Big Ten confirms tie-breaking procedures for B1G Championship Game

Big Ten football is embarking on a first-of-its-kind season in 2024, and that new era required some new tie-breaking procedures to be introduced.

Previously, the B1G Championship Game operated with 2 divisions (most recently called the East and West Divisions) where the winner of each division would square off in Indianapolis to determine the title. With the conference expanding to 18 teams this fall, divisions have been replaced with the top 2 teams in the standings qualifying for the title game.

So, what happens if there are 2 (or more) teams tied atop the standings? The B1G confirmed the tie-breaking procedures that will be used to determine which teams advance to the title game.

The tied teams will be compared based on head-to-head matchups during the regular season.
The tied teams will be compared based on record against all 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.
The tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents.
The representative will be chosen based on the highest ranking by SportSource Analytics (team Rating Score metric) following the regular season.
The representative will be chosen by random draw among the tied teams conducted by the Commissioner or designee.

The new #B1GFootball tiebreaking procedures for the 2024 Discover #B1GFCG

More details here: https://t.co/dHmqU5gx2K pic.twitter.com/Mos3S2RFVe

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) August 26, 2024

The press release from the B1G also includes in-depth details on how the title game matchup will be selected if 3 or more teams are tied in the standings.

The latest Big Ten Championship odds have Ohio State as the preseason favorite and with a slight edge ahead of Oregon. Penn State and Michigan round out the top 4 spots in the odds and are the 4 teams given a realistic shot at winning the title this fall. Fans can head to FanDuel Sportsbook to get in on the action.

Considering that Ohio State, Oregon and Michigan must all face each other this fall while Penn State does not play any of the trio, it is entirely possible the tie-breaking procedures get put to an extensive test immediately in 2024.