| 1975 Big Ten Conference football season | |
| Sport: | American football |
| No Of Teams: | 10 |
| Top Pick: | Mike Pruitt |
| Season Champs: | Ohio State |
| Season Champ Name: | Champion |
| Second Place: | Michigan |
| Mvp: | Cornelius Greene |
| Prevseason Year: | 1974 |
| Nextseason Year: | 1976 |
The 1975 Big Ten Conference football season was the 80th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1975 NCAA Division I football season.
The 1975 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, compiled an 11–0 record in the regular season, won the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring offense (32.0 points per game) and scoring defense (8.5 points allowed per game), and lost to UCLA in the 1976 Rose Bowl. Running back Archie Griffin won the 1975 Heisman Trophy, becoming the only two-time Heisman winner. Quarterback Cornelius Greene won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player, and Pete Johnson led the conference with 156 points scored. Griffin, defensive back Tim Fox, and offensive guard Ted Smith were consensus first-team All-Americans.
The 1975 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, compiled an 8–2–2 record, finished in second place in the Big Ten, and lost to Oklahoma in the 1976 Orange Bowl. Gordon Bell gained 1,390 rushing yards and was selected as Michigan's most valuable player and a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten player. Defensive back Don Dufek was selected as a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association of America, Football News, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation.
The 1975 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Denny Stolz, compiled a 7–4 record and finished in third place in the Big Ten. Charley Baggett led the team with 1,499 total yards, and Levi Jackson gained 1,063 rushing yards and was selected as the team's most valuable player.
Other conference leaders included Minnesota quarterback Tony Dungy with 1,515 passing yards and 1,759 yards of total offense and Purdue wide receiver Scott Yelvington with 686 receiving yards. Wisconsin offensive tackle Dennis Lick was a consensus first-team All-American.
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | Woody Hayes |
|
| 11–1 | 8–0 | 32.0 | 8.5 | Corn. Greene | |
| 2 | Michigan | Bo Schembechler |
|
| 8–2–2 | 7–1 | 27.0 | 10.8 | Gordon Bell | |
| 3 (tie) | Michigan State | Denny Stolz | NR |
| 7–4 | 4–4 | 20.2 | 15.2 | Levi Jackson | |
| 3 (tie) | Illinois | Bob Blackman | NR | NR | 5–6 | 4–4 | 20.8 | 23.6 | Stu Levenick | |
| 3 (tie) | Purdue | Alex Agase | NR | NR | 4–7 | 4–4 | 11.6 | 20.0 | Mike Pruitt | |
| 6 | Wisconsin | John Jardine | NR | NR | 4–6–1 | 3–4–1 | 15.8 | 24.5 | Billy Marek | |
| 7 (tie) | Minnesota | Cal Stoll | NR | NR | 6–5 | 3–5 | 21.5 | 17.5 | Tony Dungy | |
| 7 (tie) | Iowa | Bob Commings | NR | NR | 3–8 | 3–5 | 16.5 | 25.4 | Andre Jackson | |
| 9 | Northwestern | John Pont | NR | NR | 3–8 | 2–6 | 13.5 | 28.9 | Greg Boykin | |
| 10 | Indiana | Lee Corso | NR | NR | 2-8-1 | 1-6-1 | 9.5 | 23.1 | Donnie Thomas |
On September 13, 1975, the Big Ten football teams opened the season with five conference games.
On September 20, 1975, the Big Ten teams played 10 non-conference games.
On September 27, 1975, the Big Ten teams played 10 non-conference games.
On October 4, 1975, the Big Ten teams played 10 non-conference games.
