2008 Big Ten Conference football season

The 2008 Big Ten Conference football season was the 113th season for the Big Ten.

Preseason
Ohio State was selected as the preseason favorite to win the conference with Wisconsin and Illinois second and third, respectively by the Media. Ohio State running back Chris Wells was chosen as the Preseason Big Ten Offensive Player of the year while fellow Buckeye linebacker James Laurinaitis was named the Preseason Big Ten Defensive Player of the year.

Purdue Head Coach Joe Tiller entered his final season, while Michigan's Rich Rodriguez began his first in Ann Arbor.

In a given year, each Big Ten team will play eight of the other Big Ten teams. Thus for any given team in a given year, there are two others which will not be competed against. Below is the breakdown of "no-plays" for 2008:

Team—Does not play
 * Illinois—Michigan State, Purdue
 * Indiana—Michigan, Ohio State
 * Iowa—Michigan, Ohio State
 * Michigan—Indiana, Iowa
 * Michigan State—Illinois, Minnesota
 * Minnesota—Michigan State, Penn State
 * Northwestern—Penn State, Wisconsin
 * Ohio State—Indiana, Iowa
 * Penn State—Minnesota, Northwestern
 * Purdue—Illinois, Wisconsin
 * Wisconsin—Northwestern, Purdue

Schedule
Akron @ Wisconsin Coastal Carolina @ Penn State Maine @ Iowa Syracuse @ Northwestern Western Kentucky @ Indiana Youngstown State @ Ohio State Utah @ Michigan Northern Illinois @ Minnesota Michigan State @ California Illinois @ Missouri Eastern Illinois @ Illinois Eastern Michigan @ Michigan State Marshall @ Wisconsin Miami (Ohio) @ Michigan Northern Colorado @ Purdue Ohio @ Ohio State Florida International @ Iowa Oregon State @ Penn State Murray State @ Indiana Northwestern @ Duke Minnesota @ Bowling Green Florida Atlantic @ Michigan State Louisiana @ Illinois Montana State @ Minnesota Southern Illinois @ Northwestern Iowa State @ Iowa Oregon @ Purdue Penn State @ Syracuse Michigan @ Notre Dame Ohio State @ Southern California Wisconsin @ Fresno State Central Michigan @ Purdue Florida Atlantic @ Minnesota Iowa @ Pittsburgh Ohio @ Northwestern Temple @ Penn State Troy @ Ohio State Notre Dame @ Michigan State Ball State @ Indiana Michigan State @ Indiana Minnesota @ Ohio State Northwestern @ Iowa Purdue @ Notre Dame Wisconsin @ Michigan Illinois @ Penn State Indiana @ Minnesota Iowa @ Michigan State Penn State @ Purdue Illinois @ Michigan Ohio State @ Wisconsin Iowa @ Indiana Minnesota @ Illinois Toledo @ Michigan Michigan State @ Northwestern Purdue @ Ohio State Penn State @ Wisconsin Purdue @ Northwestern Wisconsin @ Iowa Ohio State @ Michigan State Michigan @ Penn State Indiana @ Illinois Illinois @ Wisconsin Minnesota @ Purdue Northwestern @ Indiana Penn State @ Ohio State Michigan State @ Michigan Northwestern @ Minnesota Central Michigan @ Indiana Iowa @ Illinois Michigan @ Purdue Wisconsin @ Michigan State Illinois @ Western Michigan Michigan @ Minnesota Ohio State @ Northwestern Penn State @ Iowa Purdue @ Michigan State Wisconsin @ Indiana Indiana @ Penn State Minnesota @ Wisconsin Northwestern @ Michigan Ohio State @ Illinois Purdue @ Iowa Iowa @ Minnesota California Polytechnic State @ Wisconsin Illinois @ Northwestern Indiana @ Purdue Michigan @ Ohio State Michigan State @ Penn State
 * August 30:
 * September 6:
 * September 13:
 * September 20:
 * September 27:
 * October 4:
 * October 11:
 * October 18:
 * October 25:
 * November 1:
 * November 8:
 * November 15:
 * November 22:

April 12

 * Michigan

April 19

 * Illinois
 * Indiana
 * Iowa
 * Michigan State
 * Ohio State
 * Penn State
 * Purdue
 * Wisconsin

April 25

 * Minnesota

April 26

 * Northwestern

September 27

 * Northwestern 22, Iowa 17

October 4

 * Michigan State 16, Iowa 13
 * Illinois 45, Michigan 20

October 11

 * Minnesota 27, Illinois 20

October 18

 * Northwestern 48, Purdue 26
 * Penn State 46, Michigan 17

October 25

 * Indiana 21, Northwestern 19
 * Minnesota 17, Purdue 6
 * Wisconsin 27, Illinois 17
 * Penn State 13, Ohio State 6

November 1

 * Northwestern 24, Minnesota 17

National awards
Doak Walker Award
 * RB Shonn Greene, Iowa

Rimington Trophy
 * C A.Q. Shipley, Penn State

Lott Trophy
 * LB James Laurinaitis, Ohio State

Jim Thorpe Award
 * CB Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State

Conference honors
Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year
 * RB Shonn Greene, Iowa

Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year
 * LB James Laurinaitis, Ohio State

Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year
 * C A.Q. Shipley, Penn State

Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year
 * Mitch King, Iowa

Big Ten Freshman of the Year
 * QB Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State

Dave McClain Coach of the Year (Big Ten Coach of the Year)
 * Coach Joe Paterno, Penn State

Attendance
The overall attendance for the Big Ten was a total of 5,399,659 fans attending 77 contests this year. This meant that conference schools averaged 70,125 fans per home contest this season. Each Big Ten team has seven home games during the season with two exceptions; Indiana played eight games in Memorial Stadium and Illinois played two neutral sites to limit the Illini to six games in Memorial Stadium. Below are the figures for each game, the total for the team's season and the average attendance per game. The rankings below are by average attendance per game.

* denotes Ohio Stadium record vs. Penn State on October 25.