Big Ten East's Undefeated Streak in Championship Game At Stake Against Purdue
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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Eight wins, zero losses.
That's the easiest way to sum up the Big Ten East division's dominance over the West in the conference championship games. In those eight games, the East has outscored the west 283-123, with an average score of 35-15.
The Big Ten expanded to 14 teams before the 2014 season, stretching to the East coast with the addition of Rutgers and Maryland. This came with realignment to the current East and West division format, doing away with the short-lived Leaders and Legends divisions.
And since then, the East's stranglehold on the West has been a group effort. Ohio State leads the way with five Big Ten titles in this time period, including a four-year reign from 2017-20. Michigan State and Penn State were crowned champions, too, and Michigan has been the Big Ten's top dog in recent years, now on the verge of back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances. With Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan, the Big Ten East alone has sent as many teams to the College Football Playoff as any conference as a whole.
In the 2022 regular season, the East had a combined 53-31 overall record, while the West went 42-42. In head-to-head matchups this year, the East held a 13-8 advantage with an average score of 25-21.
In its current form, the Big Ten Championship been particularly close. The Wolverines stomped Iowa by 39 points in 2021, and the last four Big Ten championship games have been decided by 12 or more points. This year, Michigan is favored by 16.5 points over Purdue, according to the SI Sportsbook.
Here's a rundown of each Big Ten Championship since 2014:
Dec. 6, 2014 – Ohio State 59, Wisconsin 0
Dec. 5, 2015 – Michigan State 16, Iowa 13
Dec. 3, 2016 – Penn State 38, Wisconsin 31
Dec. 2, 2017 – Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 21
Dec. 1, 2018 – Ohio State 45, Northwestern 24
Dec. 7, 2019 – Ohio State 34, Wisconsin 21
Dec. 19, 2020 – Ohio State 22, Northwestern 10
Dec. 4, 2021 – Michigan 42, Iowa 3
So for Purdue, the 2022 season represents a shot at program history. After defeating Indiana 30-16 in the Old Oaken Bucket game, Purdue won its first Big Ten West division title. Purdue went 8-4 overall and 6-3 in Big Ten play this year and will represent the West in the Big Ten Championship against undefeated No. 2 Michigan.
The Boilermakers, also known as the "Spoilermakers," have a knack for upsets under coach Jeff Brom. Purdue is 3-0 against top three teams with Brohm, including 2018 victory over Ohio State and wins over Iowa and Michigan State in 2021.
With a win over No. 2 Michigan in Saturday's 8 p.m. ET kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium, Purdue can claim its first outright Big Ten title since 1929. Purdue, Michigan and Northwestern each finished atop the Big Ten in 2000 with 6-2 conference records, but the Boilermakers held the tiebreaker and went to the Rose Bowl, where they lost 34-24 to Washington.
The 2023 Rose Bowl Game is contractually obligated to feature the Big Ten Conference Champion, so defeating the Wolverines on Saturday would lead to Purdue's first trip to the Rose Bowl since Drew Brees and the Boilermakers played in "The Grandaddy of Them All" roughly two decades ago.
Brohm is proud what the Boilermakers have done this year, but he understands Michigan is without question the best team Purdue has faced this year.
"Our guys have put in the work," Brohm said. "They're hungry. They've got a chip on their shoulder. They're out to prove to people what they can do, and that's what you want. You want to coach a bunch of hungry guys that want to do something special, and I know they want to play as well as they can for the fans and the people that support us and go out there and play a complete football game."
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