A while back I did a little comparison to find how all of the top Big Ten teams ranked over the span of the 1990's.
Now, I have started to compile the teams from the year 2000 and beyond.
The teams were selected according to the following criteria (in no particular order):
TEAM #11: 2000 Northwestern Wildcats
Overall Record: 8-4
Conference Record: 6-2
Power Rating: .659
Strength of Schedule: .621
Big Ten Strength: .579
Losses to: TCU (12), Purdue (25), Iowa (81), Nebraska (7)
Blown out by: Nebraska and TCU
Significant Wins: Wisconsin (18) and Michigan (12)
Record vs. Top 30: 2-3
Average Pts Scored: 37
Average Pts Allowed: 33
Key Players: Damien Andersen, Dwayne Missouri, Nap Harris, Leon Brockmeier, Tim Long,
Billy Silva, Harold Blackmon
Summary/Comments: UGGHHH! Northwestern was BY FAR the worst Big Ten champion in memory and more than likely in the history of the Big Ten. Where to begin? First off, their record was mediocre (by champion standards) despite a less than scintilating schedule. They lost a game to a very bad Iowa team, and of their four losses, two were by huge blowouts while the other two were not very close games. Of their two significant wins, one was against a Wisconsin team missing their arguably two best players and the other was against Michigan when they received a gift fumble late in the game. The scoring margin was a joke and their defense was the worst for a Big Ten champion ever. They also did not do especially well against top teams. That enough for you? Looking at their raw numbers, they were a 3rd to 5th place level team that was VERY lucky to catch the Big Ten in a very strange year. In fact, one can make a case for 4th and 5th place teams like Ohio State and Wisconsin being better on paper.
TEAM #10: 2000 Purdue Boilermakers
Overall Record: 8-4
Conference Record: 6-2
Power Rating: .694
Strength of Schedule: .603
Big Ten Strength: .579
Losses to: Notre Dame (13), Penn State (71), Michigan State (64), and Washington (4)
Blown out by: Michigan State
Significant Wins: Wisconsin (18), Ohio State (19), and Michigan (12)
Record vs. Top 30: 3-2
Average Pts Scored: 32
Average Pts Allowed: 22
Key Players: Drew Brees, Vinny Sutherland, Matt Light, Tim Stratton, Akin Ayodele,
Matt Mitrione, Stu Schweigert
Summary/Comments: Like Northwestern, the 2000 Boilermakers were also a dubious Big Ten champion at best, though their resume is a bit stronger than Northwestern's. Purdue did a pretty good job against top 30 teams, beating Wisconsin in OT and Michigan on a late FG. On the downside though was their four overall losses, including two to bad teams in PSU and MSU (a blowout loss). A team with a mediocre record in a down year for the conference with losses to two bottom division teams is simply not a high quality team (relative to this list). The shame here is that two of the Purdue losses were primarily due to special teams problems. If Tiller would have paid more attention to such details, this team very well may have been able to appear closer to the middle of the list. As it is, they are going to have a hard time staying on the list once we reach the end of the decade.
TEAM #9: 2001 Michigan Wolverines
Overall Record: 8-4
Conference Record: 6-2
Power Rating: .730
Strength of Schedule: .735
Big Ten Strength: .598
Losses to: Washington (26), Michigan State (45), Ohio State (37), Tennessee (3)
Blown out by: Tennessee
Significant Wins: Illinois (10), Iowa (34)
Record vs. Top 30: 1-2
Average Pts Scored: 27
Average Pts Allowed: 20
Key Players: Marquise Walker, Jonathan Goodwin, Hayden Epstein, Larry Foote, Victor Hobson, Kurt
Anderson, BJ Askew, Eric Brackins, Charles Drake, Cato June, Shantee Orr, Tony Pape, Dave
Petruziello, Dan Rumishek, Bill Seymour
Summary/Comments: In some respects, it was a season that might have been for the Wolverines. While they were not as good as they have been in recent years, the Big Ten was there for the taking for the Wolverines, as evidenced by their destruction of champion Illinois. However, a key loss to a so-so Ohio State team and a screw-job by the timekeepers in East Lansing prevented another Big Ten title. On the plus side, other than their Citrus Bowl game against Tennessee, nobody handled Michigan with any authority, as their other 3 losses were all tight. However, while their schedule overall was decent, the conference as a whole was down and other than the Illinois win, they didn't really beat anybody of any quality. They very well could have lost the Iowa as well as the Wisconsin games.
