Has the B1G ever had 3 teams in the top 5 AP? 4 in the top 7?

[hawkeyebob62]

Ted Ginn was good, but he wasn't 27 points good. Besides that, they still had Anthony Gonzalez and Beanie Wells/Antonio Pittman. Ginn wasn't the deciding factor at all. Florida was just too ******* good.

Sure, Ginn may not have been 27 points good, but WITHOUT him, what is Gonzales? Sort of like Keenan Davis without McNutt, no?

 

[TecmoSuperHawk]

To help answer the OP's question, the best I could find is the final regular season poll in 2002 where OSU was #2, Iowa #3 and Penn State #10 (Michigan was also #12).

Or in 1985, if you count the current composition of the Big Ten 5 of the top 8 were Big Ten teams. But really just 3 B1G teams, Iowa #1 (unanimous #1 at that), Michigan #4 and OSU #8.

10/29/1985 A.P. Poll Results - databaseFootball.com/College

 

[Clark]

2006 BCS Standings, BCS Rankings

This is BCS standing not AP but it's also at the end of the regular season not 3 weeks in so it's a better look anyway:

OSU #1
UM#3
Wisc #7

Good day sir.

 

[StatelineHawk]

1971 the Big Eight finished 1-2-3. Nebby, Oklahoma, and Colorado. ISU was 8-3 that year losing to those 3 teams.

 

[JonDMiller]

I seem to recall the Badgers sneaking around the top 5 toward the end of that year as well.

Wisconsin was 10th when Ohio State and Michigan were 1-2, the week before the Michigan-OSU game.

The week after that game, Michigan dropped to #3 and Wisconsin moved up to #7

In the final regular season AP Poll, OSU was #1, Michigan #3 and Wisconsin #6

 

[TheOnePercent]

2006 BCS Standings, BCS Rankings

This is BCS standing not AP but it's also at the end of the regular season not 3 weeks in so it's a better look anyway:

OSU #1
UM#3
Wisc #7

Good day sir.

Good day sir? That doesn't look like 3 teams in the top 5, nor does it look like 4 teams in the top 7.

 

[TheOnePercent]

Wisconsin was 10th when Ohio State and Michigan were 1-2, the week before the Michigan-OSU game.

The week after that game, Michigan dropped to #3 and Wisconsin moved up to #7

In the final regular season AP Poll, OSU was #1, Michigan #3 and Wisconsin #6

Great... that's not 3 in the top 5. Granted it is pretty close. B1G has never come close to 4 teams in the top 7 though.

 

[74Hunter]

1971 the Big Eight finished 1-2-3. Nebby, Oklahoma, and Colorado. ISU was 8-3 that year losing to those 3 teams.

I was gonna say that. And in 1995, the Big 8 had DoNU, Colorado, KSUcks, and Kansas all finish in the Top 9 (AP-fwiw) or Top 10 (coaches).

 

[Clark]

Good day sir? That doesn't look like 3 teams in the top 5, nor does it look like 4 teams in the top 7.

Has the 2012 season ended already?

 

[Cydkar]

i don't care how good the qb for arkansas is, he's not a 52 point difference

Smith is easily worth -42 points.

 

[Cydkar]

To that list you can add KU fan who thinks Coach Front Butt Weis was a great hire for their pathetic FB program.

Or Iowa fans that thought Lick was a good hire. Too soon?

 

[thejumper5]

Penn State and Nebraska weren't in the Big Ten at the time, but here's a look at a few weeks in 1985:
9/24: 3. Iowa, 5. Ohio State
10/1: 1. Iowa, 5. Ohio State
10/8: 1. Iowa, 3. Michigan
10/15: 1. Iowa, 2. Michigan
10/22: 1. Iowa, 3. Penn State, 4. Michigan, 5. Nebraska
10/29: 1. Iowa, 3. Penn State, 4. Michigan, 5. Nebraska
11/5: 2. Penn State, 3. Nebraska, 4. Ohio State
11/12: 1. Penn State, 2. Nebraska, 3. Ohio State, 5. Iowa
11/19: 1. Penn State, 2. Nebraska, 3. Iowa
11/26: 1. Penn State, 2. Iowa, 5. Michigan
12/3: 1. Penn State, 3. Iowa, 5. Michigan
Final: 2. Michigan, 3. Penn State

I'll do more research and see if I can find a time when three schools that were simultaneously in the Big Ten have ever been ranked in the AP top-5 in the same week.

