Big Ten Football: Ranking the B1G’s 25 conference champs since 2000

Big Ten football is poised to enter the 2025 season this fall, meaning the 2nd quarter of the 21st century is about to begin!

For some, it’s hard even to remember what college football looked like in the year 2000. The sport has undergone many changes since then, including the widespread implementation of conference championship games, conference expansion, the implementation of the College Football Playoff, expansion of the Playoff and so on.

Regardless of what the sport looks like today, there’s never a bad time to reflect and reminisce on some of the past winners in the Big Ten. With that in mind, we’ve ranked the conference champs from each season from the first quarter of the 21st century.

Let’s dive in!

25. Wisconsin — 2012

It’s not hard to spot the worst champion from the past 25 seasons, though there is a key caveat involved. The Badgers, 4-4 in the B1G, advanced to the title game over undefeated Ohio State and 6-2 Penn State due to those 2 programs being ineligible for the postseason that year. The Badgers proceeded to drop 70 points in a shellacking of Nebraska, sending Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl with an 8-5 overall record.

24. Michigan — 2004

The final title of Lloyd Carr’s tenure, the Wolverines were led by some star power in Chad Henne, Braylon Edwards and Mike Hart, but Michigan struggled defensively at times. Technically, the Wolverines tied with Iowa for the league title, but the nod goes to Michigan due to a head-to-head win over the Hawkeyes.

23. Purdue — 2000

The 2000 B1G title ended in a 3-way tie between Michigan, Purdue and Northwestern, and the Boilermakers earned the selection after head-to-head victories over the Wolverines and Wildcats. Those victories also earned Purdue the Rose Bowl appearance, though that was a disappointing loss to Washington. Drew Brees was the star of the show in his senior season, capturing the B1G Offensive Player of the Year Award and a 3rd-place finish for the Heisman Trophy.

22. Ohio State — 2009

The final outright title for Jim Tressel, Ohio State’s 2009 squad, did not exactly light the world on fire. That’s a tough designation for a group that went 11-2 and won the Rose Bowl, but the Buckeyes likely would have avoided those 2 losses if the offense was better than 50th in the country at 29 points per game.

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21. Michigan — 2003

Michigan began the 2003 season as the No. 4 team in the country, and the Wolverines did not fully underachieve after an outright league title and No. 6 AP finish. However, losses to Oregon, Iowa and USC (in the Rose Bowl) dampened what could have been a wildly successful campaign.

20. Illinois — 2001

The 2001 B1G title is one of the all-time moments for Illinois football. Aside from a loss to Michigan, the Illini ran the table in the regular season with a 10-1 overall record. They would lose to 2nd-year LSU head coach Nick Saban in the Sugar Bowl, but it’s hard to take away from the accomplishment as a whole for Illinois.

19. Penn State — 2008

In 2008, Penn State and Ohio State tied for the league title. But, thanks to a rare win in Columbus, the Nittany Lions held the tie-breaker and went to the Rose Bowl. USC would win that game, but 2008 was a year to remember for some electric performances from QB Daryll Clark and LB Navorro Bowman.

18. Wisconsin — 2010

The 2010 title was another 3-way tie between Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin. The Badgers beat the Buckeyes, and the Spartans beat the Badgers, so the tie-breaker went to Wisconsin as the No. 4 team in the AP Poll following the regular season. The Badgers actually boasted a dominant offense this season, averaging 41.5 points per game behind a RB trifecta of James White, John Clay and a breakout sophomore by the name of Montee Ball.

17. Michigan State — 2015

No one could argue the CFP merits of Michigan State based on the results on the field, but it’s hard to envision how these Spartans went 12-1 in the regular season with a B1G title after a 60th-ranked offense and 25th-ranked defense. The short story? Mark Dantonio got his guys ready for the big games, including knocking off No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus. An injury to QB Connor Cook had the Spartans scuffling by the time the Playoff came around, but he still engineered a game-winning drive for the ages in Indianapolis.

RELATED: Whether it is Sparty or the Wolverines, use the Michigan sports betting apps for all the odds throughout the college football season.

16. Wisconsin — 2011

The 2011 season featured the first-ever B1G Championship Game between the “Leaders & Legends” divisions, and it did not disappoint. Wisconsin and Michigan State met for the title in a rematch of a regular-season game that the Spartans won on a Hail Mary. The rematch between Kirk Cousins and Russell Wilson lived up to the hype, though it was Wilson’s Badgers pulling out a thrilling 3-point win. Had Wisconsin avoided a loss to Ohio State and some interim head coach named Luke Fickell, it’s likely the Badgers would have maintained a shot at playing for a BCS national title.

15. Ohio State — 2017

The 2017 season began a 4-year run of dominance by Ohio State in the B1G, though the 2017 squad was arguably the least impressive of that group. The Buckeyes allowed 86 combined points in regular-season losses to Oklahoma and Iowa, but they did respond with an upset of Wisconsin in Indianapolis. JT Barrett, JK Dobbins, Terry McLaurin, Parris Campbell, Nick Bosa and Sam Hubbard are just a few of the stars from that campaign.

14. Ohio State — 2018

The 2018 Ohio State offense featured one of the best individual seasons by a QB in B1G history with Dwayne Haskins going for 50 touchdowns, over 4,800 yards and completing 70% of his passes for an offense that averaged 42.4 points per game. The problem? The defense was 52nd nationally in points allowed per game (25.5), including giving up 49 points in a loss to Purdue that all but kept the Buckeyes out of the Playoff.

