Ohio State football: Who is second best team in Big Ten?
By Ryan Stano
Ohio State has been the dominant force in the Big Ten for the last ten years or so. They are clearly the best team in the league. Who though is second best?
Ohio State has been at the top of the Big Ten for a long time. In fact, they have won four of the last six Big Ten Championships. No other team even has two Big Ten titles in that time. Ohio State is at the top of the mountain in the conference, and no other team is even close.
That begs the question: who is the second-best team in the conference? There are really only two contenders in my mind. Michigan has never won a division title. While they are 47-18 in the last five seasons and 32-12 in the Big Ten over that span, not winning The Game hurts them in this discussion.
Michigan State was the second-best team for a while until some recent failures dropped them out of the contest. They are no longer a top-tier Big Ten program and are in the midst of a rebuild. Minnesota meanwhile is on the rise but doesn’t have the pedigree quite yet.
Ohio State is best, but is Penn State or Wisconsin second-best?
That leaves us with two contenders: Penn State and Wisconsin. Wisconsin is a program that seems to get to the Big Ten Championship regularly. In fact, they have won the West four of the last six seasons. They are 52-18 in the last five years and are 34-13 over that span.
Penn State meanwhile has actually won the Big Ten, winning a title back in 2016. They are 49-17 over the last five years and 33-12 in conference play. They also seem to be the only team that gives Ohio State any sort of scare when they face them.
Based on the fact that Penn State plays Ohio State so closely, they get the nod here. Wisconsin has been very good over the last few years, but only Penn State has been able to beat the Buckeyes. But they still have a lot of work to do if they want to catch Ohio State.
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The Buckeyes are still king of the conference and look to be for a while. But it’s always smart to see where your competition lies.