Conference record book

Big Ten Conference Top 25 Games of the 1990s

The best games involving a Big Ten member at the time of kickoff, ranked without favoring either side.

Games: 25
Top score: 78/100
Overtime: 0

National ranking

The conference's top 25

25 of these games include at least one AP-ranked team at kickoff. Open a supported game for its box score and statistics.

1996PostseasonNeutral site
Arizona State vs. Ohio State
Arizona State 17, Ohio State 20
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 2 Arizona State vs. No. 4 Ohio State · 3-point margin
Ranking 46/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
78
Game score
1992Week 3
Notre Dame at Michigan
Notre Dame 17, Michigan 17
Nonconference
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Michigan · 0-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
78
Game score
1997Week 14
Ohio State at Michigan
Ohio State 14, Michigan 20
Conference game
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Michigan · 6-point margin
Ranking 47/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
76
Game score
1994Week 3
Michigan at Notre Dame
Michigan 26, Notre Dame 24
Nonconference
No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 3 Notre Dame · 2-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 33/35 · Overtime 0/15
76
Game score
1990Week 4
Michigan at Notre Dame
Michigan 24, Notre Dame 28
Nonconference
No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 1 Notre Dame · 4-point margin
Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
75
Game score
1994Week 5
Colorado at Michigan
Colorado 27, Michigan 26
Nonconference
No. 7 Colorado vs. No. 4 Michigan · 1-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
75
Game score
1997Week 8
Ohio State at Penn State
Ohio State 27, Penn State 31
Conference game
No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Penn State · 4-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
74
Game score
1995PostseasonNeutral site
Ohio State vs. Tennessee
Ohio State 14, Tennessee 20
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Tennessee · 6-point margin
Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 29/35 · Overtime 0/15
73
Game score
1997PostseasonNeutral site
Washington State vs. Michigan
Washington State 16, Michigan 21
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 8 Washington State vs. No. 1 Michigan · 5-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 30/35 · Overtime 0/15
73
Game score
1999PostseasonNeutral site
Alabama vs. Michigan
Alabama 34, Michigan 35
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 8 Michigan · 1-point margin
Ranking 39/50 · Closeness 34/35 · Overtime 0/15
73
Game score
1994Week 8
Penn State at Michigan
Penn State 31, Michigan 24
Conference game
No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 5 Michigan · 7-point margin
Ranking 44/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
72
Game score
1999Week 4
Penn State at Miami
Penn State 27, Miami 23
Nonconference
No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 8 Miami · 4-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
72
Game score
1999Week 7
Michigan at Michigan State
Michigan 31, Michigan State 34
Conference game
No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 11 Michigan State · 3-point margin
Ranking 38/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
70
Game score
1993Week 3
Notre Dame at Michigan
Notre Dame 27, Michigan 23
Nonconference
No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Michigan · 4-point margin
Ranking 38/50 · Closeness 31/35 · Overtime 0/15
69
Game score
1993Week 11
Wisconsin at Ohio State
Wisconsin 14, Ohio State 14
Conference game
No. 15 Wisconsin vs. No. 3 Ohio State · 0-point margin
Ranking 34/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
69
Game score
1991Week 3
Notre Dame at Michigan
Notre Dame 14, Michigan 24
Nonconference
No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Michigan · 10-point margin
Ranking 42/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
67
Game score
1995Week 7
Ohio State at Penn State
Ohio State 28, Penn State 25
Conference game
No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Penn State · 3-point margin
Ranking 35/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
67
Game score
1998PostseasonNeutral site
Texas A&M vs. Ohio State
Texas A&M 14, Ohio State 24
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 8 Texas A&M vs. No. 3 Ohio State · 10-point margin
Ranking 41/50 · Closeness 25/35 · Overtime 0/15
66
Game score
1996Week 6
Ohio State at Notre Dame
Ohio State 29, Notre Dame 16
Nonconference
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Notre Dame · 13-point margin
Ranking 43/50 · Closeness 22/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
1998PostseasonNeutral site
Wisconsin vs. UCLA
Wisconsin 38, UCLA 31
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 9 Wisconsin vs. No. 6 UCLA · 7-point margin
Ranking 37/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
1999PostseasonNeutral site
Florida vs. Michigan State
Florida 34, Michigan State 37
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 10 Florida vs. No. 9 Michigan State · 3-point margin
Ranking 33/50 · Closeness 32/35 · Overtime 0/15
65
Game score
Full Game · 1999 Michigan State vs. Florida (Bowl Full Game)
1996Week 4
Michigan at Colorado
Michigan 20, Colorado 13
Nonconference
No. 11 Michigan vs. No. 5 Colorado · 7-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
64
Game score
1992PostseasonNeutral site
Washington vs. Michigan
Washington 31, Michigan 38
Postseason · Neutral site
No. 9 Washington vs. No. 7 Michigan · 7-point margin
Ranking 36/50 · Closeness 28/35 · Overtime 0/15
64
Game score
1992Week 13
Ohio State at Michigan
Ohio State 13, Michigan 13
Conference game
No. 17 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Michigan · 0-point margin
Ranking 29/50 · Closeness 35/35 · Overtime 0/15
64
Game score
1991Week 5
Florida State at Michigan
Florida State 51, Michigan 31
Nonconference
No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 3 Michigan · 20-point margin
Ranking 48/50 · Closeness 15/35 · Overtime 0/15
63
Game score

Methodology

How each game earns up to 100 points

AP ranking, 50 points: each team earns 26 minus its game-time AP rank. Unranked teams receive zero.

Closeness, 35 points: the final margin is subtracted from 35, with margins of 35 or more receiving zero.

Overtime, 15 points: overtime starts at nine points and rises by two per additional period, capped at 15.

Conference inclusion comes from each team's conference ID stored on the game row, so later realignment never rewrites history. Regular-season AP ranks come from the game's week; postseason ranks use the final regular-season poll before bowl and playoff results.