Why Did Penn State Get in the Big Ten Championship Over Indiana After Losing to Ohio?

Determining which college football team gets to go to a division championship is usually a fairly straightforward equation. Teams with the most wins against the most challenging components get the nod. But this year, the Big Ten championship seeding threw fans for a loop after Penn State's Nittany Lions got a surprising nod over the Indiana Hoosiers.

Penn State and Indiana University both ended the season 11-1 overall, placing them just behind the undefeated 12-0 University of Oregon. Both Penn State and Indiana went 8-1 in the Big Ten conference. It's all a little complicated, but this is why Penn State got the nod over Indiana and why fans are having such big feelings about the upcoming championship game.

There is a strict protocol for determining who gets to play in the championship games. It's easiest, of course, when some teams simply win more than others in challenging schedules. If there are only a few teams who fit the bill for the playoffs, it makes it fairly straightforward.

This year, however, Penn State lost to Ohio State on Nov. 2 but still got the nod to the championship game against Oregon while Ohio State and Indiana were both passed over. There were a few metrics that officials had to look at in order to determine who would get Penn State's place in the championship game against Oregon this year, but the final metric that decided it was the cumulative winning percentage among each team's respective conference opponents.

First, officials went through the determining factors hoping to eliminate or elevate teams before having to dig more deeply. To break ties between teams gunning for those desirable playoff spots, they use these metrics:

• Head-to-head matchups
• Common conference opponents
• Common opponents in general
• Cumulative conference winning percentages among respective opponents

And if those had failed to find a clear winner, they would have moved on to:

• SportsSource Analysis rankings
• A random draw

Luckily, the percentages painted a clear winner.

Penn State's 8-1 conference record sports a single loss to Ohio State. Ohio State's conference record is 7-2. Indiana also went 8-1 in the conference, but their loss was to Michigan State, which only went 5-4 in the conference. This swings the metrics in Penn State's favor.

Although Indiana was well positioned to take the spot, they needed Penn State to lose to Maryland on Nov. 30. However, Penn State thrashed the Maryland Terrapins 44-7, clearing the path to their elevation to the championship game against Oregon on Dec. 7.

Fans on all sides of the Big Ten are a little shaken by Penn State's nod. Even among Nittany Lions fans, people are reacting with disbelief. On X (formerly known as Twitter), one fan posted, "I really can’t fathom that we are in the Big Ten Championship game." In the comments, one user agreed, "It doesn't feel real at all," while another added, "Same."

Another Penn State account expressed disbelief that Ohio State lost their game, which sealed their doom ahead of the championship and ensured they weren't in the running against Penn State and Indiana. They wrote, "I am still in absolute disbelief that Ohio State lost today."

Some are seeing this as a karma moment after Penn State faced a series of difficult in-game calls, while others are devastated at the pass-over for Indiana. But whether fans love the decision or not, Penn State's Nittany Lions will face off against the University of Oregon's dreaded Ducks on Dec. 7.