Big 10 Football: 10 Greatest Games in Conference History

The Big Ten is a conference that has a ton of history. With teams like Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Michigan State, you better believe there is a lot to talk about and a lot of memories to bring up.

With all of the history this sport has seen and all of the great players that have come and gone, this conference has produced many fantastic games. There have been shocking upsets, last-second finishes and games that you must see to believe.

We could talk all day long about the fantastic games that have taken place over the years in the Big Ten, but that would take way too long.

So, here are the top-10 games in Big Ten history.

10. Northwestern vs. Michigan, 2000

This was the game for all of you offense lovers because the defenses might as well have not even show up to play. There were 1,189 total yards and 105 combined points in this 2000 shootout.

The game went back-and-forth and forth-and-back throughout and most viewers likely thought whichever team had the ball last would win the game. Well, that's exactly what happened, as Northwestern quarterback Zak Kustok hit Sam Simmons in the middle of the field for an 11-yard touchdown catch and run to give the Wildcats an upset victory by a score of 54-51.

Some would call this the best game in Northwestern history, but that's for you to decide.

9. Michigan vs. Penn State, 2005

Nobody expected much from this Michigan team, as they simply weren't getting it done in the 2005 season. The Wolverines headed into this game unranked, while Penn State was undefeated and had the national championship on their mind.

But Michigan had different ideas, as a touchdown pass from Chad Henne to Mario Manningham tied the game up at 18 in the fourth quarter.

The Wolverines would then take the lead with a 47-yard field goal by Garrett Rivas. Penn State would later score a touchdown on a Michael Robinson run with only 53 seconds remaining, which gave the Nittany Lions a 25-21 lead with under a minute to play.

Michigan would later thank Steve Breaston for a great kickoff return to eventually set up a 10-yard touchdown pass from Henne to Manningham on fourth down as time expired. The Michigan crowd stormed the field, as they were just seconds away from beating undefeated Penn State.

8. Northwestern vs. Wisconsin, 1996

It really looked like Wisconsin was going to continue their winning ways, but that was until the game went into the fourth quarter and things got a little crazy.

The Badgers had a three-point lead and the ball and Northwestern was all out of timeouts, so you'd think they would just take a knee and call it a day. Instead, Head Coach Barry Alvarez said he wanted running back Ron Dayne to carry the ball in order to run the clock.

The problem with that is that he fumbled the football with only 49 seconds to play.

Northwestern quarterback Steve Schnur hit receiver D'Wayne Bate for a 20-yard touchdown pass and the Wildcats somehow won the football game 34-30.

7. Purdue vs. Ohio State, 2002

Ohio State was ranked No. 3 in the country, but for whatever reason the Buckeyes just could not get going against a less-talented Purdue team. Their star player in running back Maurice Clarett was still suffering from an injury that occurred a couple of weeks before against Penn State.

It was late in the fourth quarter, Ohio State was trailing 6-3 and it was 3rd-and-14 from midfield. Buckeyes Quarterback Craig Krenzel completed a pass to tight end Ben Hartsock, who fell just short of the first down. Considering the time that was on the clock, Head Coach Jim Tressel decided to go for it on 4th-and-1.

But instead of running the ball to see another day, the Buckeyes threw the ball deep to wide receiver Michael Jenkins, who ended up crossing the goal line to win the game. The play really surprised everybody and the phrase "Holy Buckeye" was born.  

6. Ohio State vs. Michigan, 1973

Both teams came into this game undefeated and were battling for the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl. It was a bloodbath defensively and would have been considered boring by today's standards. The Buckeyes went into the half with a 10-0 lead and felt pretty confident going into the final 30 minutes of play.

That's when the Wolverines battled back and a 10-yard touchdown run by Dennis Franklin tied the game. A couple of missed field goals later in regulation forced the game to end in a tie, which would eventually result in controversy.

With no clear-cut winner, who earned the trip to the Rose Bowl?

The Big Ten athletic directors had to later vote and decided to pick Ohio State because they believed Michigan wouldn't have been as competitive with an injury that was suffered to running back Franklin earlier in the game. 

5. Michigan vs. Indiana, 1979

This game wasn't looking good for Michigan at all. They were down a touchdown to the Hoosiers and were missing their starting quarterback B.J. Dickey, who was knocked out of the game with an injury.

Thanks to touchdown runs by Lawrence Reid and Butch Woolfolk, the Wolverines were able to get back into the game and set up one of the best calls of all time.

The Wolverines had their backup quarterback John Wangler in the game on the 45-yard line, game tied at 21 apiece, with only six seconds left on the clock.

Wrangler stepped back and threw an underneath pass to freshman wide receiver Anthony Carter, who somehow avoided two defenders and walked into the endzone for the game-winning score.

Listen to announcer Bob Ufer make the call as this play will forever go down in Wolverine history.

4. Minnesota vs. Ohio State, 1989

Minnesota jumped out to a 31-0 lead in the first half and carried a 31-8 lead going into halftime. Ohio State quarterback Greg Frey had only completed two passes in the first half for a total of 35 yards, and three turnovers led to 17 unanswered first-half points.

Frey eventually finished with over 300 passing yards, a touchdown and a couple two-point conversions as the Buckeyes overcame a 31-point deficit which tied a Division I-A record. Frey hit Jeff Graham for the game-winning touchdown pass with only 51 seconds remaining. 

Ohio State won the game 41-37.

3. Michigan State vs. Michigan, 1990

This was one of the most thrilling games in Michigan State history as they ended up upsetting the No. 1 team in the country, which of course happened to be Michigan.

The game was tight throughout, but Michigan State led 28-21 with only a few minutes left on the clock. Wolverines quarterback Elvis Grbac hooked up with Derrick Alexander for a touchdown with only a few seconds left in what looked like an overtime scenario.

Instead, Michigan decided to go for two and walk away with a victory. Grbac dropped back to pass and threw a quick pass on a slant route to receiver Desmond Howard, who dropped the ball. Game over, Spartans pull off the upset.

Michigan fans will forever say that Howard was interfered with, but that's up for you to decide. 

2. Michigan State vs. Michigan, 2001

This was a close and tight game throughout, but it will always be remembered for the final drive set up by Michigan State. 

The Spartans had the ball inside Michigan's five-yard line, down four with only 17 seconds left. Quarterback Jeff Smoker rolled out, but was tackled at the two-yard line inbounds. keep in mind that Michigan State had no time outs and the clock is obviously going to continue to run.

The entire Spartan team ran back to the huddle before spiking the ball and stopping the clock at one second. That gave Michigan State just enough time to complete a touchdown pass to T. J. Duckett, and the Spartans won the game 26-24.

Did Smoker really spike the ball in time or did the clock stop at one second for longer than a second?

You decide.

And that's why this game will forever be remembered as "The Catch" by Spartan fans and "Clockgate" by Michigan fans.

1. Wisconsin vs. Michigan State, 2011

Seriously, how could this game not be No. 1?

Wisconsin was a solid favorite in this game, jumping out to a huge touchdown lead and appearing to have the game all but wrapped up early on. That was until Michigan State stepped up on defense, held the Badgers scoreless in the second quarter and scored 23 points of their own.

Michigan State later jumped out to a 31-17 lead in the fourth quarter and it looked like Wisconsin was dead in the water. That's when they scored 14 straight points and tied the game with less than two minutes to play.

Overtime right?

Nope. Spartans quarterback Kirk Cousins threw a 44-yard touchdown pass that was batted down and somehow caught by Keith Nichol, who then managed to barely cross the goal line for the game-winning touchdown.

I'm sure we could all watch this game again and again (except Wisconsin fans, of course).