To the surprise of absolutely no one, Penn State finished the season as the No. 1 team in the country in the USA Today/NWCA Poll. They made it wire-to-wire in the top spot and took first place in the Big Ten as well.
Rutgers moved up two spots in the final poll on the strength of its weekend sweep. Rutgers finished the regular season over .500, the twelfth straight year in which they had a winning record. It took that weekend sweep at Wisconsin and Princeton to close out that way.
Eleven Big Ten schools finished the season in the USA Today/NWCA top 25.