With Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan and Penn State in the Big Ten East the assumption is that the East is better than the Big Ten West. I agree with that assumption. However, is it true? During the 2015 season 14 games were played between teams of both divisions. How did the East do against the West in conference play?
Before doing the research I thought the Big Ten East won at least nine games against the Big Ten West. I wouldn't have been surprised if the East won 11 of the 14 games. What did surprise me is that the Big Ten East only won seven regular season games against the Big Ten West. You read that correctly. The Big Ten East and the Big Ten West split the regular season games.
Let's take a closer look at how the West was able to split the regular season series with the East.
THE REGULAR SEASON RESULTS
| Team | Opponent // Result | Opponent // Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | Minnesota // 28-14 | Illinois // 28-3 | 2-0 |
| INDIANA | Iowa // 27-35 | Purdue // 54-36 | 1-1 |
| MARYLAND | Iowa // 15-31 | Wisconsin // 24-31 | 0-2 |
| MICHIGAN | Northwestern // 38-0 | Minnesota // 29-26 | 2-0 |
| MICHIGAN STATE | Purdue // 24-21 | Nebraska // 38-39 | 1-1 |
| PENN STATE | Illinois // 39-0 | Northwestern // 21-23 | 1-1 |
| RUTGERS | Wisconsin // 10-48 | Nebraska // 14-31 | 0-2 |
| TOTAL | SCORE | 389-338 | 7-7 |
| AVERAGE | SCORE | 28-24 | 1-1 |
3 THINGS BIG TEN EAST REGULAR SEASON
- Ohio State and Michigan were the only teams to go 2-0 against the West.
- Maryland and Rutgers did not win a game against the West.
- Ohio State was the only team in the B1G to win both out of division games by double digits.
| Team | Opponent // Result | Opponent // Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| ILLINOIS | Penn State // 0-39 | Ohio State // 3-28 | 0-2 |
| IOWA | Maryland // 31-15 | Indiana // 35-27 | 2-0 |
| MINNESOTA | Michigan // 26-29 | Ohio State // 14-28 | 0-2 |
| NEBRASKA | Michigan State // 39-38 | Rutgers // 31-14 | 2-0 |
| NORTHWESTERN | Michigan // 0-38 | Penn State // 23-21 | 1-1 |
| PURDUE | Michigan State // 21-24 | Indiana // 36-54 | 0-2 |
| WISCONSIN | Rutgers // 48-10 | Maryland // 31-24 | 2-0 |
| TOTAL | SCORE | 338-389 | 7-7 |
| AVERAGE | SCORE | 24-28 | 1-1 |
3 THINGS BIG TEN EAST REGULAR SEASON
- Iowa Nebraska and Wisconsin went 2-0 against the East.
- Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue did not defeat a Big Ten East opponent.
- Wisconsin defeated East bottom feeders Rutgers and Maryland.
Five teams were undefeated in interconference games.
BIG TEN EAST POST SEASON AND BOWL BREAKDOWN
The Big Ten East had five of the seven school make the post season. The division was represented by Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State. The East started the post season with 1-0 after Michigan State defeated Iowa for the B1G Championship.
Things looked bright until Indiana lost in OT to Duke and Sparty was smoked by Alabama. Ohio State and Michigan took care of business to improve the East to 3-2 in the post season. Unfortunately, Penn State lost to Georgia and the Big Ten East finished the post season 3-3. Looking at the bright side the Big Ten East outscored the post season competition 159-116.
| Team | Opponent // Result | Opponent // Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | Notre Dame // 44-28 | 1-0 | |
| INDIANA | Duke // 41-44 (OT) | 0-1 | |
| MICHIGAN | Florida // 41-7 | 1-0 | |
| MICHIGAN STATE | Iowa // 16-13 | Alabama // 0-38 | 1-1 |
| PENN STATE | Georgia // 17-24 | 0-1 | |
| MARYLAND | ----- | ||
| RUTGERS | ----- | ||
| TOTAL | SCORE | 159-154 | 3-3 |
| AVERAGE | SCORE | 27-26 | 1-1 |
3 THINGS BIG TEN EAST POST SEASON
- 3-3 record.
- Outscored the competition 159-116.
- Ohio State defeated Notre Dame. That is all that matters.
BIG TEN WEST POST SEASON AND BOWL BREAKDOWN
Like the Big Ten East, the West had five of its seven schools make the post season. The Big Ten West was represented by Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern and Wisconsin. Iowa kicked the post season off with a loss to Michigan State. How did the West do from there?
Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin picked up the slack and gave the Big Ten West three consecutive bowl wins. Nebraska and Wisconsin were heavy underdogs to their PAC 12 opponents. The Huskers downed UCLA 37-29 and Wisconsin held on to defeat USC 23-21. That was the first time the Trojans lost to a Big Ten school since......
The West entered New Year's Day with an impressive 3-1 record with Northwestern and Iowa still to play. Could the West get to 5-1? No. Northwestern and Iowa lost by a combined score of 22-90. Like the Big Ten East, the Big Ten West finished the post season 3-3.
| Team | Opponent // Result | Opponent // Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| IOWA | Michigan State // 13-16 | Stanford // 16-45 | 0-2 |
| MINNESOTA | Central Michigan // 21-14 | 1-0 | |
| NEBRASKA | UCLA // 37-29 | 1-0 | |
| NORTHWESTERN | Tennessee // 6-45 | 0-1 | |
| WISCONSIN | USC // 23-21 | 1-0 | |
| ILLINOIS | ----- | ||
| PURDUE | ----- | ||
| TOTAL | SCORE | 116-170 | 3-3 |
| AVERAGE | SCORE | 19-28 | 1-1 |
3 THINGS BIG TEN WEST POST SEASON
- 3-3 record.
- Was outscored 116-170.
- Iowa went 0-2 and lost by an average score of 15-32.
So, which side do you think is better? The East? The West?
