Category: Big Ten News

Rodriguez named finalist for AVCA National Player of the Year

Nebraska Cornhusker senior libero Lexi Rodriguez has been named a finalist for AVCA National Player of the Year.

Nebraska senior libero Lexi Rodriguez was named a finalist for AVCA National Player of the Year. The award will be presented on Friday at the AVCA All-America awards banquet.

Rodriguez is a three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the first libero named an AVCA Region Player of the Year. She is also the third player in program history to be named a four-time All-American.

This season, she leads the team with 3.91 digs per set and ranks second in school history in career digs with 1,882 digs, just nine digs shy of breaking the school record of 1,890 digs held by Justin Wong-Orantes.

The other three finalists are Sarah Franklin of Wisconsin, Brookly DeLeye of Kentucky, and Olivia Babcock of Pittsburgh.

Nebraska will face the Penn State Nittany Lions on Thursday night in the NCAA Semifinal on ESPN. The match will begin 30 minutes after the first semifinal match between the Pittsburgh Panthers and Louisville Cardinals at 5:30 p.m. CT

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Purdue transfer quarterback takes visit to Nebraska campus

The Cornhuskers are hosting a Big Ten quarterback transfer on campus.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers saw quarterback Daniel Kaelin leave the program and head to Virginia this offseason and now the Huskers are looking to replace his spot on the roster.

They may not have to look far for a replacement, as a Big Ten quarterback transfer has taken a visit to Lincoln. Purdue transfer Marcos Davila is currently visiting the Huskers. Multiple outlets reported the Texas native’s visit, and he confirmed his visit by posting it on social media.

Davila was ranked as a three-star recruit by two of three major recruiting sites as a prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle out of Lee High School in Midland, Texas. During his lone season in West Lafayette, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Davila did not see any playing time.

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Big Ten with four teams ranked in top ten of US LBM Coaches Poll

Multiple Big Ten teams were represented in the US LBM Coaches Poll this week.

Despite a shocking loss by the Ohio State Buckeyes over the weekend, the Big Ten enters week 15 of the 2024 college football season with four teams in the top ten of the latest US LBM Coaches Poll.

The Oregon Ducks are still ranked as the No. 1 team in the country, with the Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 3, OSU at No. 8, and the Indiana Hoosiers at No. 9.

The Illinois Fighting Illini were the only other Big Ten team ranked in the top 25, coming in at No. 21. The Michigan Wolverines and The Iowa Hawkeyes each received votes.

Scrolling below, you can find the entire US LBM Coaches Poll for week 15.

Rank Team Record Points
1 Oregon Ducks 12-0 1,325 (53)
2 Texas Longhorns 11-1 1,272
3 Penn State Nittany Lions 11-1 1,192
4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 11-1 1,165
5 Georgia Bulldogs 10-2 1,104
6 Tennessee Volunteers 10-2 1,025
7 SMU Mustangs 11-1 977
8 Ohio State Buckeyes 10-2 976
9 Indiana Hoosiers 11-1 895
10 Boise State Broncos 11-1 840
11 Alabama Crimson Tide 9-3 733
12 South Carolina Gamecocks 9-3 700
13 Arizona State Sun Devils 10-2 665
14 Miami Hurricanes 10-2 646
15 Ole Miss Rebels 9-3 638
16 Iowa State Cyclones 10-2 565
17 Clemson Tigers 9-3 457
18 BYU Cougars 10-2 419
19 UNLV Rebels 10-2 255
20 Missouri Tigers 9-3 229
21 Illinois Fighting Illini 9-3 225
22 Colorado Buffaloes 9-3 215
23 Army Black Knights 10-1 196
24 Memphis Tigers 10-2 187
25 Syracuse Orange 9-3 108

Schools Dropped Out

No. 18 Tulane; No. 19 Texas A&M;

Others Receiving Votes

Texas A&M 90; Duke 39; Tulane 37; Louisville 18; Kansas State 15; Louisiana 11; Michigan 2; Georgia Tech 2; Miami (OH) 1; Iowa 1;

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Big Ten’s elite remain on top of rankings after week 12

The Big Ten continues to dominate the top five in all three major rankings ahead of week 13.

