Saturday Blitz
Fansided

College football’s longest active conference title droughts

By Zach Bigalke

Dec 27, 2016; San Diego , CA, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers safety Damarius Travis (7) celebrates in the first quarter against the Washington State Cougars during the 2016 Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 27, 2016; San Diego , CA, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers safety Damarius Travis (7) celebrates in the first quarter against the Washington State Cougars during the 2016 Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 11
Next
Dec 27, 2016; San Diego , CA, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Shannon Brooks (23) runs the ball against the Washington State Cougars during the first half at Qualcomm Stadium. Minnesota won 17-12. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 27, 2016; San Diego , CA, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Shannon Brooks (23) runs the ball against the Washington State Cougars during the first half at Qualcomm Stadium. Minnesota won 17-12. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /

Big Ten

Longest Drought: Indiana Hoosiers, Minnesota Golden Gophers (Last title: 1967)

It was a strange season for the Big Ten in 1967. That year, Indiana and Minnesota shared the Big Ten championship with Purdue after all three teams finished with a 6-1 record in league play. The trio all finished a game ahead of Ohio State in the standings. For the Hoosiers and Gophers, it would be their last time atop the Big Ten for the next half-century.

Indiana ended up representing the conference in the Rose Bowl, where they lost 14-3 to top-ranked USC. The Hoosiers had opened the year with an eight-game winning streak. The run came to an end on November 18, when Indiana fell 33-7 at Minnesota. They recovered to beat Purdue for the Old Oaken Bucket and a trip to Pasadena after a 9-1 regular season.

Related Story: 5 reasons Minnesota can win the Big Ten West in 2017

Minnesota, meanwhile, missed out on the bowl invitation largely because of a September loss to Nebraska. The Gophers won five straight after falling 7-0 in Lincoln to the Cornhuskers, including shutouts of Michigan State and Iowa. But they fell 41-12 at Purdue on Nov. 11, blemishing their Big Ten record and preventing them from an outright crown.

Since sharing the 1967 championship, both Indiana and Minnesota have fallen hard. Neither team has finished in the top two of the Big Ten standings since that point. The Gophers have crept into the top three on a small handful of occasions, while the Hoosiers have become regular cellar dwellers in the league.

Honorable Mention

  • Nebraska Cornhuskers: For such a storied program, it is wild to realize that Nebraska has not won a conference championship in the 21st century. The last title for the Cornhuskers came in 1999 while they were still a member of the Big 12. They have played in both the Big 12 and Big Ten championship games but come up short each time.
Home/College Football News