Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Big Ten Football: Ranking the top 5 programs since 2015

By Christopher Mangum

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 07: Head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes holds the Big Ten Championship trophy after a win over the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 07: Head coach Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes holds the Big Ten Championship trophy after a win over the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – DECEMBER 30: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Badgers stands with the Orange Bowl trophy after the win against the Miami Hurricanes during the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Wisconsin defeated Miami 34-24. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – DECEMBER 30: Head coach Paul Chryst of the Wisconsin Badgers stands with the Orange Bowl trophy after the win against the Miami Hurricanes during the 2017 Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Wisconsin defeated Miami 34-24. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

2. Wisconsin Badgers

Both Nos. 2 and 3 on this list were toss-ups, though the Badgers managed to lock up second place — mostly because of consistency.

Since 2015, here is what the Badgers have claimed as their own:

  • Two top-10 finishes
  • Four ranked finishes
  • Six bowl wins
  • Two NY6 bowl wins
  • Three outright division titles
  • Zero conference titles
  • Four 10-win seasons
  • Two 11+ win seasons
  • 65 total wins

Even though Wisconsin has not won a Big Ten title since 2012 (a season in which both Ohio State and Penn State were ineligible to play Nebraska in the conference title game, so 7-5 Wisconsin stepped in and took home the title), the Badgers are still the second hottest team in the conference since 2015.

Wisconsin’s two NY6 wins are tied with Penn State for second-most in the Big Ten, and its 13-1 season in 2017 makes them the only Big Ten team not named Ohio State to win 13 or more games in a season in the College Football Playoff era. The Badgers fell just short in all three of their conference title matchups, yet each time the Big Ten east representative managed to overcome Wisconsin.

Additionally, the Badgers’ 6-1 record in bowl season (including their two NY6 wins) speaks volumes on its own with wins in the Holiday, Cotton, Orange, Pinstripe, Duke’s Mayo, and Las Vegas bowls.

Though Paul Chryst has not yet won a Big Ten title at Wisconsin, the Badgers are the closest among Big Ten West teams and could be on the brink of making a playoff run.

Home/Big Ten