How is the Big 10 champion determined?

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skyman31

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Scrolled through here and didn’t see any threads, and couldn’t find anything off a quick google search - apologize if this has been discussed here already.
With Covid cancellations, how are the big 10 final standings determined? Winning percentage, total wins/total losses? If say the gophers go 6-3, and Wisconsin goes 6-1, who would be considered the big 10 west champ?
 

IIRC:

Winner of the Championship game is B1G champ.

To qualify for the big game you have to play at less 6 games, and win your division.

Division winners is determined by the team with the fewest losses (it's not really win % because of the possibility of different number of games played).

Division winner tie breakers start with the division head to head game determining the winner and it gets more detailed from there if they didn't play that game and so on.
 

skyman31 said:
Scrolled through here and didn’t see any threads, and couldn’t find anything off a quick google search - apologize if this has been discussed here already.
With Covid cancellations, how are the big 10 final standings determined? Winning percentage, total wins/total losses? If say the gophers go 6-3, and Wisconsin goes 6-1, who would be considered the big 10 west champ?
Click to expand...
Gophers and Wisconsin can’t go 6-3 and 6-1 before it is determined

If Minnesota was 6-2 and Wisconsin was 5-1
Wisconsin would go
If Minnesota was 6-2 and Wisconsin was 4-2, Minnesota would go
if Minnesota was 6-2 and Wisconsin was 4-1, Minnesota would go
If Minnesota was 5-2 and Wisconsin was 5-0, Minnesota would go.

Obviously a third party could change any of that
 

Division champs are determined by winning percentage, assuming you play at least six (conf) games.

For example, if NW is 7-1 (.875) and Wisc is 5-1 (.833), then NW would get it even with the head-to-head loss.


If the same percentage but different W/L, then it goes to the team with fewer losses. There are additional criteria if it makes it that far.
 
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Some guy said:
Gophers and Wisconsin can’t go 6-3 and 6-1 before it is determined

If Minnesota was 6-2 and Wisconsin was 5-1
Wisconsin would go
If Minnesota was 6-2 and Wisconsin was 4-2, Minnesota would go
if Minnesota was 6-2 and Wisconsin was 4-1, Minnesota would go
If Minnesota was 5-2 and Wisconsin was 5-0, Minnesota would go.

Obviously a third party could change any of that
Click to expand...
My bad. Had 9 game season in my head. Thanks, that was super helpful!
 


My understanding is that players in the Big Ten cannot play for 21 days from when they are diagnosed with COVID-19. If those are the rules, then even if Wisconsin is able to play this weekend, they should still be without Mertz and his backup at quarterback.
 

Mertz is eligible to play.
 

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Warning - long post - but here is what appears to be the complete criteria for determining division titles. I read this once. I think I sorta understand it, but not 100% sure......


Teams are required to play at least six of the eight games in order to qualify for a division title. There is an exception — if the average number of games played drops below eight, then to qualify a team would have to play at least two games less than the average.

So if the average games played drops to seven, the minimum number of games to be considered for a division title becomes five.

