Ohio State graduate wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (2) hoists up the National Championship trophy after the Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame 34-23 on Monday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
For the majority of the 21st century, the college football team who hoisted the national championship trophy at the end of the season was not part of the Big Ten conference.?
Prior to the 2023 season, Ohio State was the only member of the conference to have won a national championship this century, capturing the title twice in 2002 and 2014.?
And while the Buckeyes made three other title game appearances in the span, no other Big Ten team had reached the national championship game.
Since the 2023 season, the tide has turned.?
The last three national championships have been won by three different members of the Big Ten conference.
In 2023, Michigan went undefeated in the regular season and won the Big Ten championship, becoming the first Big Ten school to earn the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, which started in 2014.
In the final year of the four-team playoff system, Michigan defeated Alabama 27-20 in the semifinal and went on to beat Washington, who joined the Big Ten conference the following year, 34-13 in the national championship game. The Wolverines’ championship game win completed their 15-0 season, and gave Michigan its 13th win of the season by two or more possessions.?
In 2024, Oregon, one of four new members of the Big Ten, along with UCLA, USC and Washington, went undefeated in the regular season, won the Big Ten championship and earned the No. 1 seed in the playoff field.?
Meanwhile, Ohio State, who lost two regular season games and did not make the Big Ten championship game, earned the eighth-seed in the College Football Playoff bracket which expanded from four to 12 teams. Prior to the playoff expansion, no two-loss team had made the playoff field.
The Buckeyes took advantage of the expanded tournament, winning all four of their playoff games by double digits, including taking down No. 1 Oregon in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal, en route to becoming the national champions.
A season later, the Indiana Hoosiers, who had just three winning seasons in the 21st century prior to 2025, went 16-0 to become the second undefeated national championship team in the last three years, and the first time in their program history.
Three years, three national championships won by different members of the Big Ten conference.?
Since 1998, the SEC has won 15 national championships, including the members of its conference winning seven consecutive national championships from 2006-2012 and four straight from 2019-2022.
The Big Ten’s recent rise has challenged the SEC as the top conference in college football.
?With seven teams currently ranked in the AP top 25 poll, a Big Ten team could be the last team standing for the fourth straight season.
