ATTACHED: Full meet notes for this Friday’s Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin hosts this year’s Big Ten Championships at the Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course. The men’s 8,000-meter race begins at 10:45 a.m. (CT), with the women’s 6,000-meter race to follow at 11:45.

FOLLOW ALONG: For an inside look at the Iowa cross country program and to access exclusive coverage, “like” The University of Iowa Cross Country and Track and Field Facebook page and follow the Hawkeyes on X (@IowaXC_TF) and Instagram (@iowaxctf). Follow live results on the official social media channels for Iowa Cross Country and at hawkeyesports.com/tracklive.

For the first time in program history the UNI women’s basketball team is the preseason favorite in the Missouri Valley race. The Panthers return their top three scorers from last year’s that that finished 23-10 and third in the Valley race.

That’s UNI coach Tonya Warren says added experience will help the Panthers make even more progress.

Warrenm says this year’s team has added depth.

The Panthers open the season at home on November sixth against Wisconsin-Green Bay.

• Conference action continues this week, with five Big Ten contests highlighted by a pair of divisional matchups. Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Rutgers will enjoy byes this week, with the complete schedule appearing to the right.

• Four Big Ten teams appear in the AP Poll this week. Michigan leads the conference at No. 2, followed by No. 3 Ohio State and No. 10 Penn State, while Rutgers and Wisconsin are both receiving votes. The Big Ten (three teams) is the only conference with more than two teams ranked in the top-10 of the AP Poll.

• There are just nine undefeated teams remaining in the FBS, including two Big Ten teams: Michigan (8-0) and Ohio State (7-0). The Buckeyes travel to Madison this weekend to face Wisconsin, while the Wolverines enjoy a bye.

• Michigan and Penn State currently rank among the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Wolverines lead the nation in scoring defense (5.9 points per game), while ranking No. 6 nationally in scoring offense (40.6 points per game). The Nittany Lions rank No. 2 nationally in scoring defense (9.7 points per game), while ranking 9th in scoring offense (39.7 points per game).

• Five additional Big Ten teams rank in the top 25 in terms of scoring defense: Ohio State (3rd, 10.0 points per game), Iowa (8th, 14.5 points per game), Rutgers (12th, 15.8 points per game), Wisconsin (20th, 18.3 points per game) and Maryland (21st, 18.6 points per game).

• Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy threw a career-high four touchdown passes in Michigan’s 49-0 victory against Michigan State. He is 20-1 as the Wolverines starting quarterback, moving in to sixth all-time in touchdown passes (45) and No. 10 all-time with 5,034 career passing yards in program history. He’s the first Michigan quarterback this century with at least 275 passing yards, four touchdown passes and a 75% completion rate in a single game. Led by McCarthy, Michigan is the only team at the FBS level to be undefeated and win each of its games by 20-plus points through eight weeks.

• Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. led the Buckeyes to a 20-12 victory over previously unbeaten and No. 7 Penn State Saturday with a career-high 11 receptions, including the game-winning touchdown with 4:07 left to play. The junior had 162 receiving yards – his fifth time over 100 yards this season – against the No. 1 total defense and No. 1 passing defense in the nation, and his game-winning score was a catch-and-run from 18 yards out. Nine of his receptions went for an Ohio State first down, giving him 19 first down receptions the past two seasons against the Nittany Lions. Harrison Jr. is currently tied for sixth in Ohio State history with 24 career touchdown receptions, matching the total set by Brian Robiskie (2005-08).

• Wisconsin’s Braedyn Locke led a 14-point fourth quarter comeback against Illinois in his first collegiate start, propelling Wisconsin to a 25-21 win. The newcomer threw for a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner to OL Nolan Rucci with 0:27 remaining, and finished with 240 passing yards and two touchdowns on 21-for-41 passing. Locke’s 240 yards were the third-most in the Big Ten this week, trailing Michigan’s JJ McCarthy and Ohio State’s Kyle McCord.

• Penn State held Ohio State to 79 yards rushing last weekend, marking the sixth-straight opponent the Nittany Lions have held under 100 rushing yards in 2023. Over those six games, Penn State is allowing just 2.02 yards per carry. Since the start of the 2022 season, Penn State has held 15 opponents under 100 yards, tied second in the nation, and since 2014, the Nittany Lions have limited opponents to less than 100 rushing yards on 54 occasions.

• Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers have all secured bowl eligibility by reaching six wins this season, while Maryland and Wisconsin need just one more win to become eligible. The Big Ten will continue to feature the largest bowl lineup in conference history.

• Seven Big Ten Conference programs appear in the top 20 of the latest NCAA attendance rankings, including the nation’s top three schools: No. 1 Michigan (109,787 fans per game), No. 2 Penn State (108,921), No. 3 Ohio State (103,399), No. 12 Nebraska (86,973), No. 18 Wisconsin (75,732), No. 19 Michigan State (71,626) and No. 20 Iowa (69,250). Additionally, Big Ten teams own 12 of the top 15 single-game attendance highs this season, including the top eight spots.

• The 2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game will be played at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 2, at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium and will be televised nationally on FOX. The winner will earn the Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy and a chance to play in one of the six bowls that comprise the College Football Playoff.

• This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Monday, January 1, 2024, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl. Houston will host the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 8, 2024, at NRG Stadium. The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game.

• Twelve Big Ten Conference students are among the 201 semifinalists for the 2023 William V. Campbell Trophy. Now in its 34th year, the Campbell Trophy is presented annually to the nation’s top football scholar-athlete. Representing the Big Ten as this year’s Campbell Trophy semifinalists are Illinois’ Isaiah Williams, Indiana’s Trey Walker, Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa, Michigan’s Zak Zinter, Michigan State’s Maverick Hansen, Nebraska’s Brian Buschini, Northwestern’s Bryce Gallagher, Ohio State’s Cody Simon, Penn State’s Olu Fashanu, Purdue’s Gus Hartwig, Rutgers’ Mayan Ahanotu and Wisconsin’s Maema Njongmeta.

• The 2023 campaign will feature 99 All-Big Ten honorees (first-, second-, third-team or honorable mention) selected by either the coaches or the media last season, with Ohio State leading the way with 16 all-conference returnees. The East Division welcomes back 56 all-conference players, while the West returns 43. Illinois is the only West team with double-digit all-conference returnees with 10, while each team has at least one All-Big Ten performer returning.

CHICAGO, Ill. – Saturday night’s five-set match between No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Nebraska delivered 612,000 viewers, the most-watched regular season volleyball broadcast across any network and the most-watched volleyball broadcast in Big Ten Network history.

The previous record was also delivered by Nebraska and Wisconsin on BTN, as 587,000 viewers tuned in on Nov. 25, 2022. The top three regular-season volleyball matches across all networks, and four of the top five, have aired on BTN.

Volleyball broadcasts on BTN are averaging 142,00 viewers this season, a +13% increase over last year’s performance.

The Northern Iowa men are eyeing a bounce back season after an injury plagued campaign that ended with a 14-18 record. The Panthers have nearly their entire roster and better than 90 percent of their scoring returning.

That’s UNI coach Ben Jacobson, who enters his 18th year at the helm. He expects the Panthers to be improved in a number of areas.

Jacobson says roles are being defined in preseason practice.

The Panthers open on the roads on November seventh at North Texas.