Determining division champions
  1. With all conference games completed, the best winning percentage in all conference games.
  2. In the event of an unbalanced schedule due to cancellation of games:
    1. If two (or more)teams have the same number of conference losses but a different number of conference wins, head-to-head results will take precedence over winning percentage, as long as the two (or more) teams meet minimum number of games language noted above.
    2. If the game was cancelled between two teams with the same winning percentage in all conference games or the same number of conference losses but a different number of conference wins, move to tiebreaker for two teams below.
    3. If a game or games was cancelled between three or more teams with the same winning percentage in all conference games or the same number of conference losses but a different number of conference wins, move to tiebreaker for three or more teams below.
    4. The team or teams with the best winning percentage in all conference games and both championship game participants will earn at least a share of the division championship.
Tie-breaker scenarios
If there’s a tie, here’s how the Big Ten will handle that:
  1. The winner of the game between the two tied teams shall be the representative. If the game was cancelled between the two teams, move to next step in tiebreaker.
  2. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage within their division:
    1. (a)In the event of an unbalanced schedule: If two teams have the same number of division losses but a different number of division wins, move to next step in tiebreaker.
    2. If two teams have a different number of division losses, the teams will be compared based on winning percentage within their division.
  3. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish (3, 4, 5, 6, and 7):
    1. (a)When arriving at a group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s record based on winning percentage against the collective tied teams as a group, rather than record against the individual teams.
    2. (b)In the event of an unbalanced schedule:
      1. I) If one or both teams did not play a certain team, move to the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish.
      2. II). If one or both teams did not play all teams in the group of tied teams, move to the next highest placed team or teams in their division in order of finish.
      3. iii.If one or both teams did not play the lowest placed team in their division, move to next step in tiebreaker.
  4. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against all common conference opponents.
  5. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of non-divisional opponents:
    1. (a)Example: East 1 non-divisional opponents are 20-7, East 2 non-divisional opponents are 19-8–East 1 would be the representative.
    2. (b)In the event of an unbalanced schedule, the records of the two tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of non-divisional opponents, regardless of how many non-divisional opponents each team played. If one or both teams played no non-divisional opponents, move to next step in tiebreaker.
  6. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against the highest placed non-divisional teams in their division order of finish (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7).
    1. (a)When arriving at a group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s record based on winning percentage against the collective tied teams as a group, rather than record against the individual teams.
    2. (b)When comparing records against a single team or a group of teams, the record will prevail, even if the number of games played against the team or group are unequal (i.e. 1-0 is better than 0-0, 2-0 is better than 1-0, etc.).
  7. The team with the best overall winning percentage [excluding exempted games] shall be the representative, regardless of number of games played.
  8. The representative will be chosen by random draw.
The conference also says that, in the event that the Big Ten Championship Game can’t be played, the two division champions can’t be played.
 




Geneva Lake Badger said:
Mertz is eligible to play.
Click to expand...
Neither your Tweet nor the actual release from Wisconsin (below) says anything about Mertz being eligible to play on Saturday.


The Wisconsin football team began its regular game week preparations on Monday morning. The team is scheduled to practice each day this week in anticipation of Saturday's scheduled game at Michigan but UW Athletics will continue to monitor the program's COVID-19 testing results closely to determine the team's activities moving forward.

The football program currently has five active COVID-19 cases, two student-athletes and three staff members. Since Nov. 2, one staff member and one student-athlete have tested positive. Five of the last six days have yielded no positive cases.

"We had no new positives on Tuesday and Wednesday, which was a great sign," UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said. "That's when we started thinking Friday could be a day we could get the team together to start doing things with an eye towards having a regular practice week this week. So we were cautious on Friday and Saturday, split guys into groups, and just did conditioning. The team then got together and held its regular Monday practice this morning.

"We feel confident that we have a handle on the situation and are excited to play this week at Michigan. As we have done throughout, we will continue to monitor our testing results and base our decision on those results."

The Badger football team first paused team activities on Oct. 28 and its scheduled games at Nebraska on Oct. 31 and home vs. Purdue on Nov. 7 were canceled.
 
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short ornery norwegian said:
Warning - long post - but here is what appears to be the complete criteria for determining division titles. I read this once. I think I sorta understand it, but not 100% sure......


Teams are required to play at least six of the eight games in order to qualify for a division title. There is an exception — if the average number of games played drops below eight, then to qualify a team would have to play at least two games less than the average.

So if the average games played drops to seven, the minimum number of games to be considered for a division title becomes five.

