You’ve heard the excuse, “Well, they haven’t played anybody.” Well, there’s a way to figure that out. Over the next five days, we’ll look at how each Power 5 conference school fares against ranked teams.
Today, a closer at how Big Ten teams have fared against ranked teams since 2009, according to StatsPass.com.
Ohio State: 13-7, .650
Michigan State: 10-11, .476
Nebraska: 9-11, .450
Wisconsin: 8-11, .421
Iowa: 6-12, .333
Northwestern: 4-8, .333
Penn State: 4-12, .250
Michigan: 4-16, .200
Purdue: 2-10, .167
Rutgers: 1-6, .143
Minnesota: 2-17, .105
Maryland: 1-11, .083
Illinois: 1-13, .071
Indiana: 0-15, .000
Best: Ohio State. The Buckeyes lost to No. 10 Michigan State and No. 12 Clemson in back-to-back games to end 2013, but Ohio State remains the standard in big games among Big Ten schools. The Buckeyes are 5-1 at home against ranked teams the last five years. If there’s a criticism (of course there is), it’s that Ohio State has played just one top-five team, an 18-15 loss to No. 3 USC in 2009.
Worst: Indiana. The Hoosiers haven’t beaten a ranked team since 2006, a 31-28 win against Iowa. Kevin Wilson is 0-6 against ranked teams the last three seasons, and Indiana has allowed 50 points per game in those losses.
Eye-opener. The conference is terrible against ranked teams. The Buckeyes are the only team above .500. That’s an indictment on traditional powers such as Michigan and Penn State, but it’s also a reason to be leery when pundits proclaim schools such as Iowa, Minnesota or Northwestern as sleepers.
