• The 122nd season of Big Ten football will commence this weekend with all 14 schools kicking off the 2017 campaign …
• For the first time since 1996, there will be a Big Ten matchup on the opening weekend of the season as Ohio State visits Indiana at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday. That same night, Minnesota will make its 2017 debut, playing host to Buffalo …
• The first Saturday of the season will feature a pair of Big Ten teams competing at neutral sites. Michigan will face Florida at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, while Purdue will take on Louisville at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis …
• The 2017 campaign will feature 33 All-Big Ten players (seven first-team, 12 second-team, 14 third-team) and 46 honorable mention selections from last season …
• Nearly 160 Academic-All Big Ten selections return from the 2017 season, along with 19 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars …
• The winners of five regular-season individual awards from last season will also hit the field again this fall, including Minnesota’s Emmit Carpenter, Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett and Mike Weber and Penn State’s Saquon Barkley …
• The Big Ten will continue to feature the largest bowl lineup in conference history. This season, the Big Ten’s bowl lineup will be highlighted by 16 potential bowl destinations in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, New York, Tennessee and Texas …
• Penn State was crowned Big Ten Champion last season after its 38-31 victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game. It was the Nittany Lions’ fourth Big Ten title and first since 2008. Penn State will look to repeat as conference champions for the first time in program history.
• Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin will all look to repeat as division champions this season, as the Badgers finished 7-2 to win the Big Ten West Division and the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions both completed the season with 8-1 marks to finish tied atop the East Division. Last season’s divisional crowns marked the second for Penn State, third for the Badgers and fifth for the Buckeyes.