On October 11, 1975, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On October 18, 1975, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On October 25, 1975, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On November 1, 1975, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On November 8, 1975, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On November 15, 1975, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On November 22, 1975, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
See main article: 1976 Rose Bowl. On January 1, 1976, Dick Vermeil's UCLA Bruins (ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll) defeated Ohio State (ranked No. 1), 23–10, before a crowd of 105,464 in the 1976 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Ohio State had defeated UCLA, 41–20, in the regular season and came into the game as a 14-point favorite. Ohio State led, 3-0, at halftime, but Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin fractured a bone in his left hand on the third play of the game. UCLA rallied with 23 points in the second half. UCLA quarterback John Sciarra threw two touchdown passes to Wally Henry covering 16 and 67 yards. Ohio State cut the lead to 16-10 early in the fourth quarter, but Ohio State quarterback then threw two costly interceptions. Late in the game, UCLA's Wendell Tyler ran 54 yards for a touchdown; Tyler finished the game with 155 rushing yards.[15]
See main article: 1976 Orange Bowl. On January 1, 1976, Oklahoma (ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll) defeated Michigan (ranked No. 5), 14–6, before a crowd of 80,307 in the 1976 Orange Bowl in Miami. Oklahoma took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 39-yard end-around touchdown run by split end Billy Brooks. In the fourth quarter, Oklahoma quarterback Steve Davis ran 11 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 14-0. Midway through the fourth quarter, Michigan linebacker Dave Devich recovered an Oklahoma fumble at the Sooners' two-yard line. Gordon Bell then ran two yards for a touchdown to narrow Oklahoma's lead to 14-6. An attempted two-point conversion failed when Rick Leach was stopped short of the goal line.[16] With its victory over Michigan, Oklahoma rose to No. 1 in the final AP and UPI polls and was the consensus national champion.
1. Tony Dungy, Minnesota (1,515)
2. Randy Dean, Northwestern (1,315)
3. Kurt Steger, Illinois (1,136)
4. Cornelius Greene, Ohio State (1,066)
5. Charles Baggett, Michigan State (854)[1]
1. Archie Griffin, Ohio State (1,450)
2. Gordon Bell, Michigan (1,390)
3. Billy Marek, Wisconsin (1,281)
4. Greg Boykin, Northwestern (1,105)
5. Courtney Snyder, Indiana (1,103)[1]
1. Scott Yelvington, Northwestern (686)
2. Jim Smith, Michigan (553)
3. Ron Kullas • Minnesota (545)
4. Mike Jones • Minnesota (473)
5. Paul Beery • Purdue (454)[1]
1. Tony Dungy, Minnesota (1,759)
2. Cornelius Greene, Ohio State (1,584)
3. Charles Baggett, Michigan State (1,499)
4. Archie Griffin, Ohio State (1,450)
5. Gordon Bell, Michigan (1,401)[1]
1. Tony Dungy, Minnesota (120.8)
2. Kurt Steger, Illinois (104.7)
3. Randy Dean, Northwestern (103.7)[1]
1. Jim Jensen, Iowa (5.8)
2. Archie Griffin, Ohio State (5.5)
3. Rob Lytle, Michigan (5.4)
4. Dave Schick, Iowa (5.4)
5. Lonnie Perrin, Illinois (5.3)[1]
1. Jim Smith, Michigan (23.0)
2. Trent Smock, Indiana (17.1)
3. Paul Beery, Purdue (16.8)
4. Mike Jones, Minnesota (16.3)
5. Brian Baschnagel, Ohio State (15.1)[1]
1. Pete Johnson, Ohio State (156)
2. Gordon Bell, Michigan (84)
3. Billy Marek, Wisconsin (78)
4. Rob Lytle, Michigan (60)
5. Greg Boykin, Northwestern (54)[1]
