College Football Stat Leaders

2021 Big Ten College Football Rushing Yards Per Game Leaders

Average rushing yards gained per game.

Seasons Covered

2004-2025

Current Leader

Michigan (214.4)

Best Season

Wisconsin 2014 (320.1)

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 Rushing Yards Per Game Reads

Rushing yards per game captures line-of-scrimmage control and down-to-down physicality, so teams that dominate this leaderboard usually create efficient early-down offense without needing to chase long passing volume. On this 2021 leaderboard, the visible range runs 214.4 to 180.3, with Michigan setting the pace.

Big Ten Context

Big Ten teams have claimed 100% of the yearly titles in this filtered dataset, and Indiana is the latest winner at 217.2.

Spread At The Top

The gap from No. 1 Michigan to No. 5 Ohio State is 34.0, which shows how tightly packed the top of this leaderboard is.

Recent Trend And Baseline

The yearly winning mark improved from 202.4 in 2024 to 217.2 in 2025, a swing of 14.8. Michigan's current mark of 214.4 sits above the all-time average leader benchmark of 208.5 held by Ohio State.

Leaderboard

Top 14 rows for the current route scope.

1MichiganBig Ten Conference2021214.4
2WisconsinBig Ten Conference2021210.9
3MinnesotaBig Ten Conference2021198.1
4NebraskaBig Ten Conference2021181.2
5Ohio StateBig Ten Conference2021180.3
6Michigan StateBig Ten Conference2021175.6
7IllinoisBig Ten Conference2021173.6
8NorthwesternBig Ten Conference2021145.0
9RutgersBig Ten Conference2021138.4
10MarylandBig Ten Conference2021136.2
11IowaBig Ten Conference2021123.6
12IndianaBig Ten Conference2021115.3
13Penn StateBig Ten Conference2021107.8
14PurdueBig Ten Conference202184.2

Trend Chart

Yearly winning values for the current filter scope.

Yearly Winners

SeasonTeamConferenceValue
2025IndianaBig Ten Conference217.2
2024Penn StateBig Ten Conference202.4
2023Penn StateBig Ten Conference185.2
2022MichiganBig Ten Conference238.9
2021MichiganBig Ten Conference214.4
2020Ohio StateBig Ten Conference256.3
2019Ohio StateBig Ten Conference266.8
2018WisconsinBig Ten Conference273.4
2017Ohio StateBig Ten Conference243.2
2016Ohio StateBig Ten Conference245.2
2015Ohio StateBig Ten Conference245.2
2014WisconsinBig Ten Conference320.1
2013Ohio StateBig Ten Conference308.6
2012NebraskaBig Ten Conference253.4
2011WisconsinBig Ten Conference235.6
2010IllinoisBig Ten Conference246.1
2009WisconsinBig Ten Conference203.8
2008WisconsinBig Ten Conference211.2
2007IllinoisBig Ten Conference256.8
2006IllinoisBig Ten Conference188.8
2005MinnesotaBig Ten Conference273.1
2004MinnesotaBig Ten Conference256.8

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, 2004208.52013 (308.6)
2Wisconsin2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004204.52014 (320.1)
3Nebraska2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011183.82012 (253.4)
4Michigan2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004178.72022 (238.9)
5Oregon2025, 2024178.42025 (198.6)
6Minnesota2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004170.12005 (273.1)
7Penn State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004167.02005 (212.8)
8Illinois2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004165.52007 (256.8)
9USC2025, 2024157.82025 (169.2)
10Maryland2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014152.32018 (230.2)
11Northwestern2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004152.32012 (225.5)
12Michigan State2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004150.72004 (238.5)
13Rutgers2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014148.72024 (176.5)
14Indiana2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004148.12014 (263.6)
15Washington2025, 2024148.02025 (166.8)
16Iowa2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004146.82024 (197.8)
17Purdue2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004129.72005 (186.7)
18UCLA2025, 2024113.32025 (139.6)

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Michigan ranks first at 214.4 in 2021.

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

Ohio State owns the strongest all-time average at 208.5 across 22 tracked seasons in this conference scope.

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

Indiana 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.