2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game

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2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
1234Total
Michigan10010626
Iowa00000
DateDecember 2, 2023
Season 2023
Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium
Location Indianapolis, Indiana
MVP Mike Sainristil, DB, Michigan
Favorite Michigan by 22.5
National anthem University of Michigan and University of Iowa Marching bands
Referee Jeff Servinski
Attendance67,842
United States TV coverage
Network Fox
Compass Media
Announcers Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (sideline) (Fox)
Gregg Daniels (play-by-play) and Chad Brown (analyst) (Compass Media)
Big Ten Football Championship Game
 < 2022   2024 > 
2023 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
No. 1 Michigan xy$#^  9 0   15 0  
No. 10 Ohio State  8 1   11 2  
No. 13 Penn State  7 2   10 3  
Maryland  4 5   8 5  
Rutgers  3 6   7 6  
Michigan State  2 7   4 8  
Indiana  1 8   3 9  
West Division
No. 24 Iowa xy  7 2   10 4  
Northwestern  5 4   8 5  
Wisconsin  5 4   7 6  
Illinois  3 6   5 7  
Minnesota  3 6   6 7  
Nebraska  3 6   5 7  
Purdue  3 6   4 8  
Championship: Michigan 26, Iowa 0
  • # College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ College Football Playoff participant
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 2, 2023, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the 13th edition of the Big Ten Football Championship Game and determined the champion of the conference for the 2023 season. The game began at 8:17 p.m. EST and aired on Fox, featuring the West Division champion Iowa Hawkeyes and the East Division champion Michigan Wolverines. Michigan won 260 to secure their third consecutive outright Big Ten title. [1] Head coach Jim Harbaugh became the first Big Ten coach to achieve that feat. The division era ended with the East Division going 100 in title games since the East-West format change in 2014.

Contents

Teams

The 2023 Big Ten Championship Game featured the Iowa Hawkeyes, champions of the West Division, and the Michigan Wolverines, champions of the East Division. This was the third Big Ten title game appearance for both programs, The Hawkeyes were 0–2 in previous appearances, having most recently lost to Michigan in 2021. The Wolverines were 2–0 in previous appearances, having also defeated Purdue in 2022.

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan entered the game at 12–0 (9–0 BIG) and was designated as the visiting team. Heading into the final week of the regular season, Michigan and Ohio State both had undefeated conference records at 8–0 going into the 2023 edition of The Game in Ann Arbor, thus making the game a de facto East division championship. The Wolverines won the game 30–24, and clinched the division title for the third consecutive season. [2] A win would mean a third consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff the Wolverines.

Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa entered the game at 10–2 (7–2 BIG) and was designated as the home team. The Hawkeyes clinched a spot in the game following their win over Illinois on November 18. [3] They have not won the Big Ten since 2004 or outright since 1985. Iowa also hasn't defeated Michigan since 2016, going 0–3 since a 14–13 walk-off over the No. 2 Wolverines at Kinnick Stadium. They entered the game a 22.5-point underdog.

Game summary

2023 Big 10 Championship Game
No. 2 Michigan Wolverines (12–0, 9–0) vs. No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes (10–2, 7–2)
Period1234Total
No. 2 Michigan10010626
No. 16 Iowa00000

at Lucas Oil StadiumIndianapolis, IN

  • Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023
  • Game time: 8:17 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Indoors
  • Game attendance: 67,842
  • Referee: Jeff Servinski
  • TV announcers (FOX): Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst), Jenny Taft (sideline)
Game information
First quarter
  • (6:01) MICH - James Turner 35-yard field goal – 13 plays, 52 yards, 7:35 (Michigan 3–0)
  • (1:07) MICH - Blake Corum 2-yard run (James Turner Kick) – 2 plays, 5 yards, 0:39 (Michigan 10–0)
Third quarter
  • (9:09) MICH - Blake Corum 6-yard run (James Turner Kick) – 1 play, 6 yards, 0:05 (Michigan 17–0)
  • (0:22) MICH - James Turner 46-yard field goal – 9 plays, 28 yards, 4:46 (Michigan 20–0)
Fourth quarter
  • (9:14) MICH - James Turner 36-yard field goal – 4 plays, –3 yards, 1:43 (Michigan 23–0)
  • (3:38) MICH - James Turner 50-yard field goal – 6 plays, 23 yards, 3:46 (Michigan 26–0)
StatisticsMICHIOWA
First downs137
Plays–yards64–21356–155
Rushes–yards6635
Passing yards147120
Passing: comp–att–int22–30–018–32–0
Time of possession36:3223:28
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
MichiganPassing J. J. McCarthy 22/30, 147 yards
Rushing Blake Corum 16 carries, 52 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Cornelius Johnson 9 receptions, 64 yards
IowaPassing Deacon Hill 18/32, 120 yards
RushingLeshon Williams9 carries, 25 yards
ReceivingAddison Ostrenga7 receptions, 50 yards

See also

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References

  1. "No. 2 Michigan beats No. 18 Iowa 26-0 for Big Ten title, likely to claim top playoff seed". AP News. December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  2. Fornelli, Tom (November 25, 2023). "Wolverines win third straight in thriller to keep playoff bid alive". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  3. "Iowa clinches Big Ten Championship Game spot with win over Illinois, will face Michigan-Ohio State winner". CBS Sports. November 18, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.