Record*: 77-62, .554 W-L% (6th of 12) (Schedule and Results)
*W-L-T adjusted to 66-62 by NCAA.
SRS: 4.22 (4th of 12) ▪ SOS: 1.84 (5th of 12)
Conference Champion: Ohio State and Penn State
Ranked in Preseason AP Poll: 4 (Illinois, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin)
Ranked in Final AP Poll: 4 (Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State)
| Overall | Conference | Pts/G | SRS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | W | L | Pct | W | L | Pct | Own | Opp | SRS | SOS | Notes |
| Penn State | 11 | 2 | .846 | 7 | 1 | .875 | 38.9 | 14.4 | 17.82 | 1.97 | W-L-T adjusted to 0-2 by NCAA. |
| Ohio State | 10 | 3 | .769 | 7 | 1 | .875 | 27.6 | 13.9 | 13.94 | 3.87 | |
| Michigan State | 9 | 4 | .692 | 6 | 2 | .750 | 25.1 | 22.1 | 7.92 | 3.15 | |
| Iowa | 9 | 4 | .692 | 5 | 3 | .625 | 30.3 | 13.0 | 11.11 | 0.57 | |
| Northwestern | 9 | 4 | .692 | 5 | 3 | .625 | 24.4 | 20.2 | 4.82 | -0.11 | |
| Minnesota | 7 | 6 | .538 | 3 | 5 | .375 | 23.2 | 24.8 | 0.01 | 0.09 | |
| Wisconsin | 7 | 6 | .538 | 3 | 5 | .375 | 27.5 | 26.5 | 1.82 | 1.13 | |
| Illinois | 5 | 7 | .417 | 3 | 5 | .375 | 28.7 | 26.6 | 2.96 | 2.04 | |
| Purdue | 4 | 8 | .333 | 2 | 6 | .250 | 24.7 | 25.1 | -0.54 | 3.04 | |
| Michigan | 3 | 9 | .250 | 2 | 6 | .250 | 20.3 | 28.9 | -4.66 | 3.00 | |
| Indiana | 3 | 9 | .250 | 1 | 7 | .125 | 20.5 | 35.3 | -8.73 | 1.44 | |
| School | Pre | 9/2 | 9/7 | 9/14 | 9/21 | 9/28 | 10/5 | 10/12 | 10/19 | 10/26 | 11/2 | 11/9 | 11/16 | 11/23 | 11/30 | 12/7 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn State | 22 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| Ohio State | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Iowa | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 23 | 20 | 22 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 24 | |||||||
| Illinois | 20 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 22 | ||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 25 | 20 | |||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 24 | 24 | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 13 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 18 |
| Date | Bowl | Winner/Tie | Pts | Loser/Tie | Pts | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-01-05 | Fiesta Bowl | Texas | 24 | Ohio State | 21 | Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ) |
| 2009-01-01 | Capital One Bowl | Georgia | 24 | Michigan State | 12 | Capital One Bowl (Orlando, FL) |
| 2009-01-01 | Outback Bowl | Iowa | 31 | South Carolina | 10 | Outback Bowl (Tampa, FL) |
| 2009-01-01 | Rose Bowl | Southern California | 38 | Penn State | 24 | Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA) |
| 2008-12-31 | Insight Bowl | Kansas | 42 | Minnesota | 21 | Insight Bowl (Glendale, AZ) |
| 2008-12-29 | Alamo Bowl | Missouri | 30 | Northwestern | 23 | Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX) |
| 2008-12-27 | Champs Sports Bowl | Florida State | 42 | Wisconsin | 13 | Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, FL) |
| Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year: | James Laurinaitis (Ohio State) |
| Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year: | Shonn Greene (Iowa) |
| Big Ten Coach of the Year: | Joe Paterno (Penn State) |