Michigan Football still king of expanded Big Ten Conference

As the Big Ten expands to the West Coast, Michigan is still the conference's leaders and best...

Matt Lounsberry | Aug 2, 2024

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh celebrates with the CFP Championship trophy after beating the Washington Huskies in the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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Michigan Wolverines

College football is set to look very different in 2024 with a fresh round of conference realignment and the expansion of the College Football Playoff going into affect this fall.

With the addition of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, the Big Ten's 18-member lineup rivals that of any other conference in America, and the conference will be well-represented on the football field in less than a month's time. However, even with the four West Coast schools, even with the history that programs like Ohio State and Penn State bring to the table, it's clear who remains the "leaders and best" of the Big Ten — the Michigan Wolverines.

All the Heisman Trophies and claimed National Titles in the new-look @bigten 🏆🏆🔥

Which team has the best shot at adding a National Title or Heisman trophy this season? pic.twitter.com/jDnCE6AaSe
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 2, 2024

On the football field, Michigan still leads the way in the Big Ten with 12 national championships, including the sport's most recent in 2023. The Wolverines also remain college football's winningest program with 1,004 all-time victories, the first and only school to eclipse 1,000 wins on the gridiron. New addition USC is closest to Michigan with 11 national championships, the last of which came in 2004. Among traditional Big Ten programs, Ohio State has the next closest national title, won in 2014. The Buckeyes also won a title in 2002 and have eight in program history.

Michigan is also well-represented with three winners of the Heisman Trophy — Tom Harmon, Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson — which is given annually to the most outstanding player in college football. USC and Ohio State lead the expanded Big Ten in this category, with eight and seven Heisman winners, respectively. Nebraska matches Michigan with three winners of the award, while Wisconsin is close behind with two.

While Oregon has become a recent power in college football, the Ducks have a long way to go before they can be considered among the premier programs in the history of the sport. Oregon has never won a national championship in football, though quarterback Marcus Mariota did with the Heisman Trophy in 2014. Despite the lack of hardware, the Ducks do not lack in boisterous energy, and their attention-seeking methods have become renown.

If more evidence of Michigan's dominance is needed, both on and off the football field, look no further than to the graphic below, which lists the total number of Big Ten championships across all sports over the last five years.