13. Michigan State — 2013

Michigan State’s 2013 title is a testament to timing. Unfortunately, the Spartans were one year too early for the Playoff. After an early-season loss to Notre Dame, MSU rattled off 10-straight victories to end the season, complete with an upset of No. 2 Ohio State in the B1G title game. The Spartans rode their dominant defense to a Rose Bowl win over Stanford, and it’s fair to wonder what a Playoff featuring Florida State, Auburn, Alabama and MSU might have looked like.

12. Penn State — 2005

Penn State is 2005 was another program that was way too early to think about the Playoff. It’s unlikely the Nittany Lions would have beaten either Texas or USC, but a regular-season loss to Michigan kept them out of the title hunt. A standout defense led by Paul Posluszny and Tamba Hali still led the program to an Orange Bowl win and 11-1 finish.

11. Penn State — 2016

This Penn State squad was far from a complete product, as evidenced by giving up 42 points to Pitt and getting blown out by Michigan. The Nittany Lions did register a monumental upset of Ohio State and eventually went to Indy after the Buckeyes beat Michigan, but the rest of the schedule did not provide enough opportunities for Penn State to make its case for the Playoff with 2 losses. James Franklin and company also wound up on the losing end of the 2nd-highest scoring Rose Bowl in the history of the game.

10. Ohio State — 2007

Ohio State was the top team in the country for much of the season, riding a dominant defense led by a couple of linebackers by the name of James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman. The Buckeyes would rebound from a late-season loss to Illinois by beating Michigan in a defensive slugfest, and they regained their No. 1 spot in time for the BCS Championship Game. Unfortunately, it was back-to-back heartbreak for OSU with LSU scoring 31-straight points after falling behind early in a runaway victory for the title.

9. Ohio State — 2020

If not for COVID, we might be talking about the 2020 campaign as the year of Justin Fields winning the Heisman for the Buckeyes. This Ohio State team had serious title talent and played for the national championship before a blowout loss to Alabama. Had this team played a full season, they might be even higher on this list, but there’s enough unknown since they played just 8 total games in 2020.

8. Michigan — 2021

The first of Jim Harbaugh’s 3-straight B1G titles, this Michigan team was undoubtedly the least impressive of the 3. The offense was fairly one-dimensional at times with Cade McNamara under center, and the schedule was far from impressive outside of games at Michigan State and vs. Ohio State. And this Wolverines team lost to Sparty.

7. Michigan — 2022

The 2022 team was actually the most balanced of Jim Harbaugh’s run in Ann Arbor, with a top-10 unit on both sides of the ball. The Wolverines beat Penn State by 24 and Ohio State by 22 — in Columbus — before dropping 43 on Purdue in Indianapolis. The only confounding part is trying to decipher how TCU managed to hang 51 points on Michigan, though 2 pick-6s from JJ McCarthy helped the Horned Frogs significantly.

6. Oregon — 2024

After some close calls early in the year, Oregon hit its stride with a midseason win over Ohio State, staking its spot as the No. 1 team in the country shortly after. The Ducks would hold that spot through a 13-0 regular season and undefeated B1G title, grabbing the top seed in the first 12-team Playoff. It all came crashing down in a Rose Bowl loss to the Buckeyes, but Dan Lanning had difference-makers on both sides of the ball.

5. Ohio State — 2019

Ohio State was the toast of the B1G by a wide margin in 2019, winning all 5 games against ranked league opponents by an average of 21.6 points. Justin Fields was an electric Heisman contender, JK Dobbins rushed for 2,000 yards, and the defense was among the nation’s elite, led by 16.5 sacks from Chase Young. The Buckeyes ultimately lost a controversial Fiesta Bowl CFP Semifinal to Clemson, falling just short with a chance to win it in the 4th.

4. Ohio State — 2002

Ohio State won the national title in 2002 but falls just behind a team on this list that would lose in the national title game. That’s because the 2002 squad technically tied for the league title with Iowa also going undefeated in the B1G. Jim Tressel’s squad completed a 14-0 national title on the back of its elite defense with an offense that was just 41st nationally in scoring (29.3 points per game).

3. Ohio State — 2006

Ohio State would get blown out by Florida in the BCS title game, but the Buckeyes carried the No. 1 spot in the country all season long behind top-10 units on both sides of the ball. Troy Smith would deliver the Heisman Trophy, punctuating his season with 316 yards and 4 touchdowns in a thriller vs. Michigan. Just don’t ask fans what Smith looked like vs. the Gators.

2. Michigan — 2023

It’s hard to top a team that went 15-0, including a 3rd-straight win over Ohio State and dominant defense. If there is one complaint to be had, it is that the Wolverines began regressing in their offensive efficiency on the ground in 2023. Oh, and there’s that small issue of the Connor Stalions fiasco and multiple 3-game suspensions for Harbaugh. No one can be faulted for discrediting Michigan’s performance, but if restricted to the results on the field, Michigan deserves this spot on the list.

1. Ohio State — 2014

It’s still hard to fathom that this Ohio State team lost on the road to Virginia Tech in the nonconference schedule. After that, it was game on for the Buckeyes. JT Barrett was a Heisman contender after replacing Braxton Miller following Miller’s preseason injury, and Cardale Jones carried the load after Barrett’s late-season injury. It’s also easy to forget this team may have missed the Playoff entirely if not for a thorough 59-0 drubbing of a Wisconsin team that was ranked 11th in the country. Wins over Alabama and Oregon gave the Buckeyes the title, and the talent for this squad was off the charts. Ezekiel Elliott, Devin Smith, Michael Thomas, Joey Bosa, Vonn Bell, Darron Lee and Joshua Perry are just some of the stars to contribute.