The West race is so tight that in a season of unlikely scenarios, perhaps the likeliest one is a tie atop the division at season's end. Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern — it's early, but it's easy to imagine a pile-up at one or two Big Ten losses apiece. Division standings are determined by a team's Big Ten record. In the event two or more teams in the division have the same Big Ten record at the end of the season, here is how the conference will determine the West champ:
If two teams are tied, the winner of the teams' head-to-head game during the season will be declared the division champ.
If more than two teams are tied, here are the tiebreakers:
1. The head-to-head records of the tied teams will be compared against each other. If one team has a better head-to-head record than the rest of the tied teams, that team is the division champ.
2. Division record.
3. Records against the next highest-placed teams in the division (fourth place, fifth place, etc.).
4. Records against all common Big Ten opponents.
5. The highest ranked team in the College Football Playoff poll will be the division winner, unless the two highest ranked tied teams are ranked within one spot of each other. In that case, the head-to-head results of the top two ranked teams shall determine the winner.
6. The team with the best overall winning percentage (excluding exempted games) will be the division winner.
7. If none of the first six tiebreakers makes one team the winner, a division winner will be chosen by random draw.
