2023_Big_Ten_Football_Championship_Game
2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game
College football game
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 26–0 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 10–0 in title games since the East-West format change in 2014.
| 2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 67,842 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 2 Michigan | 10 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 26 |
| No. 16 Iowa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Game information |
|---|
|
No. 2 Michigan Wolverines (12–0, 9–0) vs. No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes (10–2, 7–2)
at Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, 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)
| Statistics | MICH | IOWA |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 13 | 7 |
| Plays–yards | 64–213 | 56–155 |
| Rushes–yards | 66 | 35 |
| Passing yards | 147 | 120 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 22–30–0 | 18–32–0 |
| Time of possession | 36:32 | 23:28 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | Passing | J. J. McCarthy | 22/30, 147 yards |
| Rushing | Blake Corum | 16 carries, 52 yards, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Cornelius Johnson | 9 receptions, 64 yards | |
| Iowa | Passing | Deacon Hill | 18/32, 120 yards |
| Rushing | Leshon Williams | 9 carries, 25 yards | |
| Receiving | Addison Ostrenga | 7 receptions, 50 yards |
- "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.
- Fornelli, Tom (November 25, 2023). "Wolverines win third straight in thriller to keep playoff bid alive". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- "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.