Greastest Big Ten College Football Teams
1902 Michigan, 11-0: Figuring out which was the greatest team from all the current Big Ten programs was a nightmare. It's debatable if the 1901 team was better than the 1902 squad, but the 1901 team didn't play a team that was nearly as good as Minnesota or Chicago. The 1902 Michigan team beat the Golden Gopher powerhouse 23-6 and handed Chicago its only loss of the year with a 21-0 win. It also beat a not-all-that-bad Iowa squad 107-0. Do you want a smile Wolverine fans? Michigan beat Notre Dame 23-0, Michigan State 119-0 and Ohio State 86-0. It's doubtful that the Wolverines will be able to do that again. On the year, Michigan outscored teams 644-12.
1968 Ohio State, 10-0: This team was a machine averaging 32 points and 440 yards per game. Eleven players from this team were All-Americans including Jim Otis, Jack Tatum and Jim Stillwagon. The Buckeyes beat No. 1 Purdue 13-0 and No. 4 Michigan 50-14. The high point in the national title winning season was a 27-16 win over O.J. Simpson and USC giving the Trojans their first loss of the year.
1901 Michigan, 11-0: How can this team not be one of the top teams of all-time? Fielding Yost's crew outscored its eleven opponents by a total of 550-0 highlighted by a 128-0 pasting of Buffalo. The only reason Michigan isn't higher is because it played too many miserable teams compared to some of the great opponents the 1902 Michigan and 1968 Ohio State teams played. But it's not like the 1901 team played all patsies. Iowa and Indiana were O.K., but had no prayer of winning getting whacked by a combined score of 83-0. Oh yeah, Michigan also beat Ohio State 21-0. The team traveled west finishing the season winning the first Tournament of Roses Game by beating Stanford 49-0.
2002 Ohio State, 14-0: The Buckeyes might have had several close calls and struggled on the road all season long, but winning fourteen games against a good schedule is as impressive as any season that any team has ever played. Included in those wins were victories over eventual bowl winners Texas Tech, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Purdue and Michigan. The Buckeyes outscored their opponents 410-183 while facing eight bowl bound teams. Oh yeah ... there was that win over Miami in the Fiesta Bowl.
1904 Minnesota, 13-0: The 1904 Gophers knew how to pour it on beating Twin Cities Central High 107-0 and Grinnell 146-0 for what was referred to as the "world's record for scoring." One of the other powerhouses in the 1904 season was Nebraska, but Minnesota found a way to pull off the 16-12 win. Those twelve points were the only ones scored on Minnesota all season as it outscored its opponents 725 to 12.
1947 Michigan, 10-0: This team should probably be ranked higher after outscoring the teams on a good schedule 394-53. Led by halfbacks Robert Chappuis and Bump Elliott, Fritz Crisler's squad blew out a very good Michigan State team 55-0. The Spartans went 7-1 against everyone else. The Wolverines beat No. 8 USC 49-0 in the Rose Bowl with Chappuis setting a record for total offense and pass completions.
1994 Penn State, 12-0: In its second season in the Big Ten, this Penn State team has never gotten its proper respect. Penn State suffered from having its magical season in the same year that Tom Osborne finally had an unbeaten team, but this Nittany Lions might have been more talented with Ki-Jana Carter, Kerry Collins and Kyle Brady each going within the first nine picks of the 1995 NFL Draft and had ten more players go in the 1996 draft. The Nittany Lions played a classic game in a 35-31 win over Illinois, gave up some oh-by-the-way scores to Indiana in a 35-29 win, played a sensational game against a No. 5 Michigan team winning 31-24, and obliterated everyone else. The highlight was a 63-14 win over No. 21 Ohio State.
1923 Illinois, 8-0: Illinois had won two national championships over the previous nine seasons, but this team was the best of the bunch. Head coach Robert Zuppke had the best player in college football in Red Grange and possibly the best place to watch a game in a completed Memorial Stadium. The Illini handed Chicago its only loss of the season with a 7-0 win and didn't allow a point over the final five games of the season.
1973 Michigan, 10-0-1 and 1973 Ohio State, 10-0-1: Could these two finish anywhere on this list other than tied? Neither won the national title in 1973, but that was only because they had to play each other. Michigan had outscored its first ten opponents 320-58 while Ohio State had buried teams 403 to 54 in its first ten games. Michigan fans will say that the Wolverines should be a bit higher since their team pulled off the tie with star quarterback Dennis Franklin injured. Ohio State fans might want their team higher since it blew out a good USC team 42-21 in the Rose Bowl. Fans of other teams lower on this list might think their teams should be higher since the 1973 Wolverines and Buckeyes combined to beat a total of four teams that finished the season with winning records. No matter. These two teams were still monsters.
