Big Ten Announces Football Championship Game Tiebreaker Procedures

As divisions were eliminated after the 2023 season, the top two teams in the conference will face-off in Indianapolis to battle for the Big Ten championship crown.

Dec 2, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines celebrate after winning the Big Ten Championship game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports

The Big Ten Conference has many changes fans will continue to adjust for heading into the first week of the 2024 season: new teams, no divisions, and now new policies regarding the conference's football championship game.

The Big Ten announced Monday morning that the new policies will take place immediately for the 2024 Discover Big Ten Championship Game set for Dec. 7 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Prior to 2024, the conference had each division winner compete in the Big Ten title game to determine the league's champion.

This season, with the newest additions of former Pac-12 schools USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon, the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the overall conference standings will face off for the Big Ten title. However, the league set standards in case of a tiebreaker circumstance.

If two teams are tied in the Big Ten standings (factoring only conference games), then the two teams would be pitted against the following rules to determine which program would advance into the title match:

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1. The tied teams would be compared on head-to-head matchups during the regular season.

Dec 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan State Spartans running back LJ Scott (3) dives in for a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the Big Ten Conference football championship game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

This entails that any team tied for the No. 2 spot in the conference would immediately advance to the title game if they defeated the other program in a head-to-head matchup. If Team A and Team B are both 10-2, but Team A beat Team B, then Team A advances.

2. The tied teams will be compared based on record against all common conference opponents.

Ohio State celebrates its Big Ten championship game win over Wisconsin on Dec. 7. A football season, much less the conference title game, is up in the air because of the coronavirus pandemic. / Joshua A. Bickel/Dispatch via Imagn Content Services, LLC

If both Team A and Team B share similar conference opponents, then the team with the best record in those matchups would advance. If Team A and Team B are tied in conference standings, but Team A lost to Team C while Team B defeated Team C, Team B would advance.

3. The tied teams will be compared based on record against common opponents with the best conference record.

Michigan defensive back Will Johnson intercepts a pass intended for Purdue wide receiver Charlie Jones during the second half of the Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Now it gets interesting. If both teams that are tied entering this scenario, the conference opponents records of each conference team faced would determine the team that would advance. If Team A's conference opponent record is 24-30 compared to Team B's opponent records being 28-26, Team B would advance.

4. The tied teams compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents.

Ohio State Buckeyes running back Trey Sermon (8) stiff arms Northwestern Wildcats defensive back JR Pace (5) as he rushes upfield during the third quarter of the Big Ten Championship football game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Ohio State won 22-10 / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

In the event of an unbalanced schedule (i.e., less than nine conference
games are played), the records of the two tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents, regardless of how many conference opponents each team played.

5. The representative will be chosen based on the highest ranking by SportSource Analytics.

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers linebacker T.J. Watt (42) forces a fumble by Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Trace McSorley (9) in the first half during the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Mike De Sisti-USA TODAY Sports

Enter your tinfoil hats. If two teams continue to remain tied to this scenario, then the highest ranked team determing by the team "rating score" metric following the regular season would advance.

6. The representative will be chosen by random draw among the tied teams conducted by the Commissioner or designee.

Michigan running back Blake Corum runs for a touchdown during the second half of U-M's 26-0 win over Iowa in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ultimate chaos. Surely, no Big Ten fanbase would overreact if their school was not picked for the conference championship game?

The full tiebreaker policies can be found here. Nebraska aims to be a part of the Big Ten title game this season, but will have to overcome conference preseason favorites Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan.

The Huskers were last in the conference championship game in 2012, when Wisconsin blasted the Big Red 70-31. Nebraska's last conference championship came in 1999.

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