Best Big Ten Rivalry Games Since 2010

Even in a down season, rivalries can produce great games. But in the Big Ten, a conference with national championship dreams every year, rivalries often have greater implications than the coveted trophies their winners claim.

Since 2010, the league has generated many memorable results in showdowns between new and old rivals. While it was a good decade to support Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State endured heartbreaks.

And often at the hands of the Buckeyes.

This list does not include all the decade's best Big Ten contests. For example, Michigan State's last-second Hail Mary against Wisconsin was not included because it didn't happen in a rivalry game. And some important matchups—such as Michigan vs. Penn State or Wisconsin/Michigan State vs. Ohio State—do not form traditional rivalries.

Conference or national impact of the result, difficulty of comeback and number of clutch plays are factors that shaped the list.

Illinois 38, Northwestern 35 (2011)

Michigan 40, Ohio State 34 (2011)

Michigan State 31, Indiana 27 (2012)

Ohio State 26, Michigan 21 (2012)

Minnesota 28, Nebraska 24 (2014)

Maryland 20, Penn State 19 (2014)

Nebraska 37, Iowa 34 (2014)

Michigan 29, Minnesota 26 (2015)

Purdue 34, Illinois 31 (2016)

Michigan State 27, Penn State 24 (2017)

Michigan State 21, Penn State 17 (2018)

Minnesota 31, Penn State 26 (2019)

Wisconsin 24, Iowa 22 (2019)

Indiana 44, Purdue 41 (2019)

We should chat about 2010 Wisconsin. Not only did the Badgers upset then-No. 1 Ohio State, but they also hung 83 points on Indiana and 70 on Northwestern in November.

Yeah, it's been a while. What a team, though.

The week after defeating Ohio State, the Badgers traveled to Iowa for the battle of the Heartland Trophy. The teams alternated leads for almost the entire game; no team scored consecutively until Iowa did so midway through the fourth quarter. Perhaps best of all, a fake punt shaped the result.

With his team trailing 30-24 with 6:25 left, Wisconsin punter Brad Nortman scampered 17 yards to convert a 4th-and-4 from the UW 26-yard line. Montee Ball powered in an eight-yard touchdown to help the Badgers to a 31-30 lead as the final minute approached.

Iowa approached field-goal range, but a mishandled spike-or-timeout scenario may have cost the Hawkeyes a chance to kick a potential game-winner. A missed extra point in the first quarter also stung.

Wisconsin headed to the Rose Bowl after sharing the conference title with Ohio State and Michigan State.

Michigan ripped off a 5-0 start to the season, but four losses in the next six games ruined any visions of a Big Ten-defining clash between the Wolverines and Ohio State.

Still, a mediocre Michigan team almost shocked the 11-0 Buckeyes.

After holding three first-half leads, Michigan fell behind 35-21 entering the fourth quarter. But then Devin Gardner threw a touchdown pass, Desmond Morgan recovered a fumble and Gardner tossed another score to help pull Michigan even.

Braxton Miller and Co. responded with Carlos Hyde's touchdown run, leaving Michigan just 2:20 on the clock. Gardner then led an 11-play drive and capped it with a two-yard touchdown toss to Devin Funchess.

Michigan wanted it all.

Instead of kicking an extra point to force overtime, the Wolverines attempted a two-point conversion. Gardner's pass, however, found Ohio State's Tyvis Powell. The Buckeyes won 42-41.

At the time, 83 combined points marked the second-highest total in The Game's history—trailing only Michigan's 86-0 win in 1902.

Ohio State improved to 12-0, but a loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game prevented the Buckeyes from taking on Florida State for the national title.

The next season—the first year of the College Football Playoff era—Ohio State brought a national title back to Columbus. But that wouldn't have happened without a double-overtime win at Penn State.

Having already lost to Virginia Tech, the Buckeyes couldn't afford a second blemish. It almost came in the form of a huge collapse. Penn State trailed 17-0 at halftime but held Ohio State scoreless in the second half. Sam Ficken kicked a 31-yard field goal with nine seconds left in regulation to force an extra period.

Penn State's Bill Belton scored first, and then J.T. Barrett notched two touchdown runs to help give Ohio State a 31-24 edge.

While the Nittany Lions had a chance to respond, a remarkable fourth-down play sealed the result. Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa drove Penn State running back Akeel Lynch into Christian Hackenberg, resulting in a game-ending sack.

Ohio State later lost Barrett to an ankle injury against Michigan, pushing Cardale Jones into the lineup. Jones guided the Buckeyes to wins over Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon to secure Big Ten and national championships.

Simply remembered as "Trouble with the Snap," this 2015 clash featured one of the most painful losses in any rivalry ever.

Under the guidance of first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, Michigan never trailed the No. 7 and undefeated Spartans. Yet the Wolverines lost 27-23.

How, exactly?

