2025 Big Ten Football Championship Game
The 2025 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 6, 2025, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the 15th edition of the Big Ten Football Championship Game and determined the champion of the conference for the 2025 season, as well as earning the winner an automatic bid to the 2025 College Football Playoff. The game began at 8:00 p.m. EST on Fox. The Hoosiers upset the Buckeyes to win their first outright Big Ten championship since 1945 and first Big Ten championship overall since 1967.
This game was the first No. 1 vs. No. 2-ranked AP Poll matchup since the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship, and the first time in a conference championship game since the 2009 SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Florida. It also reached a record-breaking 18.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched conference championship in college football history.
Teams
The Big Ten eliminated divisions for the 2024 season and featured the two teams with the best overall conference record, matching Indiana and Ohio State. This was the first Big Ten title game appearance for Indiana.
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes entered the Big Ten Championship Game undefeated and top-ranked, never having trailed in the second half during the regular season. They clinched a berth following their defeat of rival Michigan on November29. This was Ohio State's first Big Ten Championship appearance since 2020, when they defeated Northwestern 22–10.
Indiana Hoosiers
This season included numerous firsts for IU: they defeated a top-5 ranked opponent away for the first time ; received their highest AP poll, Coaches Poll, and College Football Playoff rankings in program history ; achieved a victory at Penn State in Week11, marking their first ever win in Happy Valley; and finished the regular season with a perfect 12–0 record for the first time, exceeding their previous program record of 11wins from the 2024 season. Indiana clinched a spot in the game following its defeat of rival Purdue on November28. This was IU's first Big Ten Championship game appearance, in which it sought to claim its first conference title since 1967.