2024 Big Ten Football Championship Game

The 2024 Big Ten Football Championship Game (officially known as the 2024 Discover Big Ten Football Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was a college football game that was played on December 7, 2024, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the 14th edition of the Big Ten Football Championship Game and determined the champion of the conference for the 2024 season, as well as earning the winner an automatic bye to the quarterfinals of the 2024 College Football Playoff. The game began at 8:00 p.m. EST and aired on CBS. The game featured the Oregon Ducks and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

2024 Big Ten Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
1234 Total
Penn State 1014013 37
Oregon 141777 45
DateDecember 7, 2024
Season2024
StadiumLucas Oil Stadium
LocationIndianapolis, Indiana
FavoriteOregon by 3.5
RefereeKole Knueppel[1]
Attendance67,469
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
Compass Media
AnnouncersCBS: Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color), and Jenny Dell (sideline)
Compass Media: Gregg Daniels (play-by-play) and Chad Brown (color)
Big Ten Football Championship Game
 < 2023  2025
2024 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 1 Oregon y$^   9 0     13 0  
No. 4 Penn State y^   8 1     11 2  
No. 8 Indiana ^   8 1     11 1  
No. 6 Ohio State ^   7 2     10 2  
No. 20 Illinois   6 3     9 3  
Iowa   6 3     8 4  
Michigan   5 4     7 5  
Minnesota   5 4     7 5  
Rutgers   4 5     7 5  
USC   4 5     6 6  
Washington   4 5     6 6  
Nebraska   3 6     6 6  
Michigan State   3 6     5 7  
UCLA   3 6     5 7  
Wisconsin   3 6     5 7  
Northwestern   2 7     4 8  
Maryland   1 8     4 8  
Purdue   0 9     1 11  
Championship: Oregon 45, Penn State 37
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
As of December 12, 2024
Rankings from CFP Rankings

Teams

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The Big Ten eliminated divisions for the 2024 season and featured the two teams with the best overall conference record for the first time, those being Oregon and Penn State.[2] This was the first Big Ten title game appearance for Oregon in its first season in the Big Ten, while it was Penn State's second.

This matchup was the fifth game between the two schools; they last played each other in the 1995 Rose Bowl, where the Nittany Lions defeated the Ducks 38–20.[3]

This was the first Big Ten Championship game since 2020 to not feature the Michigan Wolverines, who previously appeared in three straight championship games.

Oregon Ducks

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Oregon clinched a spot in the game following their defeat of Wisconsin on November 16.[4] The Ducks entered the game as the last remaining undefeated team in the FBS, having achieved their first undefeated regular season since 2010.

Penn State Nittany Lions

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Penn State clinched a spot in the game following Ohio State's upset loss to Michigan and the Nittany Lions' defeat of Maryland on November 30. Penn State made their first Big Ten Championship Game appearance since 2016, in which they defeated Wisconsin 38–31.

Scoring summary

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2024 Big 10 Championship Game
#1 Oregon Ducks (12–0, 9–0) vs. #3 Penn State Nittany Lions (11–1, 8–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 3 Penn State 10 14 01337
No. 1 Oregon 14 17 7745

at Lucas Oil StadiumIndianapolis, IN

Statistics PSU UO
First downs 28 24
Plays–yards 74-518 75-466
Rushes–yards 297 186
Passing yards 226 283
Passing: compattint 20-39-2 22-32-0
Time of possession 27:24 32:36
Team Category Player Statistics
Penn State Passing Drew Allar 20/39, 226 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Kaytron Allen 14 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Tyler Warren 7 receptions, 84 yards
Oregon Passing Dillon Gabriel 22/32, 283 yards, 4 TD
Rushing Jordan James 20 carries, 87 yards, 2 TD
Receiving Tez Johnson 11 receptions, 181 yards, 1 TD

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Austro, Ben (December 6, 2024). "Officiating crews for the 2024 college football conference championship games". FootballZebras.com. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
  2. ^ Smith, Casey (June 8, 2023). "Big Ten Eliminating East, West Divisions in 2024". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  3. ^ Dodd, Dennis (November 30, 2024). "2024 Big Ten Championship Game: Oregon vs. Penn State set as Ohio State loss helps vault Nittany Lions". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  4. ^ "2024 Big Ten Championship Game:Oregon clinches berth in first season of league membership". CBS Sports. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 27, 2024.