2020 Big Ten Football Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conference Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date | December 19, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Lucas Oil Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Indianapolis, Indiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio State | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Favorite | Ohio State by 16.5 [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
National anthem | Kindergarten class | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Mark Kluczynski | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Halftime show | none | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 3,178 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Network | Fox | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nielsen ratings | 8.03 million | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 2 Ohio State xy$^ | 5 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 12 Indiana | 6 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Penn State | 4 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maryland | 2 | – | 3 | 2 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rutgers | 3 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan | 2 | – | 4 | 2 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan State | 2 | – | 5 | 2 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 10 Northwestern xy | 6 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 16 Iowa | 6 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wisconsin | 3 | – | 3 | 4 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota | 3 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nebraska | 3 | – | 5 | 3 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Purdue | 2 | – | 4 | 2 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 2 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Championship: Ohio State 22, Northwestern 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2020 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 19, 2020 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The tenth annual Big Ten Football Championship Game, it determined the 2020 champion of the Big Ten Conference. The game was played between the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes out of the East division, and the No. 14 Northwestern Wildcats out of the West division. Sponsored by credit card company Discover, the game was officially known as the Big Ten Championship Game presented by Discover.
The 2020 Championship Game was the tenth in the Big Ten's 125-year history and the seventh to feature the conference's East and West alignment. East division champion Ohio State won the 2019 game over West division champion Wisconsin by a score of 34–21. [3]
Ohio State and Northwestern faced each other in the Big Ten Championship Game for the second time. Ohio State won the first championship game between the two schools, in 2018.
Northwestern booked their place in the Championship Game by winning the West Division with a record of 6–1 (6–1 Big Ten). The Wildcats are making their second appearance in the Championship Game, with the only previous appearance coming in 2018 against Ohio State. The Wildcats are ranked 14th in the College Football Playoff rankings heading into the game.
Ohio State secured their place in the Championship Game by winning the East Division with an undefeated 5–0 (5–0 Big Ten) regular season record. This will be Ohio State's sixth appearance in the Championship Game, and fourth consecutive. They are the three-time reigning conference champions. The Buckeyes were ranked fourth in the College Football Playoff rankings heading into the game.
Originally, Ohio State would not have qualified to play in the championship game due to the Big Ten's six-game minimum rule that was adopted in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that rule was eliminated shortly after Ohio State's final game, against Michigan, was canceled. [4] This allowed the Buckeyes to advance to the Championship game at 5–0 over Big Ten East runners-up Indiana, who finished 6–1.
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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No. 14 Northwestern | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
No. 4 Ohio State | 3 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 22 |
at Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, Indiana
Game information |
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Statistics | NU | OSU |
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First downs | 19 | 24 |
Plays–yards | 71–329 | 71–513 |
Rushes–yards | 34–105 | 44–399 |
Passing yards | 224 | 114 |
Passing: comp–att–int | 24–37–2 | 12–27–2 |
Time of possession | 28:40 | 31:20 |
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
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Northwestern | Passing | Peyton Ramsey | 24/37, 224 yards, 2 INT |
Rushing | Cam Porter | 16 carries, 61 yards, 1 TD | |
Receiving | Ramaud Chiaokhiao-Bowman | 8 receptions, 103 yards | |
Ohio State | Passing | Justin Fields | 12/27, 114 yards, 2 INT |
Rushing | Trey Sermon | 29 carries, 331 yards, 2 TD [lower-alpha 1] | |
Receiving | Julian Fleming | 4 receptions, 53 yards |
The Big Ten Conference is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1896, it predates the founding of its regulating organization, the NCAA. It is based in the Chicago area in Rosemont, Illinois. For many decades the conference consisted of 10 prominent universities, which accounts for its name. As of 2014, it consists of 14 member institutions and 2 affiliate institutions, with 4 new member institutions scheduled to join in 2024. The conference competes in the NCAA Division I and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, the highest level of NCAA competition in that sport.
The Northwestern Wildcats football team represents Northwestern University as an NCAA Division I college football team and member of the Big Ten Conference based near Chicago in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern began playing football in 1882. Its football mascot is the Wildcat, a term coined by a Chicago Tribune reporter in 1924, after reporting on a football game where the players appeared as "a wall of purple wildcats". Northwestern Football is also marketed as "Chicago's Big Ten Team" with its proximity and ties to Chicago.
The 2013 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University in the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Buckeye's 124th overall, the 101st as a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the third as a member of the Big Ten Leaders Division. The team was led by Urban Meyer, in his second year as head coach, and played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes finished the regular season with an undefeated record for the second consecutive year, as well as Big Ten Leaders Division champions for the second consecutive year. They finished the season with a record of 12 wins and 2 losses, following losses to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game and to Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
The 2013 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game that was played on December 7, 2013, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the third annual Big Ten Football Championship Game, and determined the 2013 champion of the Big Ten Conference (B1G). The game featured the Leaders Division champion Ohio State Buckeyes against the Legends Division champion Michigan State Spartans. Michigan State defeated Ohio State 34–24, to win the Big Ten Championship, and represent the conference in the 100th Rose Bowl game on January 1, 2014. The upset loss kept Ohio State out of the BCS National Championship game.
Ryan Patrick Day is an American football coach and former college football player. He is the 24th and current head football coach at Ohio State University, a position he has held since 2019. Day was also the acting head coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes for the first three games of the 2018 season. He attended the University of New Hampshire, where he played quarterback and linebacker for the Wildcats from 1998 to 2001 before he began his coaching career in 2002.
The 1995 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented Indiana University Bloomington as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 12th-year head coach Bill Mallory, the Hoosiers compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 0–8 in conference play, placing last out of 11 teams in the Big Ten. The team played home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.
The 2015 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game that was played on December 5, 2015, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the fifth annual Big Ten Football Championship Game and it determined the 2015 champion of the Big Ten Conference. The game featured the Michigan State Spartans, champions of the East Division, and the Iowa Hawkeyes, champions of the West Division. Michigan State defeated Iowa 16–13 to win its second Big Ten Championship in three years. Since both teams were #5 and #4 respectively, the winner automatically clinch a berth to the four-team College Football Playoff.
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The 2019 Big Ten conference football season was the 124th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and was part of the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
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The 2020 Big Ten conference football season is the 125th season of college football play for the Big Ten Conference and part of the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the Big Ten's seventh season with 14 teams. The defending league champion was Ohio State.
The 2020 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Ryan Day, and played their home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. It was the Buckeyes' 131st season overall and 108th as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
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The 2021 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 4, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the 11th edition of the Big Ten Football Championship Game and determined the champion of the Big Ten Conference for the 2021 season. The game began at 8:19 p.m. EST and aired on Fox. The game featured the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines, the East Division champions, and the No. 13 Iowa Hawkeyes, the West Division champions. The game was officially known as the Big Ten Championship Game presented by Discover, owing to its sponsorship by the credit card company.
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