA: Marcelino Ball, Jonathan Crawford, Ricky Jones, Marcus Oliver, Mitchell Paige, Devine Redding, Nick Westbrook; IOWA: Nathan Bazata, C.J. Beathard, Ike Boettger, Cole Croston, LeShun Daniels Jr., Parker Hesse, George Kittle, Riley McCarron, Akrum Wadley; MARYLAND: Jermaine Carter, Shane Cockerille, Michael Dunn; MICHIGAN: Kenny Allen, Ben Bredeson, Jehu Chesson, Delano Hill, Mike McCray, De'Veon Smith, Dymonte Thomas; MICHIGAN STATE: Chris Frey, Darian Hicks, Montae Nicholson, Josiah Price, R.J. Shelton; MINNESOTA: Jonathan Celestin, Scott Epke, Jack Lynn, Jalen Myrick, Damarius Travis; NEBRASKA: Tommy Armstrong Jr., Josh Banderas, Drew Brown, Cethan Carter, Ross Dzuris, Chris Jones, Kevin Maurice, Terrell Newby, De'Mornay Pierson-El, Jordan Westerkamp; NORTHWESTERN: Garrett Dickerson, Tommy Doles, Montre Hartage, Clayton Thorson; OHIO STATE: Jerome Baker, Marcus Baugh, Noah Brown, Parris Campbell, Michael Hill, Jalyn Holmes, Sam Hubbard, Denzel Ward, Chris Worley; PENN STATE: Marcus Allen, Brandon Bell, Jason Cabinda, Brian Gaia, Blake Gillikin, John Reid; PURDUE: Markus Bailey, Jason King, Evan Panfil, Jake Replogle, Jordan Roos, Joe Schopper; RUTGERS: Blessuan Austin; WISCONSIN: Jack Cichy, Michael Dieter, T.J. Edwards, Chikwe Obasih, Jazz Peavy, Conor Sheehy, Derrick Tindal.
All-Americans
The 2016 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following College Football All-American first teams chosen by the following selector organizations: Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, USA Today ESPN, CBS Sports, FOX Sports College Football News, Scout.com, Phil Steele, Athlon Sports, Pro Football Focus and Yahoo! Sports.Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I-FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points. Football consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American.
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Academic All-Americans
National award winners
John Mackey AwardJake Butt, Michigan
Rimington Award
Pat Elflein, Ohio State
Lott IMPACT Trophy
Jabrill Peppers, Michigan
NFL Draft
| Team | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Total |
| Illinois | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Indiana | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Iowa | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | 4 |
| Maryland | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Michigan | 2 | - | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | 11 |
| Michigan State | - | 1 | - | 1 | - | - | - | 2 |
| Minnesota | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Nebraska | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Northwestern | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 2 |
| Ohio State | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | 1 | 7 |
| Penn State | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Purdue | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Rutgers | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 3 |
Trades
In the explanations below, ' indicates trades completed prior to the start of the draft, while ' denotes trades that took place during the 2017 draft. Please note that this is the first year where teams will be allowed to trade compensatory picks.
;Round one
;Round two
;Round three
;Round four
;Round five
;Round six
;Round seven