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1975 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
Offense
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Cornelius Greene | Ohio State | AP, UPI | |
| Running back | Gordon Bell | Michigan | AP, UPI | |
| Running back | Archie Griffin | Ohio State | AP, UPI | |
| Running back | Billy Marek | Wisconsin | AP | |
| Running back | Pete Johnson | Ohio State | UPI | |
| Wide receiver | Jim Smith | Michigan | AP, UPI | |
| Tight end | Joe Smalzer | Illinois | AP | |
| Tight end | Mike Cobb | Michigan State | UPI | |
| Center | Paul Jasinskis | Northwestern | AP | |
| Center | Jim Czirr | Michigan | UPI | |
| Guard | Terry Stieve | Wisconsin | AP, UPI | |
| Guard | Ted Smith | Ohio State | AP | |
| Guard | Joe Devlin | Iowa | UPI | |
| Tackle | Scott Dannelley | Ohio State | AP | |
| Tackle | Rod Walters | Iowa | AP | |
| Tackle | Dennis Lick | Wisconsin | UPI | |
| Tackle | Chris Ward | Ohio State | UPI |
Defense
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defensive end | Dan Jilek | Michigan | AP, UPI | |
| Defensive end | Bob Brudzinski | Ohio State | UPI | |
| Defensive tackle | Nick Buonamici | Ohio State | AP, UPI | |
| Defensive tackle | Keith Simons | Minnesota | AP | |
| Defensive tackle | Greg Morton | Michigan | UPI | |
| Nose guard | Tim Davis | Michigan | AP, UPI | |
| Linebacker | Donnie Thomas | Indiana | AP, UPI | |
| Linebacker | Ed Thompson | Ohio State | AP | |
| Linebacker | Blane Smith | Purdue | AP | |
| Linebacker | Calvin O'Neal | Michigan | UPI | |
| Defensive back | Don Dufek | Michigan | AP [linebacker], UPI | |
| Defensive back | Tim Fox | Ohio State | AP, UPI | |
| Defensive back | Tom Hannon | Michigan State | AP, UPI | |
| Defensive back | Pete Shaw | Northwestern | AP, UPI |
At the end of the 1975 season, Big Ten players secured four of the consensus first-team picks for the 1975 College Football All-America Team.[17] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Running back | Archie Griffin | Ohio State | AFCA, AP, UPI, FN, NEA, TSN, Time, WCFF | |
| Defensive back | Tim Fox | Ohio State | AFCA, FWAA, UPI, NEA, TSN, Time, WCFF | |
| Offensive tackle | Dennis Lick | Wisconsin | AFCA, UPI, NEA, TSN, Time, WCFF | |
| Offensive guard | Ted Smith | Ohio State | AP, FWAA, FN, NEA |
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defensive back | Don Dufek | Michigan | AFCA, FWAA, FN, WCFF | |
| Offensive tackle | Rod Walters | Iowa | NEA [guard], TSN, Time | |
| Defensive tackle | Ken Novak | Purdue | FWAA, TSN, Time | |
| Offensive guard | Joe Devlin | Iowa | TSN, Time | |
| Punter | Tom Skladany | Ohio State | FWAA, FN | |
| Quarterback | Cornelius Greene | Ohio State | FN |
Ohio State running back Archie Griffin won the 1975 Heisman Trophy. Michigan running back Gordon Bell finished eighth in the Heisman voting.[18]
Ohio State's Woody Hayes was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.[1]
The 1976 NFL draft was held in New York on April 8–9, 1976.[19] The following players were among the first 100 picks:[20]
| Name | Position | Team | Round | Overall pick | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Pruitt | Running back | Purdue | 1 | 7 | |
| Dennis Lick | Offensive tackle | Wisconsin | 1 | 8 | |
| Wayne Walters | Guard | Iowa | 1 | 14 | |
| Ken Novak | Defensive tackle | Purdue | 1 | 20 | |
| Tim Fox | Safety | Ohio State | 1 | 21 | |
| Archie Griffin | Running back | Ohio State | 1 | 24 | |
| Running Back | Iowa | 2 | 40 | ||
| Ken Long | Guard | Purdue | 2 | 44 | |
| Joe Devlin | Tackle | Iowa | 2 | 52 | |
| Keith Simons | Defensive tackle | Minnesota | 3 | 63 | |
| Brian Baschnagel | Wide receiver | Ohio State | 3 | 66 |