College Football Stat Leaders

2021 Big Ten Third Down Conversion Rate Leaders

Share of offensive third downs converted.

Seasons Covered

2004-2025

Current Leader

Ohio State (52.3%)

Best Season

Indiana 2025 (56.3%)

Scope

Big Ten • 2021

Browse Metrics

Crawl sibling stat pages without leaving the shared leaderboard template.

Total Yards Per GamePassing Yards Per GameRushing Yards Per GamePoints Per GameYards Allowed Per GameSacks Per GameTackles For Loss Per GameThird Down Conversion RatePoints Per OpportunityOffensive PPADefensive PPATurnover MarginHavoc Rate

What The Numbers Say

Route-specific context pulled from the current leaderboard, winner trend, and historical baseline.

How Third Down Conversion Rate Reads

Third down conversion rate shows how often an offense extends drives after reaching the money down, which helps separate efficient possession teams from boom-or-bust attacks. On this 2021 leaderboard, the visible range runs 52.3% to 40.9%, with Ohio State setting the pace.

Big Ten Context

Big Ten teams have claimed 100% of the yearly leaderboard wins in this filtered dataset, and Indiana is the latest winner at 56.3%.

Spread At The Top

The gap from No. 1 Ohio State to No. 5 Nebraska is 11.4%, which shows how tightly packed the top of this leaderboard is.

Recent Trend And Baseline

The yearly winning mark improved from 48.3% in 2024 to 56.3% in 2025, a swing of 7.9%. Ohio State's current mark of 52.3% sits above the all-time average leader benchmark of 48.1% held by USC.

Leaderboard

Top 14 rows for the current route scope.

1Ohio StateBig Ten Conference202152.3%
2MichiganBig Ten Conference202145.8%
3MinnesotaBig Ten Conference202144.1%
4PurdueBig Ten Conference202143.6%
5NebraskaBig Ten Conference202140.9%
6Michigan StateBig Ten Conference202140.0%
7Penn StateBig Ten Conference202139.0%
8MarylandBig Ten Conference202138.2%
9IllinoisBig Ten Conference202138.2%
10IndianaBig Ten Conference202136.9%
11NorthwesternBig Ten Conference202136.0%
12IowaBig Ten Conference202134.0%
13WisconsinBig Ten Conference202133.7%
14RutgersBig Ten Conference202131.6%

Trend Chart

Yearly winning values for the current filter scope.

Line chart. Line chart with 1 data series: Third Down Conversion Rate. Categories include 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 18 more.

Yearly Winners

SeasonTeamConference at timeValue
2025IndianaBig Ten Conference56.3%
2024OregonBig Ten Conference48.3%
2023WisconsinBig Ten Conference44.2%
2022MinnesotaBig Ten Conference51.8%
2021Ohio StateBig Ten Conference52.3%
2020Ohio StateBig Ten Conference49.1%
2019Ohio StateBig Ten Conference55.2%
2018MichiganBig Ten Conference47.8%
2017WisconsinBig Ten Conference48.6%
2016Ohio StateBig Ten Conference46.5%
2015Michigan StateBig Ten Conference48.3%
2014Ohio StateBig Ten Conference52.0%
2013IllinoisBig Ten Conference47.6%
2012MichiganBig Ten Conference50.3%
2011WisconsinBig Ten Conference54.7%
2010WisconsinBig Ten Conference50.3%
2009Penn StateBig Ten Conference48.4%
2008Penn StateBig Ten Conference52.0%
2007Ohio StateBig Ten Conference45.9%
2006Ohio StateBig Ten Conference49.1%
2005MinnesotaBig Ten Conference50.3%
2004PurdueBig Ten Conference46.6%

Historical Leaderboard

Average across seasons for each team in the current filter scope.

RankTeamSeasonsAverageBest Season
1USC2025, 202448.1%2025 (51.3%)
2Oregon2025, 202447.4%2024 (48.3%)
3Ohio State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 200445.9%2019 (55.2%)
4Washington2025, 202443.4%2025 (50.3%)
5Wisconsin2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 200442.0%2011 (54.7%)
6Michigan2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 200441.6%2012 (50.3%)
7Nebraska2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 201140.9%2025 (45.7%)
8Minnesota2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 200440.6%2022 (51.8%)
9Penn State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 200440.5%2008 (52.0%)
10Northwestern2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 200440.5%2011 (47.8%)
11UCLA2025, 202440.1%2024 (42.9%)
12Indiana2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 200439.3%2025 (56.3%)
13Michigan State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 200439.1%2014 (49.7%)
14Purdue2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 200438.6%2006 (47.1%)
15Illinois2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 200438.3%2013 (47.6%)
16Iowa2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 200438.0%2010 (46.2%)
17Maryland2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 201436.1%2023 (42.0%)
18Rutgers2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 201434.8%2024 (43.4%)

Frequently Asked Questions

Who leads the Big Ten third down conversion rate leaderboard in 2021?

Ohio State ranks first at 52.3% in 2021.

Which Big Ten program has the best long-term third down conversion rate profile?

USC owns the strongest all-time average at 48.1% across 2 tracked seasons in this conference scope.

How does the Big Ten race compare with the recent trend?

Indiana is the most recent yearly winner in this conference scope, so the route combines the current leaderboard with a recent trend line instead of showing only one season snapshot.