Big Ten standings, explained: Updated 2025 tiebreakers for Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, USC and Michigan

Big Ten standings, explained: Updated 2025 tiebreakers for Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, USC and Michigan originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana appear on a collision course for the Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 6.

LIVE:Updated college football polls after Week 12

The Buckeyes stayed on that course with a 42-9 victory against Rutgers on Saturday. Ohio State and Indiana now can clinch Big Ten championship appearances with victories on Rivalry Week.

Two other Big Ten teams have one conference loss. No. 8 Oregon beat No. 17 USC 42-27, and No. 18 Michigan beat Maryland 45-20 in Week 13. Those teams remain alive in the College Football Playoff hunt heading into the final week of the regular season, but they won’t be in the Big Ten championship game unless the Buckeyes or Hoosiers slip up.

Here is a breakdown of the Big Ten race, with standings, tiebreakers, paths to the championship game and a look at the cumulative conference winning percentage for each of those contenders:

MORE TIEBREAKERS: ACC | Big 12| SEC

Big Ten football standings 2025

The Big Ten has four teams with two losses or less. Here is a closer look at those standings:

SCHOOL	OVERALL	BIG TEN	WEEK 13
Indiana	11-0	8-0	Bye
Ohio State	11-0	8-0	Beat Rutgers 42-9
Oregon	10-1	7-1	Beat USC 42-27
Michigan	9-2	7-1	Beat Maryland 45-20

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.”

MORE:Projecting the 2026 College Football Playoff bracket after Week 12

Big Ten contenders path to the championship game

Indiana (11-0, 8-0)

Remaining schedule: at Purdue

Indiana had a bye week. The Hoosiers will be heavy favorites against Purdue in the regular-season finale after a bye week and can clinch a Big Ten championship berth with a victory.

Ohio State (11-0, 8-0)

Remaining schedule: at Michigan

Ohio State beat Rutgers 42-9 on Saturday. The Buckeyes also control their own destiny, but another loss to Michigan could keep Ohio State out of the Big Ten championship game. A loss to the Wolverines would open the door for either Oregon, USC or Michigan to make the Big Ten championship game.

Oregon (10-1, 7-1)

Remaining schedule: at Washington

Oregon beat USC 42-27 on Saturday. The Ducks will have a hard time bypassing Indiana in the standings. Oregon’s best bet to repeat as Big Ten champions would be to win out and have Michigan upset Ohio State in the regular-season finale. In that event, Oregon and Indiana would meet in a rematch from their regular-season matchup because the Ducks have a strong advantage in cumulative conference winning percentage.

Michigan (9-2, 7-1)

Remaining schedule: vs. Ohio State

Michigan beat Maryland 45-20. The Wolverines need to win out to have a chance to make it to Indianapolis – and that will require a fifth straight victory against the rival Buckeyes in the regular-season finale on Nov. 29. Even if Michigan beats the Buckeyes, they need either USC and Indiana to both lose in the final three weeks or an Indiana loss and a USC victory against Oregon.

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
CUMULATIVE%	24-47	28-42	29-42	37-34

Most likely Big Ten championship game scenario

Indiana has the easiest path to the Big Ten championship game – and it would take a huge upset from Purdue to knock the Hoosiers out at this point. We’ll pencil Indiana into one of those spots.

Ohio State is our pick to play Indiana, and what a blockbuster Big Ten championship game that would be with the Heisman Trophy in the fold with top candidates Julian Sayin, Fernando Mendoza and Jeremiah Smith. Of course, the Buckeyes have to break that losing streak to Michigan.

An Ohio State loss would open the door for Oregon.

We’ll stick with the Buckeyes and Hoosiers for now – and that would be a potential Game of the Century between No. 1 and No. 2 before the College Football Playoff even starts.

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