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2025 Week 3 Football Release
• The Week 3 slate features 16 Big Ten teams in action, including a pair of conference contests on Saturday when Northwestern hosts reigning Big Ten Champion Oregon at noon ET and Purdue welcomes USC at 3:30 p.m. The complete Week 3 schedule is to the right.
• Nine of the Big Ten’s 18 teams are mentioned in this week’s AP and US LBM Coaches Polls, announced on Sunday. The AP poll includes No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Penn State, No. 4 Oregon, No. 9 Illinois, No. 22 Indiana and No. 23 Michigan, with Nebraska and USC receiving votes. At No. 1, Ohio State leads nine Big Ten teams in the coaches’ poll (No. 2 Penn State, No. 5 Oregon, No. 9 Illinois, No. 19 Indiana and No. 22 Michigan), while Nebraska, USC and Washington also received recognition.
• The Big Ten announced its Big Ten Football Players of the Week, presented by IFS.ai on Monday. Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles and Washington’s Jonah Coleman were named Co-Offensive Players of the Week.
• Chiles recorded a career-high four touchdowns Saturday as the Spartans beat Boston College in double overtime, throwing the game-winning two-point conversion pass to Omari Kelly on the last play of the game. Coleman tied the modern Washington record with five rushing touchdowns in the Huskies' 70-10 win over UC Davis.
• Michigan State’s Jordan Hall captured Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording a career-high 15 tackles in the win over Boston College, with his nine solo stops marking a career best.
• Purdue’s Spencer Porath took home the Special Teams Player of the Week plaudit after registering the fourth multi-field goal game of his career, matching his career high by going 2-for-2 on field goal attempts. Porath connected on field goals from 25 yards and 43 yards, the latter the second-longest of his career.
• Ohio State’s Julian Sayin was named Freshman of the Week after finishing with 18 completions in 19 attempts for 306 yards with four touchdown passes and one interception in the Buckeyes’ 70-0 victory over Grambling State.
• Four Big Ten teams posted shutouts on Saturday, with Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Penn State winning a combined 238-0. The Gophers outgained Northwestern State 484-42 in total yards and scored their most points in a game since 2001 (66), while the Huskers recorded their largest shutout since 1986, holding Akron to 175 total yards in the 68-0 victory. The Buckeyes surrendered just 166 total yards and only allowed one possession to cross midfield in the 70-0 victory against Grambling State, while the Nittany Lions held FIU to just 14 first downs, as they rolled to a 34-0 triumph.
• Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz won his 205th game as the Hawkeyes defeated Albany, 34-7, on Aug. 30, tying Woody Hayes for the most by a Big Ten head coach. Last season, he joined the former Buckeye legend as the only Big Ten coaches to win 200 games. Ferentz and the Hawkeyes look to make Big Ten history with a win this weekend against UMass.
• 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.