College Football Stat Leaders

2021 Big Ten College Football Passing Yards Per Game Leaders

Average net passing yards gained per game.

Seasons Covered

2004-2025

Current Leader

Ohio State (380.9)

Best Season

Ohio State 2021 (380.9)

Scope

Big Ten • 2021

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 Passing Yards Per Game Reads

Passing yards per game highlights how aggressively a team can move the ball through the air after sacks and negative plays are accounted for, which separates explosive passing attacks from volume-only offenses. On this 2021 leaderboard, the visible range runs 380.9 to 266.4, with Ohio State setting the pace.

Big Ten Context

Big Ten teams have claimed 100% of the yearly titles in this filtered dataset, and USC is the latest winner at 296.0.

Spread At The Top

The gap from No. 1 Ohio State to No. 5 Nebraska is 114.5, which shows how tightly packed the top of this leaderboard is.

Recent Trend And Baseline

The yearly winning mark improved from 291.9 in 2024 to 296.0 in 2025, a swing of 4.1. Ohio State's current mark of 380.9 sits above the all-time average leader benchmark of 294.0 held by USC.

Leaderboard

Top 14 rows for the current route scope.

1Ohio StateBig Ten Conference2021380.9
2PurdueBig Ten Conference2021355.4
3MarylandBig Ten Conference2021304.6
4Penn StateBig Ten Conference2021268.5
5NebraskaBig Ten Conference2021266.4
6Michigan StateBig Ten Conference2021253.7
7MichiganBig Ten Conference2021228.7
8IowaBig Ten Conference2021180.1
9NorthwesternBig Ten Conference2021177.3
10IndianaBig Ten Conference2021175.5
11RutgersBig Ten Conference2021171.5
12MinnesotaBig Ten Conference2021162.0
13WisconsinBig Ten Conference2021160.2
14IllinoisBig Ten Conference2021156.2

Trend Chart

Yearly winning values for the current filter scope.

Yearly Winners

SeasonTeamConferenceValue
2025USCBig Ten Conference296.0
2024USCBig Ten Conference291.9
2023MarylandBig Ten Conference278.9
2022Ohio StateBig Ten Conference298.3
2021Ohio StateBig Ten Conference380.9
2020PurdueBig Ten Conference309.0
2019PurdueBig Ten Conference309.9
2018Ohio StateBig Ten Conference358.6
2017Penn StateBig Ten Conference290.2
2016PurdueBig Ten Conference294.9
2015IndianaBig Ten Conference293.8
2014Michigan StateBig Ten Conference265.6
2013IndianaBig Ten Conference306.7
2012IndianaBig Ten Conference311.2
2011NorthwesternBig Ten Conference275.8
2010IndianaBig Ten Conference294.8
2009NorthwesternBig Ten Conference303.5
2008IllinoisBig Ten Conference282.8
2007NorthwesternBig Ten Conference324.8
2006PurdueBig Ten Conference302.8
2005NorthwesternBig Ten Conference313.6
2004PurdueBig Ten Conference338.4

Historical Leaderboard

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

RankTeamSeasonsAverageBest Season
1USC2025, 2024294.02025 (296.0)
2Oregon2025, 2024266.62024 (279.5)
3Purdue2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004259.12021 (355.4)
4Washington2025, 2024253.12024 (261.7)
5Indiana2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004243.12012 (311.2)
6Ohio State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004238.92021 (380.9)
7Michigan State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004236.22005 (285.5)
8Penn State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004232.72017 (290.2)
9Maryland2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014223.62021 (304.6)
10Northwestern2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004221.62007 (324.8)
11Nebraska2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011217.72017 (277.5)
12Michigan2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004212.12010 (255.4)
13UCLA2025, 2024211.22024 (242.2)
14Illinois2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004204.52013 (287.7)
15Iowa2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004203.42005 (267.3)
16Wisconsin2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004195.32011 (246.7)
17Minnesota2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004194.72019 (253.3)
18Rutgers2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014174.62025 (266.1)

Frequently Asked Questions

Who leads the Big Ten passing yards per game leaderboard in 2021?

Ohio State ranks first at 380.9 in 2021.

Which Big Ten program has the best long-term passing yards per game profile?

USC owns the strongest all-time average at 294.0 across 2 tracked seasons in this conference scope.

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

USC 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.