 

[thejumper5]

Random stat I just found while looking at polls:
There wasn't a single Big Ten team ranked in AP top-5 between 9/10/2000 and 9/29/2002.

 

[thejumper5]

Some things I've found interesting:
1. By my count, the last conference, other than the SEC in the last couple of years, to have 3 teams in the AP top-5 at the same time is the Big XII. In November 2008, Texas Tech was #2, Texas was #4, and OU was #5.
2. Quite a few times in the '90's, the state of Florida had 3 teams in the top-5 at the same time.
3. Many, many times, 3 of Michigan, OSU, Nebraska, and Penn State have been in the top-5 at the same time, but never when PSU or Nebraska were in the Big Ten.
4. When people talk about the "Big 2 and Little 8" from the 1970's, it's no joke. Ohio State and Michigan were seemingly in the top-5 every week. The rest of the conference? Not so much.
5. In a 4-week span in 1963, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Ohio State, and Illinois were all ranked in the top-5, but never more than two in one week.
5. The last time the Big Ten had 3 teams in the AP top-5 at the same time was November 1960. 1. Minnesota, 3. Ohio State, 5. Iowa. The week prior to that, Iowa was #1, Minnesota was #3, and OSU was #5. Earlier in the '60 season, Iowa was #3, Illinois was #4, and OSU was #5. It also happened once in 1958, twice in 1954, and twice in 1942.
6. During WW2, there were four straight weeks in 1943 where Iowa Pre-Flight was in the top-5 alongside Michigan and Purdue.

 

[thejumper5]

Source:

databasefootball.com/College - NCAA Division I College Football Statistics and History

 

[hawkeyebob62]

Penn State and Nebraska weren't in the Big Ten at the time, but here's a look at a few weeks in 1985:
9/24: 3. Iowa, 5. Ohio State
10/1: 1. Iowa, 5. Ohio State
10/8: 1. Iowa, 3. Michigan
10/15: 1. Iowa, 2. Michigan
10/22: 1. Iowa, 3. Penn State, 4. Michigan, 5. Nebraska
10/29: 1. Iowa, 3. Penn State, 4. Michigan, 5. Nebraska
11/5: 2. Penn State, 3. Nebraska, 4. Ohio State
11/12: 1. Penn State, 2. Nebraska, 3. Ohio State, 5. Iowa
11/19: 1. Penn State, 2. Nebraska, 3. Iowa
11/26: 1. Penn State, 2. Iowa, 5. Michigan
12/3: 1. Penn State, 3. Iowa, 5. Michigan
Final: 2. Michigan, 3. Penn State

I'll do more research and see if I can find a time when three schools that were simultaneously in the Big Ten have ever been ranked in the AP top-5 in the same week.

It would be good enough for BTN to do a "Big Ten's Best", whether it's a year or 100 years before either PSU or Nebby entered the Big 10/Big Ten/B1G.

 

[bighawkeyedaddy]

On October 12, 1942, here were the rankings.

1. OSU
3. Michigan
5. Illinois
7. Wisconsin

 

[hawkforlife9]

sad the highest ranked Big is # 16.

 

[hawkeyebob62]

sad the highest ranked Big is # 16.

And they had to drop several spots to accomplish it.

 

[tm3308]

Sure, Ginn may not have been 27 points good, but WITHOUT him, what is Gonzales? Sort of like Keenan Davis without McNutt, no?

Regardless, Ginn's injury didn't affect the ultimate outcome at all. Florida was clearly the better team, with or without Ginn on the field. And I don't think that's a slight against OSU. They were good. But Florida and USC were the nation's best teams that year.