• Indiana and Ohio State have earned berths into the 15th Discover Big Ten Football Championship Game at 8 p.m. (ET) Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with the game televised to a live nationwide audience on FOX and broadcast on radio via Compass Media Network. Indiana will be making its first appearance in the Discover Big Ten Championship Game in program history after its first-ever undefeated regular season, while Ohio State will be making its seventh appearance in the title contest and first since 2020. This is the first Big Ten championship game featuring unbeaten teams and the first national No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup.
• At the conclusion of Saturday’s game, one student-athlete will be chosen by a select media panel as the Grange-Griffin Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten Football Championship Game. Offensive players have earned the award 12 times (seven quarterbacks, four running backs, one wide receiver) in the game’s 14-year history, including the only two-time recipient, Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook (2013 and 2015). Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil became the second defensive player to earn the award in 2023.
• This will be the 99th all-time meeting between the Buckeyes and the Hoosiers. Ohio State leads the all-time series in wins, 81-12-5. This is the second consecutive meeting, including 2024, where Ohio State and Indiana are each ranked in
the Top 5 of the Associated Press poll.
• Ohio State is seeking its sixth Big Ten Football Championship Game title and first since 2020, when it beat Northwestern 22-10. Indiana is seeking its first Big Ten Football Championship Game title.
• Ohio State earned its Big Ten Championship spot after beating Michigan 27-9 in Ann Arbor on Saturday. Ohio State was one of two FBS teams to finish the regular season unbeaten, and it marks the fourth 10+ win season for Ryan Day. The Buckeyes also hold the longest overall win streak in the nation with 16 straight wins.
• Indiana secured a Big Ten Championship berth after a 56-3 win over Purdue on Saturday. The Hoosiers finished the regular season undefeated for the first time in program history and were one of two teams to go unbeaten in the regular
season. Indiana’s regular season win streak of 13 games is the longest in the nation.
• Nine of the Big Ten’s 18 teams are mentioned in this week’s AP or US LBM Coaches Poll, announced on Sunday. The AP poll includes No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 4 Oregon, No. 17 USC, and No. 18 Michigan with Iowa, Illinois and Washington receiving votes. At No. 1, Ohio State leads nine Big Ten teams in the coaches’ poll (No. 2 Indiana, No. 4 Oregon, No. 17 USC, and No. 18 Michigan); Iowa, Washington, Illinois, and Penn State also received recognition.
• The Big Ten Conference remains firmly positioned within this week’s College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings: #1 Ohio State, #2 Indiana, #5 Oregon, #16 USC, #19 Michigan and #23 Iowa. The final CFP rankings will be released Sunday, Dec. 7
— later in the day, the matchups for the CFP national quarterfinals, semifinals, and the Big Ten’s other bowl destinations will be announced.
• A record-tying 12 Big Ten Conference schools – Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, USC and Washington – have clinched bowl berths by reaching six victories on the season.
• Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin are both finalists for the Maxwell Award. Sayin leads the nation in passing efficiency (184.9) and Mendoza is second nationally (183.7).
• Ohio State boasts one of the nation’s strongest defenses statistically; The Buckeyes are first in scoring defense (7.8 points per game), first in total defense (203 yards per game), and first in red zone defense.
• On the other side of the ball, Indiana has one of the nation’s best offenses statistically. The Hoosiers are second in scoring offense (44.3 points per game), fifth in total offense (483.8 yards per game), and ninth in rushing offense (229.8 yards per game).
• Indiana kicker Nicolas Radicic is 13-13 on the season and the only kicker in the nation to not miss a kick this season (min. 1 FGA per game).
• This season’s CFP will consist of four rounds. The first round will be hosted by the higher seeds (5 vs. 12, 8 vs. 9, 6 vs. 11, and 7 vs. 10) on Friday, Dec. 20 and Saturday, Dec. 21. The remaining teams will advance to the quarterfinals to play the 1-4 seeds as part of the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The semifinals will be hosted by the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 8 and Peach Bowl on Friday, Jan 9. The National Championship will be held on Monday, Jan. 19, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Fla.