TEAM #8: 2000 Michigan Wolverines
Overall Record: 9-3
Conference Record: 6-2
Power Rating: .747
Strength of Schedule: .561
Big Ten Strength: .579
Losses to: UCLA (38), Purdue (25), Northwestern (34)
Blown out by: none
Significant Wins: Wisconsin (18), Ohio State (19), Auburn (30)
Record vs. Top 30: 3-1
Average Pts Scored: 34
Average Pts Allowed: 19
Key Players: Anthony Thomas, David Terrell, Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus, Larry Foote,
Drew Henson
Summary/Comments: Michigan was the Big Ten tri-champ in 2000. On paper they were the best of the three champions by a pretty wide margin. Their schedule was not overly impressive, thanks in part to a down year in the Big Ten, but they did well against the top teams. In addition, all three of their losses were very close and could have gone either way, which leads one to believe that they should have probably been an elite level team. On the downside, two of their three losses came to non-top 30 teams, something that great teams cannot do.
TEAM #7: 2003 Iowa Hawkeyes
Overall Record: 10-3
Conference Record: 5-3
Power Rating: .775
Strength of Schedule: .633
Big Ten Strength: .595
Losses to: Michigan State (35), Ohio State (8), and Purdue (23)
Blown out by: Purdue
Significant Wins: Michigan (9), Minnesota (25), Florida (18)
Record vs. Top 30: 3-2
Average Pts Scored: 29
Average Pts Allowed: 16
Key Players: Robert Gallery, Fred Russell, Matt Roth, Bob Sanders, Howard Hodges, Chad Greenway,
Abdul Hodge, Nate Kaeding
Summary/Comments: In a down year in the Big Ten, Iowa only finished 4th which put them at big disadvantage of even making this list. However, a dominating performance over Florida in their bowl game got them over that hump. Teams that lose 3 conference games aren't generally considered really really good, but Iowa had a nice victory margin, controlling all of their lesser opponents pretty easily, in large part due to a very good defense.
TEAM #6: 2001 Illinois Fighting Illini
Overall Record: 10-2
Conference Record: 7-1
Power Rating: .776
Strength of Schedule: .625
Big Ten Strength: .598
Losses to: Michigan (19) and LSU (9)
Blown out by: Michigan
Significant Wins: Louisville (15), Ohio State (37)
Record vs. Top 30: 1-2
Average Pts Scored: 33
Average Pts Allowed: 23
Key Players: Jay Kulaga, Tony Pashos, Kurt Kittner, Brandon Lloyd, Luke Butkus, Eugene Wilson, Bobby Jackson, Muhammad Abdullah, Peter Christofilakos, Steve Fitts, Brandon Moore, Christain Morton, Jerry Schumacher
Summary/Comments: The 2001 Illini were a step up from the 2000 mess of teams, but they were not your classically dominant team. Their schedule was weak, both in and out of conference, and they had just one win that could be called significant, that over a solid Louisville team. When facing their other two top notch foes, they were blown out by Michigan and were throttled badly by LSU before a late rally made the score respectable. Still, the Illini did what they had to do and beat the teams they needed to behind a pretty good offense on their way to the Big Ten title.
TEAM #5: 2002 Michigan Wolverines
Overall Record: 10-3
Conference Record: 6-2
Power Rating: .790
Strength of Schedule: .786
Big Ten Strength: .631
Losses to: Notre Dame (13), Iowa (8), Ohio State (1)
Blown out by: Iowa
Significant Wins: Washington (39), Penn State (15), Purdue (38), Wisconsin (31), Florida (26)
Record vs. Top 30: 2-3
Average Pts Scored: 28
Average Pts Allowed: 20
Key Players: David Baas, Tony Pape, Bennie Joppru, Braylon Edwards, Victor Hobson, Marlin Jackson,
Adam Finley, Dan Rumishek, Shantee Orr, John Navarre, Grant Bowman, Cato June
Summary/Comments: Despite finishing third in the Big Ten, the '02 Wolverine squad was arguably better than the Big Ten winners over the prior couple years. They lost three games, but played an exceptionally tough schedule and all three losses were to top 13 teams. They weren't a dominant team by any stretch, but were consistently pretty good, finding a way to win tight games against Washington, Utah, PSU, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Florida. They weren't in the class of the great teams, but deserve their fairly high ranking.
