2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game

The 2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 2, 2023, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was the 13th edition of the Big Ten Football Championship Game and determined the champion of the conference for the 2023 season. The game began at 8:17 p.m. EST and aired on Fox, featuring the West Division champion Iowa Hawkeyes and the East Division champion Michigan Wolverines. Michigan won 26–0 to secure their third consecutive outright Big Ten title.^[1] Head coach Jim Harbaugh became the first Big Ten coach to achieve that feat. The division era ended with the East Division going 10–0 in title games since the East-West format change in 2014.

2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
Michigan Wolverines Iowa Hawkeyes (12–0) (10–2) 26 0 Head coach:  Jim Harbaugh Head coach:  Kirk Ferentz AP Coaches CFP 2 2 2 AP Coaches CFP 18 17 16
1 2 3 4 Total Michigan 10 0 10 6 26 Iowa 0 0 0 0 0
Date	December 2, 2023
Season	2023
Stadium	Lucas Oil Stadium
Location	Indianapolis, Indiana
MVP	Mike Sainristil, DB, Michigan
Favorite	Michigan by 22.5
National anthem	University of Michigan and University of Iowa Marching bands
Referee	Jeff Servinski
Attendance	67,842
United States TV coverage
Network	Fox Compass Media
Announcers	Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (sideline) (Fox) Gregg Daniels (play-by-play) and Chad Brown (analyst) (Compass Media)
Big Ten Football Championship Game  < 2022  2024 >

2023 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 1 Michigan xy$#^		9	–	0					15	–	0
No. 10 Ohio State		8	–	1					11	–	2
No. 13 Penn State		7	–	2					10	–	3
Maryland		4	–	5					8	–	5
Rutgers		3	–	6					7	–	6
Michigan State		2	–	7					4	–	8
Indiana		1	–	8					3	–	9
West Division
No. 24 Iowa xy		7	–	2					10	–	4
Northwestern		5	–	4					8	–	5
Wisconsin		5	–	4					7	–	6
Minnesota		3	–	6					6	–	7
Illinois		3	–	6					5	–	7
Nebraska		3	–	6					5	–	7
Purdue		3	–	6					4	–	8
Championship: Michigan 26, Iowa 0
# – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Teams

The 2023 Big Ten Championship Game featured the Iowa Hawkeyes, champions of the West Division, and the Michigan Wolverines, champions of the East Division. This was the third Big Ten title game appearance for both programs, The Hawkeyes were 0–2 in previous appearances, having most recently lost to Michigan in 2021. The Wolverines were 2–0 in previous appearances, having also defeated Purdue in 2022.

Michigan Wolverines

Main article: 2023 Michigan Wolverines football team

Michigan entered the game at 12–0 (9–0 BIG) and was designated as the visiting team. Heading into the final week of the regular season, Michigan and Ohio State both had undefeated conference records at 8–0 going into the 2023 edition of The Game in Ann Arbor, thus making the game a de facto East division championship. The Wolverines won the game 30–24, and clinched the division title for the third consecutive season.^[2] A win would mean a third consecutive appearance in the College Football Playoff the Wolverines.

Iowa Hawkeyes

Main article: 2023 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

Iowa entered the game at 10–2 (7–2 BIG) and was designated as the home team. The Hawkeyes clinched a spot in the game following their 15–13 win over Illinois on November 18.^[3] They have not won the Big Ten since 2004 or outright since 1985. Iowa also hasn't defeated Michigan since 2016, going 0–3 since a 14–13 walk-off over the No. 2 Wolverines at Kinnick Stadium. They entered the game a 22.5-point underdog.

Game summary

2023 Big 10 Championship Game
No. 2 Michigan Wolverines (12–0, 9–0) vs. No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes (10–2, 7–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 2 Michigan	10	0	10	6	26
No. 16 Iowa	0	0	0	0	0

at Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, IN

• Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023
• Game time: 8:17 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Indoors
• Game attendance: 67,842
• Referee: Jeff Servinski
• TV announcers (FOX): Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst), Jenny Taft (sideline)

Game information

First quarter (6:01) MICH - James Turner 35-yard field goal – 13 plays, 52 yards, 7:35 (Michigan 3–0) (1:07) MICH - Blake Corum 2-yard run (James Turner Kick) – 2 plays, 5 yards, 0:39 (Michigan 10–0) Third quarter (9:09) MICH - Blake Corum 6-yard run (James Turner Kick) – 1 play, 6 yards, 0:05 (Michigan 17–0) (0:22) MICH - James Turner 46-yard field goal – 9 plays, 28 yards, 4:46 (Michigan 20–0) Fourth quarter (9:14) MICH - James Turner 36-yard field goal – 4 plays, –3 yards, 1:43 (Michigan 23–0) (3:38) MICH - James Turner 50-yard field goal – 6 plays, 23 yards, 3:46 (Michigan 26–0)

Statistics	MICH	IOWA
First downs	13	7
Plays–yards	64–213	56–155
Rushes–yards	66	35
Passing yards	147	120
Passing: comp–att–int	22–30–0	18–32–0
Time of possession	36:32	23:28

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Michigan	Passing	J. J. McCarthy	22/30, 147 yards
	Rushing	Blake Corum	16 carries, 52 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Cornelius Johnson	9 receptions, 64 yards
Iowa	Passing	Deacon Hill	18/32, 120 yards
	Rushing	Leshon Williams	9 carries, 25 yards
	Receiving	Addison Ostrenga	7 receptions, 50 yards

See also

• List of Big Ten Conference football champions