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2020 Big Ten Football Championship Game

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2020 Big Ten Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
1234 Total
Northwestern 7300 10
Ohio State 3379 22
DateDecember 19, 2020
Season2020
StadiumLucas Oil Stadium
LocationIndianapolis, Indiana
MVPTrey Sermon, RB, Ohio State
FavoriteOhio State by 16.5[1]
National anthemKindergarten class
RefereeMark Kluczynski
Halftime shownone
Attendance3,178
United States TV coverage
NetworkFox
AnnouncersGus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (sideline)
Nielsen ratings8.03 million
Big Ten Football Championship Game
 < 2019  2021
2020 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Big Ten suspended the season on August 11, but later decided to begin play on October 24. In addition to the title game that was played on December 19, the conference seeded all remaining teams for "championship week" games.[2]
Rankings from AP Poll.

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.

History

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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]

Teams

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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

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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

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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.

Game summary

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2020 Big Ten Football Championship Game
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 14 Northwestern 7 3 0010
No. 4 Ohio State 3 3 7922

at Lucas Oil StadiumIndianapolis, Indiana

  • Date: Saturday, December 19, 2020
  • Game time: 12:18 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: n/a (game played indoors)
  • Game attendance: 3,178
  • Referee: Mark Kluczynski
  • TV announcers (Fox): Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (sideline)
Game information
First quarter
  • (6:34) OSU – Blake Haubeil 41 yard field goal (Drive: 16 plays, 51 yards, 8:26; Ohio State 3–0)
  • (4:02) NU – Cam Porter 9 yard rush, Charlie Kuhbander kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:32; Northwestern 7–3)
Second quarter
  • (8:46) NU – Charlie Kuhbander 47 yard field goal (Drive: 14 plays, 65 yards, 6:00; Northwestern 10–3)
  • (5:23) OSU – Blake Haubeil 43 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards, 3:23; Northwestern 10–6)
Third quarter
  • (2:41) OSU – Trey Sermon 9 yard rush, Blake Haubeil kick (Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 2:23; Ohio State 13–10)
Fourth quarter
  • (12:07) OSU – Blake Haubeil 26 yard field goal (Drive: 5 plays, 31 yards, 2:19; Ohio State 16–10)
  • (4:03) OSU – Trey Sermon 3 yard rush, 2-point pass failed (Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:46; Ohio State 22–10)

Statistics

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Statistics NU OSU
First downs 19 24
Plays–yards 71–329 71–513
Rushes–yards 34–105 44–399
Passing yards 224 114
Passing: compattint 24–37–2 12–27–2
Time of possession 28:40 31:20
Team Category Player Statistics
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[a]
Receiving Julian Fleming 4 receptions, 53 yards

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Trey Sermon's 331 rushing yards set a new Ohio State single-game school record.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "ESPN Game Summary - Ohio State vs. Northwestern - December 19, 2020". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  2. ^ Stevens, Matthew. "Big Ten To Play A "Championship Weekend" 9th Game Of 2020 Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  3. ^ "ESPN Game Summary - Ohio State vs. Wisconsin". Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  4. ^ Rittenberg, Adam; Dinich, Heather (December 9, 2020). "Ohio St. into Big Ten finale after rule adjustment". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  5. ^ "Sermon runs for record 331; OSU wins Big Ten". ESPN.com. December 19, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
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