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Big Ten Football: Ranking the 30 best players of all time

By Quinn Douglas

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 02: The Ohio State Buckeyes celebrate after their 27-21 win over the Wisconsin Badgers during the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 02: The Ohio State Buckeyes celebrate after their 27-21 win over the Wisconsin Badgers during the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 2, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Chuck Long Career Statistics, 1981-1985

  • Games Played: 50
  • Completions: 721
  • Pass Attempts: 1,111
  • Completion Percentage: 64.9
  • Passing Yards: 10,461
  • Passing Touchdowns: 74
  • Interceptions: 46
  • Passing Yards per Game: 209.2
  • Notables: 1985 Heisman Trophy runner-up, 1985 Maxwell Award, 1985 Davey O’Brien Award, 1985 Consensus First Team All-American, 1983-85 First Team All-Big Ten.

Before Hayden Fry came to Iowa, the Big Ten was known as the “Big Two and Little Eight”, referencing the dominance of Ohio State and Michigan in the 1970’s. In Fry’s third season, Iowa won the 1981 Big Ten Championship, and on that team was an unknown quarterback named Chuck Long. While at Iowa, Long would help revolutionize offense in the Big Ten conference as a whole.

Related Story: Iowa Football: 5 underrated 2018 signees

At the time of his graduation, Long was one of the most prolific quarterbacks in college football history. He became the second quarterback in NCAA history to pass for over 10,000 yards in a career, the first being Doug Flutie. Long does however currently hold the NCAA record for highest completion percentage with over 1,000 career pass attempts at 64.9 percent. He is also the only player in college football history to play in five bowl games, thanks to a loophole in the NCAA rulebook.

The high point for Long’s career came in the 1985 season. He led Iowa to a No. 1 ranking for a handful of weeks before being upset by Ohio State in the Horseshoe. Long also brought Iowa fans one of the most memorable wins in school history, when the No. 1 Hawkeyes beat No. 2 Michigan on a last-second field goal 12-10 in the biggest game in school history to that point. Long finished runner-up in the 1985 Heisman Trophy but did win the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien Awards following the 1985 season.

Long was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 1986 NFL Draft.

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