The 2024 Big 12 Football Conference tiebreaker rules explained

The Big 12 Conference will look a little different this year with a total of 16 teams, following a chaotic conference realignment across the country with the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah this year.

But it’s clear that teams can’t play everyone in the conference in one season, and that opens the door for potential ties in the Big 12 standings at the end of the regular season, which could affect how the two teams play in the championship game of the conference becomes more complicated. . While conference titles alone are important, there are also College Football Playoff implications at stake, as the four highest-ranked conference champions receive top seedings and first-round byes.

Here’s a look at the Big 12 football tiebreaker rules in 2024, should we need them.

The 2024 Big 12 Football Championship tiebreaker rules

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The 2024 Big 12 Football Championship game will take place on Saturday, December 7 at noon ET at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and will feature the conference’s top two teams. But if there is a tie, how will the Big 12 break it to determine which teams will play for a conference title?

If there is a tie between two teams in the Big 12 standings at the end of the regular season, the conference will look at these factors to break it, according to the Big 12 tiebreaker rules:

1. Head-to-head competition between the two tied teams

2. Win percentage against all regular conference opponents among tied teams

3. Win percentage against the next highest ranked common opponent in the standings (based on the record in all matches played within the Conference), running down the standings. When arriving at another group of tie teams while comparing records, use each team’s winning percentage against the collective tie teams as a group (before that group’s own tie procedure) rather than its performance against individual tie teams

4. Combined winning percentage in conference games of conference opponents (i.e. strength of conference schedule)

5. Total wins in a 12-game season. The following conditions apply to the calculation of total wins: Only one win against an NCAA FCS or lower division team will be counted each year. All games exempt from counting against the annual maximum number of football games per NCAA rules

6. Highest ranking by SportSource Analytics (team rating score metric) after the final weekend of regular season games

7. Toss a coin

If there is a tie for first place and the tied teams previously played each other, the winner of that game is the top seed. If the tied teams have not previously played each other, the two-way tiebreaker rules apply.

If there is a tie between multiple teams in the Big 12 at the end of the regular season, the conference will consider the following factors to determine the sole winner of the tiebreaker. But if there is still a tie after the first team is selected from the tiebreaker, the Big 12 will use these factors to break the tie, and if two teams remain tied, the two-team tiebreaker rules apply.

1. The records of the three (or more) tied teams are compared based on the winning percentage in matches between the tied teams:

1A. If all teams involved in the tie did not play each other, but one team defeated all other teams involved in the tie, the team that defeated all other teams in the tie will be removed from the tiebreaker and the remaining teams will return to the beginning of the tie. the applicable tiebreaker process (i.e. a tie between two teams or three or more teams)

1B. If all teams involved in the tie have not played against each other and no team has defeated all other teams involved in the tie, go to the next step in the tiebreaker

2. The records of the three (or more) tied teams will be compared on winning percentage against all regular conference opponents played by all other teams involved in the tie.

3. Record of the three (or more) teams tied against the next highest ranked common opponent in the standings (based on the record in all games played within the conference), running down the standings. When arriving at another group of tie teams while comparing records, use each team’s winning percentage against the collective tie teams as a group (before that group’s own tie procedure) rather than its performance against individual tie teams

4. Record of the three (or more) tied teams, based on the combined winning percentage in conference games against conference opponents (i.e., strength of conference schedule)

5. Total wins in a 12-game season. The following conditions apply to the calculation of total wins: Only one win against an NCAA FCS or lower division team will be counted each year. All games exempt from counting against the annual maximum number of football games per NCAA rules

6. Highest ranking by SportSource Analytics (team rating score metric) after the final weekend of regular season games

7. Toss a coin