By Bert Leeson

• Iowa and Michigan have earned berths into the 13th Big Ten Football Championship Game presented by Discover at 8 p.m. (ET) Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, with the game televised live to a nationwide audience on FOX and broadcast on radio via Compass Media Networks. The Wolverines are returning to the Big Ten Football Championship Game for the third consecutive year, while Iowa will be making its third appearance in the title contest and first since 2021.

• At the conclusion of Saturday’s game, one student-athlete will be chosen by a select media panel as the Grange-Griffin Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten Football Championship Game. Offensive players have earned the award 11 times (seven quarterbacks, four running backs) in the game’s 12-year history, including the only two-time recipient, Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook (2013 and 2015). Michigan end Aidan Hutchinson made history in 2021, becoming the first defensive player to be selected as the Grange-Griffin Most Valuable Player.

• This will be the 64th meeting of the Hawkeyes and the Wolverines with Michigan leading the all-time series 44-15-4. The Wolverines have won three straight matchups, including a 42-3 victory in the 2021 Big Ten Championship Game. The winner of Saturday’s Big Ten Football Championship Game will receive the prestigious Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy.

• Michigan will take the field Saturday in a quest for its Big Ten-record 45th conference championship and seeking the program’s third consecutive outright Big Ten Championship. Iowa is seeking its 12th Big Ten football championship and first since 2004, when it shared the crown with Michigan. The Hawkeyes have won four outright Big Ten football titles in their history (1921, 1956, 1958, 1985).

• Michigan achieved its second consecutive 12-0 season under head coach Jim Harbaugh. It marks the fifth season in program history with at least 12 wins (1905; 1997; 2021-23) and the first time the program has achieved a 12-0 mark in back-to-back seasons.

• With a 30-24 victory over Ohio State last weekend, the Michigan Wolverines have clinched a berth into the 2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game presented by Discover for the third time in program history. The Wolverines also clinched their fourth overall Big Ten East Division title, and their third in as many years. Michigan finishes the 2023 regular season 12-0 overall and 9-0 in conference play.

• Iowa clinched the outright Big Ten West Division title with its 13-10 victory at Nebraska in the regular season finale. The Hawkeyes’ victory gave them the outright West Division title and a spot in the Big Ten Football Championship Game for the third time in program history.

• This is Iowa’s third straight year playing a No. 2 ranked opponent (Ohio State, 2022; Michigan, 2021). This is the program’s seventh game against a top 10 team since 2021 (2-4 record).

• The Hawkeyes finished the regular season with a 10-2 overall and 7-2 in Big Ten play. It is the seventh time Iowa has notched its 10th victory during the regular season (five times under Ferentz) and the 11th 10-win season in program history (eight under Ferentz).

• Four Big Ten teams appear in the AP Poll this week. Michigan leads the conference at No. 2, followed by No. 6 Ohio State, No. 10 Penn State and No. 18 Iowa.

• The Big Ten Conference remains firmly positioned within this week’s College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, with Michigan at No. 2, Ohio State at No. 6, Penn State at No. 10 and Iowa at No. 16. The final CFP rankings will be released Sunday — later in the day, the matchups for the CFP national semifinals, New Year’s Six bowls and the Big Ten’s other bowl destinations will be announced.

• Eight Big Ten Conference schools – Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers and – have clinched bowl berths by reaching six victories on the season. The Big Ten will continue to feature the largest bowl lineup in conference history.

• This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Monday, January 1, 2024, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl. Houston will host the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, January 8, 2024, at NRG Stadium. The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game.

COURTESY BIG TEN COMMUNICATIOJS