2015 IN REVIEW

Illinois Fighting Illini

Final record: 5-7. The Fighting Illini got off to a 4-1 start to the 2015 season, including a thrilling, last-second 14-13 win over Nebraska. They would go on to lose six of their last seven games, including a 24-14 loss to rival Northwestern in their season finale.

Indiana Hoosiers

Final record: 6-7. The Hoosiers started the season off 4-0, scoring 30-plus points in all four games. A 34-27 loss to top-ranked Ohio State started the Hoosiers on a six-game losing streak before wins over Maryland and Purdue got them to bowl eligibility. The Hoosiers ended their season with a 44-41 overtime loss to Duke in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Iowa Hawkeyes

Final record: 12-2. Coming into the year with few expectations after a 7-6 2014 season, the Hawkeyes started the season off 12-0, climbing as high as No. 3 in the polls. After losing to then-No.5 Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game, the Hawkeyes were sent to the Rose Bowl, where they suffered a 45-16 loss to then-No. 5 Stanford.

Maryland Terrapins

Final record: 3-9. After a 2-1 start to the season, the wheels fell off for the Terrapins. Head coach Randy Edsall was fired in the midst of an eight-game losing streak that would finally end with a 46-41 road win over Rutgers in the season finale.

Michigan Wolverines

Final record: 10-3. The first year under new coach Jim Harbaugh would be termed by most as a smashing success. After a 24-17 road loss to Utah, the Wolverines nine of their next 10 games, with only a bizarre last-second loss to Michigan State on a blocked punt. The Wolverines closed out the regular season with a 42-13 loss to rival Ohio State before finishing with a 41-7 win over SEC foe Florida.

Michigan State Spartans

Final record: 12-2. The Spartans avenged a 2014 loss to Oregon and beat Michigan on a blocked punt en route to an 8-0 start to the season before a controversial road loss to Nebraska. They recovered from the loss to win their final four games, including a 17-14 road win over then-No. 2 Ohio State and a Big Ten Championship win over then-No. 4 Iowa that put them in the College Football Playoff. The Spartans suffered a disappointing 38-0 loss to Alabama in the first round.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Final record: 6-7. After a season-opening 23-17 home loss to then-No. 2 TCU, the Golden Gophers won four of their next five. The Gophers went on to lose five of their last six regular season games before closing out with a 21-14 win over Central Michigan in the Quick Lane Bowl.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Final record: 6-7. An up-and-down season saw the Cornhuskers drop a last-second loss to Illinois and a last-second home win over then-No. 6 Michigan State en route to a 5-7 record. One of three sub-.500 teams to receive a bowl invite, the Cornhuskers beat UCLA 37-29 in the Foster Farms Bowl.

Northwestern Wildcats

Final record: 10-3. A season-opening win over Stanford propelled the Wildcats to a 5-0 start that saw them climb as high as No. 12 in the polls before dropping back-to-back blowouts to Michigan and Iowa. The Wildcats closed the season on another five-game winning streak before a 45-6 blowout loss to Tennessee in the Outback Bowl.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Final record: 12-1. The 2015 Buckeyes picked up where the 2014 Buckeyes left off, riding a 10-0 start into a key stretch against Michigan State and rival Michigan. The Buckeyes dropped the home game against Michigan State, but recovered to dominate Michigan 42-13. The Buckeyes finished the season with a 44-28 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Final record: 7-6. The Nittany Lions got off to a rough start, losing to Temple for the first time since 1941. They recovered to win seven of their next eight games, before ending the season on a four-game losing streak, including a 24-17 loss to Georgia in the TaxSlayer Bowl.

Purdue Boilermakers

Final record: 2-10. A second-week victory over FCS foe Indiana State moved Purdue to a 1-1 record and ended up being the last win for a while. After dropping their next five games, the Boilermakers upset Nebraska before finishing the season on another five-game losing streak.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Final record: 4-8. After a 55-52 win over Indiana moved Rutgers to an even 3-3 record, the Scarlet Knights five of their last six games, a stretch that ultimately cost coach Kyle Flood his job.

Wisconsin Badgers

Final record: 10-3. After a season-opening loss to Alabama, the Badgers won nine of eleven games, losing only to eventual division champ Iowa and Northwestern, before ending the season with a 23-21 win over USC in the Holiday Bowl.