Determining division champions
  1. With all conference games completed, the best winning percentage in all conference games.
  2. In the event of an unbalanced schedule due to cancellation of games:
    1. If two (or more)teams have the same number of conference losses but a different number of conference wins, head-to-head results will take precedence over winning percentage, as long as the two (or more) teams meet minimum number of games language noted above.
    2. If the game was cancelled between two teams with the same winning percentage in all conference games or the same number of conference losses but a different number of conference wins, move to tiebreaker for two teams below.
    3. If a game or games was cancelled between three or more teams with the same winning percentage in all conference games or the same number of conference losses but a different number of conference wins, move to tiebreaker for three or more teams below.
    4. The team or teams with the best winning percentage in all conference games and both championship game participants will earn at least a share of the division championship.
Tie-breaker scenarios
If there’s a tie, here’s how the Big Ten will handle that:
  1. The winner of the game between the two tied teams shall be the representative. If the game was cancelled between the two teams, move to next step in tiebreaker.
  2. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage within their division:
    1. (a)In the event of an unbalanced schedule: If two teams have the same number of division losses but a different number of division wins, move to next step in tiebreaker.
    2. If two teams have a different number of division losses, the teams will be compared based on winning percentage within their division.
  3. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish (3, 4, 5, 6, and 7):
    1. (a)When arriving at a group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s record based on winning percentage against the collective tied teams as a group, rather than record against the individual teams.
    2. (b)In the event of an unbalanced schedule:
      1. I) If one or both teams did not play a certain team, move to the next highest placed teams in their division in order of finish.
      2. II). If one or both teams did not play all teams in the group of tied teams, move to the next highest placed team or teams in their division in order of finish.
      3. iii.If one or both teams did not play the lowest placed team in their division, move to next step in tiebreaker.
  4. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against all common conference opponents.
  5. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of non-divisional opponents:
    1. (a)Example: East 1 non-divisional opponents are 20-7, East 2 non-divisional opponents are 19-8–East 1 would be the representative.
    2. (b)In the event of an unbalanced schedule, the records of the two tied teams will be compared based on the best cumulative conference winning percentage of non-divisional opponents, regardless of how many non-divisional opponents each team played. If one or both teams played no non-divisional opponents, move to next step in tiebreaker.
  6. The records of the two tied teams will be compared based on winning percentage against the highest placed non-divisional teams in their division order of finish (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7).
    1. (a)When arriving at a group of tied teams while comparing records, use each team’s record based on winning percentage against the collective tied teams as a group, rather than record against the individual teams.
    2. (b)When comparing records against a single team or a group of teams, the record will prevail, even if the number of games played against the team or group are unequal (i.e. 1-0 is better than 0-0, 2-0 is better than 1-0, etc.).
  7. The team with the best overall winning percentage [excluding exempted games] shall be the representative, regardless of number of games played.
  8. The representative will be chosen by random draw.
The conference also says that, in the event that the Big Ten Championship Game can’t be played, the two division champions can’t be played.
Click to expand...
Bolded is a key difference from a normal season. In a normal season I thought if you went undefeated in your division that it didn't matter what your cross-division record was (correct me if I'm wrong). This year is overall conference record.

For the Gophs to have a shot, wisconsin, Purdue, and Northwestern would all need to end with 2 losses in addition to the Gophs winning out.The Gophs winning out gives them all one loss. Northwestern and Purdue play next week so one of them picks up the second loss needed. If Purdue wins, Indiana looks like the best shot for their second loss, though Rutgers or Nebraska could pull a shocker. If Northwestern wins, wisconsin looks like the best shot for their second loss (as MSU and Illinois are not doing well).

That leaves wisconsin...Michigan has a shot to give them a loss if they can catch the badgers unprepared due tolack of practice because of covid, but I think wisconsin probably still pulls off that win. Indiana plays them the week after us and would be another good shot for a second loss for wisconsin. Finally, iowa plays them at the end of the year. Iowa is always a tough team, so they could maybe pull that off.

TL;DR Gophs still hold some control over their destiny, but need the rest of the conference to fall the right way even if they win out.
 

swelna said:
Bolded is a key difference from a normal season. In a normal season I thought if you went undefeated in your division that it didn't matter what your cross-division record was (correct me if I'm wrong). This year is overall conference record.
Click to expand...

Conference record has always determined division champ. Cross-division games count in that conference record.
 




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