Big Ten Tiebreaker Rules
How Big Ten's published tiebreaker procedure works, and exactly how SportsSimulate's 2025 season simulation evaluates every step - written as reference material independent of any particular week's scenarios.
- 1
Head-to-head record
If the tied teams played each other this season, that result decides it directly - among three or more tied teams, this is each team's combined record against just the others in the tie.
- 2
Combined record against common conference opponents
Each tied team's record against every conference opponent that all of them played is compared, treating those shared opponents as a single group.
- 3
Record against the next-highest-placed common opponent, working down the standings
Starting from the best-placed team the tied group has in common, each tied team's record against that opponent is compared - if that's still even, the process repeats against the next-best common opponent, and so on down the standings.
- 4
Strength of schedule
The aggregate difficulty of each tied team's full-season schedule, based on opponents' win percentages.
- 5
Team Rating Score
The conference's own computer rating system, combining results and schedule strength into a single score.
Not simulated: SportSource Analytics' Team Rating Score isn't a feed this app ingests, so this step is skipped and the tiebreaker falls through to the next one.
- 6
Random draw
If every step above still leaves teams tied, the tie is broken by a random draw - in practice, a coin toss.
Official source: Big Ten Announces New Football Tiebreaking Procedures
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Big Ten Championship Game tiebreaker work?
When two or more teams finish tied atop the Big Ten standings, the conference's own published tiebreaker procedure decides the order - working through each of these 6 steps in turn until one of them produces a winner: Head-to-head record, then Combined record against common conference opponents, then Record against the next-highest-placed common opponent, working down the standings, then Strength of schedule, then Team Rating Score, then Random draw.
Did the Big Ten tiebreaker procedure change for the 2025 season?
No - Big Ten's tiebreaker procedure for 2025 is unchanged from the prior season.
Does strength of schedule affect Big Ten tiebreakers?
Yes - strength of schedule is the fourth step in Big Ten's published tiebreaker procedure, only reached if the steps before it don't separate the tied teams.
Do Big Ten tiebreakers depend on CFP committee rankings?
No - Big Ten's published tiebreaker procedure doesn't reference CFP committee rankings at any step.
What happens if a Big Ten tie is still unbroken after every tiebreaker step?
Big Ten's procedure falls back to a random draw (in practice, a coin toss) if every step before it - Head-to-head record, then Combined record against common conference opponents, then Record against the next-highest-placed common opponent, working down the standings, then Strength of schedule, then Team Rating Score - still leaves the tied teams even.