Big Ten championship scenarios, explained: How Ohio State, Michigan, others can reach 2025 title game

Big Ten championship scenarios, explained: How Ohio State, Michigan, others can reach 2025 title game originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Big Ten championship race has featured two teams throughout the regular season. No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana – two of the three remaining unbeaten teams in the FBS – have been on a collision course throughout the regular season.

No. 5 Oregon also is in the mix, and No. 15 Michigan has just one loss in conference play. The Buckeyes play the Wolverines at 12 p.m. on Saturday. The Hoosiers play rival Purdue on Friday, and Oregon will know if it still has a chance to reach Indianapolis when it faces Washington at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.

There are seven potential scenarios for the Big Ten championship game – which is Dec. 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, which can be seen on the conference's official website here:

Here is how each team can advance to the Big Ten championship game.

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Big Ten championship scenarios 2025

Four teams are still in the Big Ten championship game picture. A look at their paths to the conference championship game:

Indiana (11-0, 8-0)

- Indiana clinches a spot in the Big Ten championship game with a win against Purdue.

- If Indiana loses to Purdue, the Hoosiers would advance to the Big Ten championship game if Ohio State beats Michigan. Indiana has a head-to-head victory against Oregon that would break their tie as 8-1 teams in conference play.

- The Hoosiers' opponents have the lowest cumulative conference winning percentage among the four teams (.333).

Ohio State (11-0, 8-0)

- Ohio State clinches a spot in the Big Ten championship game with a win against Michigan.

- If Ohio State loses to Michigan, then the Buckeyes would need Purdue to beat Indiana AND Washington to beat Oregon to make the Big Ten championship game.

- The Buckeyes' opponents rank third among the four teams in cumulative conference winning percentage (.403).

Oregon (10-1, 7-1)

- Oregon clinches a spot in the Big Ten championship game with a win against Washington AND a Michigan win against Ohio State.

- The Ducks would be eliminated from Big Ten championship contention with a loss to Washington.

- The Ducks' opponents have the highest cumulative conference winning percentage among the four teams (.517).

Michigan (9-2, 7-1)

- Michigan needs to beat Ohio State AND an Indiana loss to Purdue to make the Big Ten championship game.

- Michigan also would make the Big Ten championship game with a win against Ohio State AND an Oregon loss to Washington.

- The Wolverines' opponents have the second-best cumulative conference winning percentage among the four teams (.417).

Can Ohio State and Michigan play each other in the Big Ten championship game?

There is one scenario where this could happen. If Michigan beats Ohio State AND Washington beats Oregon AND Purdue beats Indiana, then the Buckeyes and Wolverines would play in the Big Ten championship game. The Ducks would have two losses in conference play, and Ohio State and Michigan beat Purdue, which is a common opponent with the Hoosiers.

Big Ten tiebreaker rules for 2025

Here are the Big Ten tie-breaker procedures to follow in order to determine who makes the conference championship game, according to the conference's official website.Step 1: Head to head: "The tied teams will be compared based on head-to-head matchups during the regular season."

Step 2: Common conference opponents: "The tied teams will be compared based on record against all common conference opponents"

Step 3: Common conference opponents: "The tied teams will be compared based on record against common opponents with the best conference record and proceeding through the common conference opponents based on their order of finish within the conference standings."

Step 4: Cumulative conference winning percentage: "The tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents."

Step 5: SportsSource Analytics ranking: "The representative will be chosen based on the highest ranking by SportSource Analytics (team Rating Score metric) following the regular season."

Step 6: Random draw: "The representative will be chosen by random draw among the tied teams conducted by the commissioner or designee."

Big Ten common opponents tracker for 2025

Here is a look at the common opponents for all the Big Ten teams with two losses or less. We added the cumulative conference winning percentage – the fourth Big Ten tiebreaker – to show which teams are in the best position heading into Rivalry Week:

OPPONENT

IND

OSU

MICH

ORE

Indiana

-

-

-

L 30-20

Illinois

W 63-10

W 34-16

-

-

Iowa

W 20-15

-

-

W 18-16

Maryland

W 55-10

-

W 45-20

-

Michigan

-

Nov. 29

-

-

Michigan State

W 38-13

-

W 31-20

-

Minnesota

-

W 42-3

-

W 42-13

Nebraska

-

-

W 30-27

-

Northwestern

-

-

W 24-22

W 34-14

Ohio State

-

-

Nov. 29

-

Oregon

W 30-20

-

-

-

Penn State

W 27-24

W 38-14

-

W 30-24

Purdue

Nov. 28

W 34-10

W 21-16

-

Rutgers

-

W 42-9

-

W 56-10

UCLA

W 56-6

W 48-10

-

-

USC

-

-

L 31-13

W 42-27

Wisconsin

W 31-7

W 34-0

W 24-10

W 21-7

Washington

-

W 24-6

W 24-7

Nov. 29

RECORD

24-48

29-43

30-42

38-34

%

.333

.403

.417

.528