With 10 seconds left, Michigan punter Blake O'Neill simply needed to kick the ball. Anywhere, really—MSU had all 11 players at the line of scrimmage. But he mishandled the snap, and Jalen Watts-Jackson snatched the ball out of the air. He got one block and surged into the end zone for an improbable score as time expired.

Michigan State ended the regular season 11-1, clipped Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game and reached the College Football Playoff. The Spartans lost to Alabama but are still the only program other than Ohio State to represent the Big Ten in the CFP.

One month earlier, Michigan blasted Penn State 49-10, dropping the Nittany Lions to an unimpressive 2-2. The race for the East division seemed destined for another two-team battle between the Wolverines and Ohio State.

That all changed with two blocked kicks.

Entering the fourth quarter against Penn State, Ohio State owned a 21-7 advantage. But Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley scored on a touchdown run, and then Cam Brown blocked a punt after a three-and-out. Tyler Davis kicked a field goal, trimming Ohio State's lead to 21-17.

The Buckeyes seemed to settle themselves, picking up a few first downs on an 11-play drive. But when Tyler Durbin attempted a 45-yard field goal, Marcus Allen blocked the kick. Grant Haley scooped up the loose ball and returned it 60 yards for a go-ahead score.

The Penn State defense forced a turnover on downs to secure the 24-21 win, which propelled the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

But not without a little help from Ohio State. More on that shortly.

Following a 17-9 victory over rival Iowa, Wisconsin got back in the West division race with a victory over Nebraska.

And ended the Cornhuskers' perfect season in the process.

Nebraska enjoyed a 7-0 start to the campaign and entered this contest ranked No. 7. The Badgers checked in at No. 11 but had fallen to Michigan and Ohio State, so a third conference loss would've ended any hopes of a Big Ten crown.

Wisconsin nearly collapsed too; Nebraska overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Badgers running back Dare Ogunbowale capped his 120-yard day with an 11-yard touchdown for a 23-17 lead. Though a missed extra point created a big opportunity for Nebraska, the Wisconsin defense responded with a fourth-down stop.

The Badgers finished the regular season with four more wins before losing to Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Awful turnovers and a controversial spot—The Spot, as it is now known—contributed to a heartbreaking loss for 10-1 and No. 3 Michigan against 10-1 and No. 2 Ohio State.

Michigan quarterback Wilton Speight threw a pick-six, fumbled a snap at the goal line and tossed a second interception, which Ohio State returned to the Wolverines 13-yard line. Those three turnovers cost the Wolverines 17 points.

And then there was The Spot.

The game entered overtime tied at 17. Ohio State scored first, and Michigan answered with a touchdown and a field goal. Curtis Samuel's wild eight-yard catch preceded a 4th-and-1 on which J.T. Barrett was stopped right at the line to gain. Referees ruled it a first down, and replay did not reverse the call.

Right or wrong, the drive continued. On the next snap, Samuel scampered 15 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

Michigan narrowly missed out on the Big Ten Championship Game in Harbaugh's second year. Had the Wolverines beaten Ohio State and then Wisconsin in that title tilt, they would've gone to the College Football Playoff.

Instead, Penn State claimed the head-to-head tiebreaker with Ohio State and won the conference crown.

Though Ohio State's national championship dreams had died in a 55-24 thrashing at Iowa the following week, a sensational comeback saved temporarily those aspirations.

Penn State held leads of 14-0 and 28-10 during the first half, and the scoreboard read 35-20 in the fourth quarter. Considering what happened the year before, though, perhaps it was only fitting that a blocked punt sparked a fourth-quarter surge.

Denzel Ward dove in front of a Blake Gillikin punt, and J.T. Barrett found Johnnie Dixon for a 38-yard touchdown two plays later.

Penn State's ensuring drive resulted in a field goal and 38-27 lead, but Barrett and Dixon connected for another score. Ohio State forced a three-and-out, and Barrett hit Marcus Baugh for a go-ahead touchdown with 1:48 remaining.

The Nittany Lions' desperation drive fell short, and they dropped to 7-1. The next week, they tumbled out of the Big Ten picture with a 27-24 loss at Michigan State.

For the third straight year, a fourth-quarter comeback shaped the result between these programs. In 2018, each team held a 4-0 record and Top 10 national ranking.

Penn State jumped out to a 13-0 lead. Ohio State recovered to take a 14-13 lead into the fourth quarter. Penn State answered with two touchdowns, but a failed two-point conversion played a major role down the stretch. That 26-14 advantage did not hold up.

Binjimen Victor caught a 47-yard scoring pass from Dwayne Haskins, and the Buckeyes forced a punt. Haskins guided Ohio State 96 yards in eight plays, capping the drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Hill.

Penn State opened its next possession with a 27-yard completion into Ohio State territory, but the drive stalled. Chase Young sacked Trace McSorley on first down, and then Young recorded a tackle for loss on 4th-and-5 to end the Nittany Lions' hopes of an upset.

Purdue shellacked Ohio State three weeks later, and that kept the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff. But they still won the Big Ten and defeated Washington in the Rose Bowl.