TEAM #4: 2003 Ohio State Buckeyes
Overall Record: 11-2
Conference Record: 6-2
Power Rating: .801
Strength of Schedule: .688
Big Ten Strength: .595
Losses to: Wisconsin (45) and Michigan (9)
Blown out by: Michigan
Significant Wins: Iowa (11), Purdue (23), NC State (29), Bowling Green (24), Kansas State (12),
Michigan State (35)
Record vs. Top 30: 5-1
Average Pts Scored: 25
Average Pts Allowed: 18
Key Players: Alex Stepanovich, Shane Olivea, Ben Hartsock, Mike Nugent, Will Smith, Tim Anderson,
AJ Hawk, Will Allen, BJ Sander, Chris Gamble, Michael Jenkins, Craig Krenzel,
Dustin Fox
Summary/Comments: The Buckeyes followed up their 2002 national championship with a second place finish in the Big Ten. They boasted a strong record against the top 30 (5-1). They were not a dominant team, with only a marginal point differential, but they boasted a strong defense and generally played solid winning football. Despite a somewhat down year in the Big Ten, they still played a pretty good schedule thanks to a solid NC schedule.
TEAM #3: 2003 Michigan Wolverines
Overall Record: 10-3
Conference Record: 7-1
Power Rating: .797
Strength of Schedule: .635
Big Ten Strength: .595
Losses to: Oregon (39), Iowa (11), USC (2)
Blown out by: USC
Significant Wins: Ohio State (8), Purdue (23), Minnesota (25), Michigan State (35)
Record vs. Top 30: 3-3
Average Pts Scored: 35
Average Pts Allowed: 17
Key Players: Chris Perry, John Navarre, Braylon Edwards, David Baas, Tony Pape, Jason Avant,
Larry Stevens, Pierre Woods, Markus Curry, Jeremy LeSueur, Ernest Shazor, Dave Pearson, Grant Bowman
Summary/Comments: The 2003 Michigan squad was a disappointment in some ways. They probably had the most balanced/talented team in the conference and showed it with a solid margin of victory with some convincing wins over teams like Purdue and Ohio State. However, they lost narrow contests to Iowa and Oregon which put a tarnish on their season and prevented them from being considered one of the nationally elite. While their power rating is slightly lower than 2003 OSU, they were bumped ahead on the basis of being Big Ten champs as well as throttling the Buckeyes in the final regular season game of the year.
TEAM #2: 2002 Iowa Hawkeyes
Overall Record: 11-2
Conference Record: 8-0
Power Rating: .818
Strength of Schedule: .619
Big Ten Strength: .631
Losses to: Iowa State (43), USC (2)
Blown out by: USC
Significant Wins: Penn State (15), Purdue (38), Michigan (10), Wisconsin (31)
Record vs. Top 30: 2-1
Average Pts Scored: 37
Average Pts Allowed: 20
Key Players: Brad Banks, Fred Russell, Bruce Nelson, Eric Steinbach, Robert Gallery, Dallas Clark,
Nate Kaeding, Colin Cole, Fred Barr, Bob Sanders, Howard Hodges, Grant Steen, Derek Pagel, David Porter
Summary/Comments: The '02 Iowa squad's claim to fame was running the table in a strong Big Ten year to finish as co-champs with OSU. They had a dominant offense led by a stellar OL, racking up 37 PPG. On the downside, their SOS was only so-so despite a strong year in the Big Ten, thanks to a couple of stinker NC games as well as missing OSU. As a result, their record against top 30 teams was only 2-1, including a blowout at the hands of USC. Their other loss seemed like a solid defeat at the time, but ISU fell apart as the year went along, putting that "L" as another black mark against their record. Still, a clear cut outstanding team.
TEAM #1: 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes
Overall Record: 14-0
Conference Record: 8-0
Power Rating: .923
Strength of Schedule: .730
Big Ten Strength: .631
Losses to: none
Blown out by: none
Significant Wins: Texas Tech (20), Washington St. (16), Wisconsin (31), Penn State (15), Purdue (38),
Michigan (10), Miami (3)
Record vs. Top 30: 5-0
Average Pts Scored: 29
Average Pts Allowed: 13
Key Players: Craig Krenzel, Maurice Clarett, Michael Jenkins, Shane Olivea, Mike Nugent, Darrion Scott,
Matt Wilhelm, Mike Doss, Chris Gamble, Andy Groom, Tim Anderson, Kenny Peterson, Will Smith,
Cie Grant
Summary/Comments: You can't argue with 14-0 against that kind of schedule. No, they weren't the most dominant team around in terms of margin of victory, pulling out reasonably close games against Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, and Miami. However, the bottom line is they were able to find a way to get the "W". Their overall strength of schedule was outstanding, with 5 wins against top 30 teams. It also should be noted that the Big Ten was rated as the toughest conference in the nation in 2002, so running the table has added significance. Their offense was solid, but their defense was truly special and should garner much of the credit for their well-deserved national title.