Big Ten football begins new chapter
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Will Purdue or IU shock the conference this season? Probably not, but we can hope. Photo: James Black/Getty Images
After months of anticipation — and a lot of trolling from one of its new mascots — the expanded Big Ten football conference is ready to take the field.
Why it matters: The traditionally Midwestern conference continued a push to the coasts it started 10 years ago when it went east by sprinkling in some West Coast flavor in 2024.
The addition of USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon has pushed the Big Ten from 14 teams to 18, making it the largest NCAA conference.
- The Big Ten's raiding of the Pac-12 makes it the second-strongest conference in all of college football behind the SEC. For example, last year's national championship game would have technically been an all-Big Ten affair with today's teams.
- This season also introduces new matchups, like the Indiana Hoosiers traveling across the country to Cali for a first-time faceoff with UCLA in a Week 3 conference opener.
Why it matters for Indy: The Circle City continues to be home to the most important Big Ten football game of the year. Lucas Oil Stadium will host the 2024 Big Ten Championship game on Dec. 7.
- The title game will stay in Indy through at least 2028.
Driving the news: Thursday marks the start of Big Ten football when Rutgers plays Howard, Minnesota plays North Carolina, and Illinois plays Eastern Illinois in nonconference action.
- Purdue's first game is Saturday at noon against Indiana State.
- IU's first game is Saturday at 3:30pm against Florida International University.
What they're saying: "Now that everybody has been here for a year [and] they understand now we want to operate, there's no need to micromanage and now you can dive into football a little more," Purdue coach Ryan Walters said Monday. "We're in a much better place."
- "I want to see us play fast and physical … but also play smart, disciplined and poised," said new IU coach Curt Cignetti. "But we do want to attack and be that kind of team."
Flashback: The Big Ten finished last season with four teams ranked in the AP Top 25, tied for the third-most of any conference.
- The Michigan Wolverines are the reigning Big Ten champs. They routed Iowa 26-0 in the title game in Indy on the way to winning the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship with a 34-13 win over Washington.
State of play: The 2024 AP Preseason Poll includes six Big Ten teams, with No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon, No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Michigan, No. 23 USC and No. 25 Iowa.
- Early Big Ten Heisman hopefuls include Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard and Penn State quarterback Drew Allar.
Yes, but: Gabriel is the main name to watch, because the leader of one of the conference's new teams tops most early Heisman Trophy odds rankings.
The intrigue: Excitement for the remixed conference is so high, it helped college football tickets climb to a 42% year-over-year increase.
Between the lines: This week brought the announcement of new tiebreaker procedures for the 2024 Big Ten Championship Game, the first in history that will match the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the overall conference standings now that divisions have been eliminated.
How it works: If two teams are tied, the following six steps will be taken in this order until a winner can be determined:
- Tied teams will be compared based on head-to-head matchups during the regular season.
- Compared based on record against all common conference opponents.
- Compared based on record against common opponents with the best conference record and order of finish.
- Compared based on the best winning percentage.
- Chosen based on the highest ranking by SportSource Analytics following the regular season.
- Chosen by random draw.
Fun fact: Also new this season is a centralized replay center created under the direction of Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, where all game replays will be determined with (hopefully) higher accuracy.
- The center has a total of 18 replay stations to review close or questionable plays.
The bottom line: Big Ten football is back, and this expanded season is sure to be one to remember.
Go deeper: IU, Purdue and the new Big Ten Conference