The Big Ten’s elite remains on top of the college football world after week 12 of the 2024 college football season.

As programs around the country prepare for week 13 of the season, the Big Ten has four top-five teams in all three major rankings this week.

The Oregon Ducks sitting pretty with an 11-0 record after an upset scare against Wisconsin are the consensus No. 1 team in the rankings while the Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Indiana Hoosiers round out a consensus top-five.

The Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 while Penn State and Indiana are ranked No. 4 and No. 5 respectively, the SEC’s Texas Longhorns break up the Big Ten party in the top five at No. 3.

After several weeks of those four programs being the Big Ten’s only representatives, the Illinois Fighting Illini rejoined the rankings in both the College Football Playoffs and Associated Press top-25 this week. No other Big Ten teams were ranked outside the top five in the latest US LBM Coaches poll.

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Big Ten teams dominate the top ten in latest rankings

The Big Ten is well represented at the top of three major rankings ahead of week 12

The Big Ten is on top of the college football world after 11 weeks of action in the 2024 season. The conference has four teams within the top six of all three major rankings. Starting with the most prominent ranking of this part of the season, the College Football Playoff rankings.

The Big Ten has four of the top five ranked teams in the country, with the Oregon Ducks, the Ohio State Buckeyes, com, and the Indiana Hoosiers ranked No. 1, No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5, respectively. The only program breaking up the Big Ten party within the top five is the SEC’s Texas Longhorns at No. 2.

Notably, no other Big Ten teams outside of those four are ranked within the College Football Playoff rankings. In the US LBM Coaches Poll, Oregon and Ohio State are ranked as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country, while Texas and the Tennessee Volunteers separate the Ducks and Buckeyes from Penn State and Indiana at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.

The AP Poll mirrors the College Football Playoff rankings in terms of the top five, with Oregon at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2, Penn State at No. 4, and Indiana at No. 5.

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USC Trojans to start quarterback Jayden Maiava against Nebraska

Nebraska football will face a different quarterback when they take on USC next week.

The USC Trojans will start quarterback Jayden Maiava when they take on Nebraska on Nov. 16. This was reported by USCFootball.com’s Connor Morissette.

Maiava transferred from UNLV to USC in the spring. He has appeared in 11 games so far for the Trojans, going eight-of-11 for 66 yards. He also has shown an ability to run the ball, carrying the ball three times for 27 yards and a touchdown.

The quarterback replaces starter Miller Moss, who has thrown for 2,555 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, and nine interceptions on the season. The Trojans come into next week’s contest averaging 291.5 yards per game through the air.

This could be a bit of a break for the Huskers as they look to rectify their passing defense. They come into the game allowing 308.1 passing yards defensively. Nebraska has allowed 219 yards through the air last weekend against UCLA. This quarterback change could give them the perfect opportunity to right the ship.

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Big Ten with five teams in week nine polls

The Big Ten has five programs ranked within both the US LBM Coaches and AP Poll this week.

The Big Ten once again has at least five programs ranked inside the latest polls ahead of week nine of the 2024 season. 

The Oregon Ducks are the consensus No. 1 team in the country after the former top-ranked Texas Longhorns fell to the Georgia Bulldogs over the weekend. The Ducks received 59 of 61 first-place votes in the AP Poll and 51 of 53 first-place votes in the US LBM Coaches Poll. 

Penn State and Ohio State are ranked No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, in the latest polls, while Indiana continues to creep up the rankings. After the Hoosiers’ win over Nebraska this weekend, Curt Cignetti’s program is now ranked No. 13 in both polls. 

The final Big Ten team ranked heading into week nine is the Illinois Fighting Illini at No. 20. The Illini knocked off the Michigan Wolverines this past weekend in Champaign. After falling for the third time this season, the Wolverines have now dropped out of the top 25 and did not receive any votes in either poll ahead of week nine. 

