2025 Week 12 Football Release

BIG TEN FOOTBALL RELEASE - WEEK 12  |  STANDINGS  |  SCHEDULE  |  MEDIA GUIDE  |  WE GIVE BLOOD DRIVE

• With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, 16 Big Ten teams will take the field this week. The action kicks off with a Friday night matchup between Minnesota and Oregon in Eugene at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on FOX. Nebraska and Rutgers will enjoy byes this week, with the complete schedule appearing to the right. 

• The Big Ten had six teams included in the College Football Playoff’s second rankings of the season on Nov. 11: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 8 Oregon, No. 17 USC, No. 18 Michigan and No. 21 Iowa. The CFP will release its next top 25 rankings on Tuesday, Nov. 18. 

• Seven of the Big Ten’s 18 teams are mentioned in this week’s AP or US LBM Coaches Polls, announced on Sunday. The AP poll includes No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 7 Oregon, No. 17 USC, and No. 18 Michigan, with Iowa and Illinois receiving votes. At No. 1, Ohio State leads eight Big Ten teams in the coaches’ poll (No. 2 Indiana, No. 6 Oregon, No. 17 Michigan, and No. 18 USC); Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska also received recognition.

• The Big Ten has two of the remaining three undefeated teams in the FBS heading into week 12: Ohio State (9-0) and Indiana (10-0). Both teams host home games this weekend as the Buckeyes take on UCLA and the Hoosiers face Wisconsin. 

• The Big Ten announced its Football Players of the Week, presented by IFS.ai on Monday, with Nebraska’s Emmett Johnson earning Offensive Player of the Week. Johnson totaled 232 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in Nebraska’s 28-21 win over UCLA. Johnson became the first player in the Big Ten in at least 30 years to have more than 125 rushing yards, more than 100 receiving yards, a rushing touchdown and two receiving touchdowns in the same game.

• Wisconsin’s Cooper Catalano garnered Defensive Player of the Week honors after posting 19 tackles (11 solo) and one sack in Wisconsin’s victory over No. 23 Washington. The freshman had the most tackles for a Big Ten player in a win since 2022, helping the Badger defense hold the Washington offense to its lowest passing output of the season. 

• Oregon’s Atticus Sappington won Special Teams Players of the Week. The senior kicker made a game-winning, 39-yard field goal with three seconds remaining to give Oregon an 18-16 win in a top-20 showdown at Iowa. He matched a career high by going 3-for3 on field goals, also hitting from 46 yards and 40 yards earlier in the game.

• Nebraska’s TJ Lateef and Wisconsin’s Mason Posa shared Co-Freshman of the Week honors. Lateef became the fifth true freshman to start at quarterback since 1950 for Nebraska and led the Huskers to a victory over UCLA with 205 passing yards and three touchdowns. Posa recorded 11 tackles, 2.5 sacks and forced and recovered the same fumble in Wisconsin’s win over No. 23 Washington. 

• Seven Big Ten teams rank among the top 25 nationally in Relative Scoring Offense, the statistic most closely correlated with winning over the last ten years. Indiana leads the nation and the conference (183.12%), followed by USC at No. 2 (161.50%), No. 7 Ohio State (156.13%), No. 8 Oregon (175.08%), No. 16 Illinois (150.94%), No. 20 Washington (132.40%) and No. 24 Penn State (162.20%).

• Five Big Ten players were named semifinalists for the Maxwell Award. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith, and USC’s Makai Lemon were named to the shortlist of 13 players.

• Entering week 12, USC claims the nation’s second-best total offense (503.2 yards per game) while Iowa holds the nation’s fourth best total defense (250.2 yards per game). The two go head-to-head on Saturday in Los Angeles at 2:30 p.m. CT/12:30 p.m. PT on BTN.

• The Big Ten paces the A4 in total defense, as three additional teams rank in the top five nationally. Ohio State leads the nation (211.6 yards per game), followed by Oregon (3rd, 239.3) and Indiana (5th, 250.2).

• Ohio State currently holds the longest win streak in the country with 13 consecutive wins, the fourth 10-plus winning streak for Ryan Day with 16 consecutive wins in 2018-19, 13 consecutive wins this year, 12 in 2021-22, and 11 consecutive wins in 2023.

• Indiana is 10-0 to start a season for the second time in program history, and the second time in as many years, after its 27-24 win at Penn State in Week 12. The then wins ties for the most wins a season in program history (10; 2024). The Hoosiers’ 7-0 start in Big Ten play marks the second time in program history an Indiana team started with an unblemished mark through at least seven conference games (7-0; 2024).

• Through 11 weeks, seven Big Ten quarterbacks are in the top 25 for passing efficiency, which is the most of any conference. Ohio State’s Julian Sayin currently leads the nation with a 192.6 passer rating, while Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is second with a 178.6. 

• The Big Ten claimed back-to-back national championship titles for the first time since 1942 last season as Ohio State defeated Notre Dame, 34-23, in the 2024 College Football Playoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The Buckeyes brought home their sixth national championship to the Horseshoe in Columbus and first since the inaugural CFP National Championship in the 2014-15 season.

• The 2025 Discover Big Ten Championship Game will be held on Saturday, December 6, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and will be broadcast by FOX. The winner will represent the conference as the Automatic Qualifier (AQ) to the College Football Playoff.

• Abbott and the Big Ten Conference are kicking off Season 2 of the    We Give Blood   drive. Students, fans, alumni and communities across the country are backing their favorite Big Ten schools by donating blood. Every donation can help save up to three lives - and bring your school one step closer to winning $1 million to advance student or community health. The top school will be announced at the 2025 Discover® Big Ten Football Championship Game on December 6, 2025.