Big Ten football schedule 2020: Complete list of games

The 2020 Big Ten football schedule has been released for all our enjoyment.

Big Ten football returns in a little over a month and we could not be more excited about that.

With advances in coronavirus testing, as well as a not-so-gentle push from people outside of the university presidents and chancellors’ offices, the popular Power 5 conference will return to the college football gridiron beginning on Oct. 24. The updated eight-game schedule with a ninth competitive balance game was unveiled on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff on Saturday morning.

Here is the updated 2020 Big Ten football schedule with nine games apiece.

Week 1 (Oct. 24)

• Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ohio State Buckeyes (Columbus, OH)
• Michigan Wolverines at Minnesota Golden Gophers (Minneapolis, MN)
• Penn State Nittany Lions at Indiana Hoosiers (Bloomington, IN)
• Iowa Hawkeyes at Purdue Boilermakers (West Lafayette, IN)
• Illinois Fighting Illini at Wisconsin Badgers (Madison, WI)
• Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Michigan State Spartans (East Lansing, MI)
• Maryland Terrapins at Northwestern Wildcats (Evanston, IL)

Week 2 (Oct. 31)

• Ohio State Buckeyes at Penn State Nittany Lions (University Park, PA)
• Michigan State Spartans at Michigan Wolverines (Ann Arbor, MI)
• Wisconsin Badgers at Nebraska Cornhuskers (Lincoln, NE)
• Northwestern Wildcats at Iowa Hawkeyes (Iowa City, IA)
• Minnesota Golden Gophers at Maryland Terrapins (College Park, MD)
• Purdue Boilermakers at Illinois Fighting Illini (Champaign, IL)
• Indiana Hoosiers at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Piscataway, NJ)

Week 3 (Nov. 7)

• Michigan State Spartans at Iowa Hawkeyes (Iowa City, IA)
• Maryland Terrapins at Penn State Nittany Lions (University Park, PA)
• Purdue Boilermakers at Wisconsin Badgers (Madison, WI)
• Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Ohio State Buckeyes (Columbus, OH)
• Michigan Wolverines at Indiana Hoosiers (Bloomington, IN)
• Minnesota Golden Gophers at Illinois Fighting Illini (Champaign, IL)
• Nebraska Cornhuskers at Northwestern Wildcats (Evanston, IL)

Week 4 (Nov. 14)

• Penn State Nittany Lions at Nebraska Cornhuskers (Lincoln, NE)
• Wisconsin Badgers at Michigan Wolverines (Ann Arbor, MI)
• Ohio State Buckeyes at Maryland Terrapins (College Park, MD)
• Iowa Hawkeyes at Minnesota Golden Gophers (Minneapolis, MN)
• Indiana Hoosiers at Michigan State Spartans (East Lansing, MI)
• Northwestern Wildcats at Purdue Boilermakers (West Lafayette, IN)
• Illinois Fighting Illini at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Piscataway, NJ)

Week 5 (Nov. 21)

• Iowa Hawkeyes at Penn State Nittany Lions (University Park, PA)
• Indiana Hoosiers at Ohio State Buckeyes (Columbus, OH)
• Purdue Boilermakers at Minnesota Golden Gophers (Minneapolis, MN)
• Michigan Wolverines at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Piscataway, NJ)
• Wisconsin Badgers at Northwestern Wildcats (Evanston, IL)
• Michigan State Spartans at Maryland Terrapins (College Park, MD)
• Illinois Fighting Illini at Nebraska Cornhuskers (Lincoln, NE)

Week 6 (Nov. 28)

• Penn State Nittany Lions at Michigan Wolverines (Ann Arbor, MI)
• Minnesota Golden Gophers at Wisconsin Badgers (Madison, WI)
• Nebraska Cornhuskers at Iowa Hawkeyes (Iowa City, IA)
• Ohio State Buckeyes at Illinois Fighting Illini (Champaign, IL)
• Northwestern Wildcats at Michigan State Spartans (East Lansing, MI)
• Maryland Terrapins at Indiana Hoosiers (Bloomington, IN)
• Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Purdue Boilermakers (West Lafayette, IN)

Week 7 (Dec. 5)

• Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan State Spartans (East Lansing, MI)
• Maryland Terrapins at Michigan Wolverines (Ann Arbor, MI)
• Northwestern Wildcats at Minnesota Golden Gophers (Minneapolis, MN)
• Indiana Hoosiers at Wisconsin Badgers (Madison, WI)
• Iowa Hawkeyes at Illinois Fighting Illini (Champaign, IL)
• Penn State Nittany Lions at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Piscataway, NJ)
• Nebraska Cornhuskers at Purdue Boilermakers (West Lafayette, IN)

Week 8 (Dec. 12)

• Michigan Wolverines at Ohio State Buckeyes (Columbus, OH)
• Wisconsin Badgers at Iowa Hawkeyes (Iowa City, IA)
• Michigan State Spartans at Penn State Nittany Lions (University Park, PA)
• Minnesota Golden Gophers at Nebraska Cornhuskers (Lincoln, NE)
• Illinois Fighting Illini at Northwestern Wildcats (Evanston, IL)
• Purdue Boilermakers at Indiana Hoosiers (Bloomington, IN)
• Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Maryland Terrapins (College Park, MD)

So yes, that will complete the bulk of the 2020 Big Ten college football season. To get a ninth conference game this fall, where each team lands in its respective division through eight games will decide where the competitive balance games will be played. The Big Ten Championship is in Indianapolis, while the team with the better record will host the other from the opposite division.

Week 9 (Dec. 19), Projected Matchups

• 1: Ohio State Buckeyes (8-0) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (7-1) (Indianapolis, IN)
• 2: Michigan Wolverines (6-2) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-1) (Minneapolis, MN)
• 3: Penn State Nittany Lions (6-2) vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-4) (University Park, PA)
• 4: Michigan State Spartans (3-5) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-5) (Iowa City, IA)
• 5: Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-6)  vs. Purdue Boilermakers (3-5) (West Lafayette, IN)
• 6: Indiana Hoosiers (2-6) vs. Northwestern Wildcats (3-5) (Evanston, IL)
• 7: Maryland Terrapins (1-7) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (1-7) (Champaign, IL)

Bold indicates projected game winner

Ultimately, Ohio State will be able to win the Big Ten yet again, going undefeated during regular season play and will keep the Big Ten East’s winning streak alive vs. the Big Ten West in the conference title bout. It’ll be a top-heavy year for the Big Ten, as only five programs will achieve a winning conference record this season. It gets especially bad the further you go down.

Will Ohio State end up meeting Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game again and win it?

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