College Football Stat Leaders

2023 Big Ten College Football Defensive PPA Leaders

Predicted points added allowed per defensive play.

Seasons Covered

2003-2025

Current Leader

Penn State (-0.014)

Best Season

Michigan 2004 (-0.146)

Scope

Big Ten • 2023

Browse Metrics

Crawl sibling stat pages without leaving the shared leaderboard template.

Total Yards Per GamePassing Yards Per GameRushing Yards Per GamePoints Per GameOffensive PPADefensive PPATurnover MarginHavoc Rate

What The Numbers Say

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

How Defensive PPA Reads

Defensive PPA is a prevention metric, so lower numbers are better because elite defenses consistently erase scoring value and force opponents into less efficient possessions. On this 2023 leaderboard, the visible range runs -0.014 to 0.084, with Penn State setting the pace.

Big Ten Context

Big Ten teams have claimed 100% of the yearly titles in this filtered dataset, and Ohio State is the latest winner at -0.014.

Spread At The Top

The gap from No. 1 Penn State to No. 5 Nebraska is 0.098, which shows how tightly packed the top of this leaderboard is.

Recent Trend And Baseline

The yearly winning mark improved from -0.010 in 2024 to -0.014 in 2025, a swing of 0.003. Penn State's current mark of -0.014 sits above the all-time average leader benchmark of 0.011 held by Ohio State.

Leaderboard

Top 14 rows for the current route scope.

1Penn StateBig Ten Conference2023-0.014
2MichiganBig Ten Conference2023-0.009
3IowaBig Ten Conference20230.003
4Ohio StateBig Ten Conference20230.006
5NebraskaBig Ten Conference20230.084
6MarylandBig Ten Conference20230.104
7WisconsinBig Ten Conference20230.105
8RutgersBig Ten Conference20230.116
9NorthwesternBig Ten Conference20230.121
10IllinoisBig Ten Conference20230.170
11PurdueBig Ten Conference20230.180
12Michigan StateBig Ten Conference20230.188
13MinnesotaBig Ten Conference20230.219
14IndianaBig Ten Conference20230.243

Trend Chart

Yearly winning values for the current filter scope.

Yearly Winners

SeasonTeamConferenceValue
2025Ohio StateBig Ten Conference-0.014
2024Ohio StateBig Ten Conference-0.010
2023Penn StateBig Ten Conference-0.014
2022IowaBig Ten Conference-0.043
2021WisconsinBig Ten Conference-0.011
2020WisconsinBig Ten Conference0.016
2019Ohio StateBig Ten Conference-0.011
2018MichiganBig Ten Conference0.004
2017WisconsinBig Ten Conference-0.040
2016Ohio StateBig Ten Conference-0.051
2015NorthwesternBig Ten Conference-0.011
2014Penn StateBig Ten Conference-0.045
2013Michigan StateBig Ten Conference-0.057
2012Michigan StateBig Ten Conference-0.080
2011Michigan StateBig Ten Conference-0.050
2010Ohio StateBig Ten Conference-0.041
2009Ohio StateBig Ten Conference-0.037
2008IowaBig Ten Conference-0.042
2007Ohio StateBig Ten Conference-0.059
2006WisconsinBig Ten Conference-0.095
2005Ohio StateBig Ten Conference0.011
2004MichiganBig Ten Conference-0.146
2003Ohio StateBig Ten Conference-0.143

Historical Leaderboard

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

RankTeamSeasonsAverageBest Season
1Ohio State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0112003 (-0.143)
2Iowa2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0262004 (-0.134)
3Penn State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0302014 (-0.045)
4Michigan2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0312004 (-0.146)
5Wisconsin2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0342006 (-0.095)
6Michigan State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0682012 (-0.080)
7Oregon2025, 20240.0762025 (0.041)
8Northwestern2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0802004 (-0.047)
9Washington2025, 20240.0942025 (0.057)
10Illinois2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.1092022 (-0.038)
11Minnesota2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.1102003 (0.005)
12Indiana2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.1112004 (-0.021)
13Purdue2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.1222003 (-0.057)
14Nebraska2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 20110.1282012 (-0.013)
15Maryland2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 20140.1522022 (0.076)
16USC2025, 20240.1602025 (0.149)
17Rutgers2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 20140.2032023 (0.116)
18UCLA2025, 20240.2122024 (0.163)

Frequently Asked Questions

Who leads the Big Ten defensive ppa leaderboard in 2023?

Penn State ranks first at -0.014 in 2023.

Which Big Ten program has the best long-term defensive ppa profile?

Ohio State owns the strongest all-time average at 0.011 across 23 tracked seasons in this conference scope.

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

Ohio State 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.