# 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 (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 |
| 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 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

### 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:

## Awards and honors
### All-conference players

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.
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

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:
| 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

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).
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:
| 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 |