1995 Big Ten Conference football season
| 1995 Big Ten Conference football season | |
|---|---|
| League | NCAA Division I-A |
| Sport | football |
| Teams | 11 |
| Champions | Northwestern |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Northwestern $ | 8 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Ohio State | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Penn State | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 Michigan | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 Iowa | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 2 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 0 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1995 Big Ten Conference football season was the 100th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Big Ten recognized its centennial year with commemorative patches worn on the uniforms of all of its teams.[1]
Regular season
At 8-0 (10-2 overall), Northwestern earned their first Big Ten championship since 1936. The Wildcats also had their first winning season since 1971 and their first 10-win season since 1903.[2] As Big Ten champions, Northwestern represented the conference in the 1996 Rose Bowl, which was their first bowl game appearance since the 1949 Rose Bowl. Northwestern also broke several long-standing losing streaks to regular opponents, including a 22-game losing streak to Iowa, a 19-game losing streak against Michigan, and a 14-game losing streak to Notre Dame.
Ohio State finished in second at 7-1 (11-2 overall) and ended the season ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll.
Penn State and Michigan tied for third with 5-3 marks and wound up ranked No. 13 and No. 17 respectively.
Michigan State finished fifth at 4-3-1 in Big Ten play, with their tie against Purdue putting them just ahead of No. 25 Iowa's 4-4 league record.
Illinois and Wisconsin tied for seventh with 3-4-1 conference records, while Purdue followed in ninth at 2-5-1 (4-6-1 overall).
Minnesota came in tenth at 1-7 (3-8 overall), while Indiana finished last at 0-8 (2-9 overall).[3]
Bowl games
Six Big Ten teams played in bowl games, going 2-4 overall. The conference did not participate in the Bowl Alliance:
- Rose Bowl: No. 17 Southern California 41, No. 3 Northwestern 32
- Florida Citrus Bowl: No. 4 Tennessee 20, No. 4 Ohio State 14
- Outback Bowl: No. 15 Penn State 43, No. 16 Auburn 14
- Sun Bowl: Iowa 38, No. 20 Washington 18
- Alamo Bowl: No. 19 Texas A&M 22, No. 14 Michigan 20
- Independence Bowl: LSU 45, Michigan State 26
1996 NFL draft
References
- ^ "Ohio State 1995 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Ohio State University. p. 156. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "Northwestern Wildcats College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
- ^ "2025 BIG TEN FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE" (PDF). Big Ten Conference. pp. 91–99. Retrieved November 4, 2025.