1954 Ohio State, 10-0: Woody Hayes was getting some heat after a few average seasons in Columbus, and then he came up with this crew. With outstanding players like lineman Jim Parker and Heisman winning halfback Hopalong Cassady, the Buckeyes beat No. 2 Wisconsin 31-14 and No. 20 Pittsburgh 26-0. On the year, Ohio State played five ranked teams and beat them by a combined score of 139-55 including a 20-7 win over USC in the Rose Bowl. On the year, the OSU defense forced 35 takeaways.
1982 Penn State, 11-1: The Nittany Lions beat the No. 2 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers 27-24 in a classic game, but lost two weeks later against No. 4 Alabama 42-21. They blasted everyone else culminating in a wonderful 27-23 performance over Herschel Walker and No. 1 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl to win the national title. On the year, Penn State played four teams in the top five, five ranked teams and beat an astounding eight teams that finished the season with winning records. The talent? Curt Warner and Todd Blackledge were taken in the first seven picks of the 1983 NFL Draft. Kenny Jackson was taken fourth in the 1984 draft. 17 players were drafted over the 1983 and 1984 drafts.
1997 Michigan, 12-0: Led by Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson and clutch play all season from Brian Griese, the Wolverines won a share of the national title by beating seven teams that finished with winning records including a 34-8 stomping of Penn State. While Michigan played a good schedule, it didn't have to face any of the really big boys in a bowl game missing Nebraska, Florida State, and all of the nasty SEC teams of 1997. In the new world of the BCS, Michigan would've played the Huskers.
1965 Michigan State, 10-1: The 1965 Spartans won the national championship even though they were upset by UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Michigan State beat the Bruins 13-3 earlier in the season along with a 32-7 win over Ohio State, a 14-10 win over Purdue and a 12-3 win over Notre Dame. Led by Bubba Smith and George Webster, Michigan State had eight All-Americans.
1966 Michigan State, 9-0-1: On talent, the 1966 team was among the best of any on this list, but the 1966 Spartans played a great Notre Dame team to a classic 10-10 tie, handed Purdue one of only two losses on the year, and didn't really play anyone else of note.
1948 Michigan, 9-0: This team should probably be much higher, but it wasn't quite the juggernaut the 1947 team was. Bennie Oosterbaan's first coaching season was quite a success finishing the season 9-0 outscoring teams 252-44. Michigan faced four ranked teams beating them by a total 108-17. An interesting footnote for all of you who hope to still play college football someday. Michigan All-America tackle Alvin Wisert was 31 joining the team after four years in the Marine Corps.
1903 Michigan, 11-0-1 and 1903 Minnesota, 14-0-1: Fielding Yost's 1903 "Host of Yost" Michigan team was 7-0 before facing the 10-0 Minnesota squad. Michigan had outscored its first seven opponents 443-0, but it hadn't faced anyone of substance. Minnesota had outscored its first ten opponents 512-0 including a 75-0 win over a great Iowa team and beat Iowa State 46-0 for its only loss. The two tied 6-6 in what would essentially be the national championship game and ending up starting the tradition of the Little Brown Jug. Many of the 20,000 Minnesota fans were so excited over the performance that they stormed the field and the game had to be called with two minutes to play. The six points Minnesota scored were the only ones Michigan gave up on the year closing the season out with a 28-0 win over a Chicago team that was 12-1-1 before the meeting. Minnesota allowed the six points to Michigan, six points to Minneapolis Central High School in the season opener, and that was it outscoring teams 618-12 on the year.
1940 Minnesota, 8-0: Minnesota won three straight national titles from 1934 to 1936, but slipped for a couple of years. The star backfield tandem of Bruce Smith and George Franck helped the Golden Gophers hand Michigan its only loss of the season. Minnesota also upset a great Nebraska team and survived several late scares to win the national title.
1986 Penn State, 12-0: This wasn't nearly the most talented group of individuals Joe Paterno ever coached, but it was one of his best teams. Miami was far, far more talented with a who's who of future NFL stars, but Penn State beat the No. 1 and heavily favored Canes in the Fiesta Bowl. It also beat No. 2 Alabama 23-3.