Nebraska received one vote in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Poll following their loss to Indiana. The Huskers were the only Big Ten to receive votes outside the top 25. In the coaches poll, Wisconsin earned a total of three voting points but did not receive any votes in the AP Poll.

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Big Ten, SEC discussing potential scheduling agreement

Could we soon see the “Big Ten-SEC Challenge” come to college football?

According to a report from Matt Hayes of the USA TODAY NETWORK, the Big Ten Conference and SEC are considering a potential scheduling agreement that would once again significantly change the landscape of college football. 

Hayes reports that the two “super conferences” are discussing a potential scheduling agreement that would see the conference’s 32 combined teams face off in up to 16 regular-season non-conference games a season, though the exact number of games has yet to be decided. 

The potential landscape-changing discussions came shortly after a federal judge ruled in favor of current and former athletes in a $2.8 billion antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA and Power Five conferences. 

According to Hayes, a potential scheduling agreement would likely increase media rights revenue “significantly.”

Any scheduling agreement, of course, would also play a major role in the future of non-conference scheduling for both Big Ten and SEC programs, affecting the rest of the FBS landscape, especially schools that are members of Group of Five conferences. 

Group of Five conference members often receive significant compensation to face Power Five opponents. Non-conference “buy games” often help fund Group of Five athletic departments. 

Notably, “conference challenges” have often been a feature of men’s and women’s basketball. From 1999 through 2022, the Big Ten and ACC took part in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Since 2023, following the Big Ten’s new media rights deal with CBS, Fox, and NBC, it has become the ACC-SEC Challenge. 

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Big Ten well represented in polls following week seven

The Big Ten has six diffrent programs ranked in the US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Poll ahead of week eight.

The Big Ten Conference continues to be well-represented in the polls after week seven of the 2024 season. 

After thrilling games between the Oregon Ducks and the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Penn State Nittany Lions and the USC Trojans, the Big Ten still has three programs ranked among the top five in both the AP and  US LBM Coaches Poll. 

In the AP Poll, the Big Ten is now led by the Oregon Ducks at No. 2. The Ducks moved up one spot following a 32-31 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in Eugene. The Ducks received six of 62 first-place votes. 

The Buckeyes, previously ranked No. 2, fell to No. 4 in the poll, while Penn State, coming off an exciting 33-30 win over the USC Trojans, moved up one spot from No. 4 to No. 3. 

After having three programs in the top four, the next highest ranked Big Ten team is the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers, Nebraska’s week eight opponent at No. 16. Illinois at No. 22 and Michigan at No. 24 round out the Big Ten’s representation in the AP Poll. 

Nebraska received 62 voting points in the week’s poll, missing the cut by two spots. Only Vanderbilt received more votes and was left out of this week’s poll. The only other Big Ten programs to receive votes were Iowa and USC. 

In the US LBM Coaches Poll, Oregon and Penn State are once again ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. The Ducks received two of 55 first-place votes. Ohio State dropped three spots to No. 5, with the Georgia Bulldogs also jumping them. 

Indiana is ranked No. 18, while Illinois and Michigan are ranked Nos. 21 and 22, respectively. The Huskers are the final Big Ten team ranked in this week’s coaches poll, coming in at No. 25, beating out the Oklahoma Sooners for the final spot. 

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Reilly named Big Ten Setter of the Week for third time this season

The Nebraska setter won another conference award!

Nebraska setter Bergen Reilly was named the Big Ten Setter of the Week on Monday afternoon. This is the third time that Reilly won this award this season.

The sophomore helped the Huskers to a 3-2 win over the No. 10 Purdue Boilermakers and a 3-0 win against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights last week. Reilly averaged 11.88 assists and 3.75 digs per set.

In the win against Purdue, the Sioux Falls, SD native set a career-high of 60 assists and 17 kills. In the sweep of Rutgers, she had 35 assists and 13 digs.

Reilly last won the Big Ten Setter of the Week award on Sep. 16, 2024. Oregon’s Mimi Colyer was named the conference Player of the Week, Minnesota’s Phoebe Awoleye was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, and Penn State’s Izzy Starck was named the Freshman of the Week.

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