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Riley Gates
Since the realignment of the Big Ten Conference, one team has kept its grip on the Big Ten Conference: The Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State has won four of the last six Big Ten Championship games. Simply put, the Buckeyes own the Big Ten.
But while Ohio State might dominate the conference, it isn’t the only school that has been dominant in some fashion. While it might not be dominating the conference like the Buckeyes, some teams have dominance over another in-conference teams. The most notable dominant run belongs to both Michigan and Ohio State, while Rutgers has the shortest run of dominance over a Big Ten team.
Which matchups among Big Ten teams have been the most one-sided between teams? Which ones aren’t as dominant as some of the longer ones in the conference? Using winsipedia.com’s records, here is a look at every Big Ten team’s longest in-conference winning streak over a fellow Big Ten opponent.
INDIANA HOOSIERS
The Streak: 3 wins over Illinois
How they got there: Illinois had dominated Indiana, winning four of five meetings from 2007-2011, but the Hoosiers recently took back the momentum with three wins in the last three meetings to stand out as the longest winning streak. Playing at home for two of those games helped, too.
MARYLAND TERRAPINS
The Streak: 2 wins over Rutgers
How they got there: Over the last five years, Maryland has really started to take the rivalry’s edge. The Terrapins have won four of the last five games and back-to-back matchups. Sadly for Maryland fans, a two-game win streak over one of the worst teams in all of college football isn’t much to brag about.
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
The Streak: 24 wins over Indiana
How they got there: Granted, there were times during the 24-game winning streak that Michigan would go a few years without playing Indiana. But a 24-game streak is something that isn’t easy to come by no matter what. You have to go all the way back to 1987 for the last time that Indiana beat Michigan and that was just a four-point game or the streak would be much longer. The Wolverines own this one.
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS
The Streak: 8 wins over Purdue
How they got there: This is a complete flip from what it was in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Boilermakers won seven of eight games over the Spartans from 1997-2006, but then Michigan State took control of the matchup again starting in 2007. The two teams didn’t play in 2019, allowing the Spartans to hold down the series even longer.
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
The Streak: 24 wins over Indiana
How they got there: Ohio State has technically won 25-straight games over Indiana, but the 2010 victory was vacated. And had it not been for that and a tie in 1990, this winning streak would be at 27 games. It’s been since 1988 that the Hoosiers have taken a game over the Buckeyes and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
The Streak: 13 wins over Rutgers
How they got there: Since Rutgers wasn’t always in the Big Ten, the dominance in this conference only started in 2014. Still, though, you have to jump back to 1988 for the last time that Rutgers was able to beat Penn State. The Nittany Lions are emerging as a top program in the conference and the Scarlet Knights aren’t likely to be a team that knocks them off.
RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS
The Streak: 1 win over Purdue
How they got there: After Rutgers went 1-11 in 2018, the chances of any streak being very long wasn’t good. But during the 4-8 season in 2017, the Scarlet Knights got a win over Purdue that hasn’t been put to the test in two seasons, so the one-game winning streak it is.
ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI
The Streak: 2 wins over Michigan State and Rutgers, each
How they got there: Michigan State dominated Illinois for 13 games from 1995-2013, winning 12 of them. But since 2016, the teams have only played twice and Illinois has won both battles. It will be interesting to see what happens in the matchup with a new head coach for the Spartans. Rutgers and Illinois just haven’t had much of a history, playing a mere six games against each other in history, but the Illini have won the last two.
IOWA HAWKEYES
The Streak: 6 wins over Illinois
How they got there: Iowa simply has dominated Illinois for the nearly 20 years now. Sure, they’ve won six-straight games, but overall, the Hawkeyes have won 11 of the last 12 games. And the only game Illinois won in that stretch was by a mere three points in 2008. An incredibly dominant stretch by the Hawkeyes.
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
The Streak: 3 wins over Indiana
How they got there: In fairness to Indiana, these teams don’t face each other much. The Golden Gophers have won three-straight games over the Hoosiers, but those three were the only three played since 2008. If they played more often, we might see a different shift of power. But for now, this is where it sits.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS
The Streak: 4 wins over Rutgers
How they got there: Nobody probably expected Nebraska’s longest winning streak to be against Rutgers when it moved to the Big Ten, but the Huskers have struggled recently and haven’t been able to climb the mountain in the Big Ten yet. That said, when they face Rutgers, the Huskers don’t lose. Literally. Nebraska is 4-0 in the series history.
NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS
The Streak: 5 wins over Illinois
How they got there: One game in 2014 stopped this from being a few games longer, but Northwestern’s dominance of Illinois is still notable. The Wildcats have won five-straight games and seven of the last eight against the Illini. Even going on the road isn’t tough for Northwestern, considering it’s an in-state game.
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
The Streak: 2 wins over Nebraska
How they got there: This series has been rather balanced since the Huskers joined the Big Ten. They won the first two, Purdue won one, then the Huskers won two more. But Purdue has taken advantage of Nebraska’s struggles recently and won the last two. We’ll see if that trend continues in 2020.
WISCONSIN BADGERS
The Streak: 14 wins over Purdue
How they got there: The Boilermakers have just had a really rough go of it when they face the Badgers. You have to go back to 2003 to find the last time that Purdue was able to get a win over Wisconsin. And a few times recently, it hasn’t even been close. Wisconsin just owns this matchup.
