As the 2022 college football season was approaching, not many experts and pundits predicted the Big Ten Championship Game matchup we’re going to see on Saturday. Nonetheless, it’ll be No. 2 Michigan searching for its second consecutive conference crown as the Wolverines take on a Purdue team out of the Big Ten West that has traditionally been known to be a thorn in the side of top five-ranked teams.
Of the two teams, Michigan’s appearance is the least surprising. After all, the Wolverines won the Big Ten last season, beating Iowa 42-3 in this game, and reached the College Football Playoff. However, that did not stop most pundits from picking Ohio State to win the Big Ten East this season, myself and all my fellow dumb CBSSports.com colleagues included. Heck, two of them called the Wolverines the most overrated team in the league. Was that pinned on a bulletin board as motivation for the season? We’ll never know, but the Wolverines are back anyway.
Then there’s Purdue, the biggest surprise of them all. This will be Purdue’s first appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game, becoming the ninth Big Ten school to reach it since its beginning in 2011. However, I go back to the brilliant predictions from the dolts here at CBSSports.com from the preseason. Barrett Sallee and Jerry Palm had the Boilermakers finishing third in the Big Ten West, but that’s as high as anyone was willing to go. I had them finishing sixth! They’ve defied expectations and look to do so again in a game few are giving them a chance of winning.
Follow along with all the action between Michigan and Purdue with our Big Ten Championship Game live blog.
How to watch Michigan vs. Purdue live
Date: Saturday, Dec. 3 | Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Lucas Oil Stadium — Indianapolis
TV: Fox | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Michigan vs. Purdue: Need to know
The West has never won the Big Ten championship: The Big Ten went to a divisional format for the 2011 season, but the first three years the divisions weren’t based on geography. Who could forget the mighty Legends and Leaders? Well, the Big Ten tried to, quickly. The league split geographically ahead of the 2014 season in time for the College Football Playoff, and this game has been dominated by the East ever since. It is 8-0 in the game and has had four different teams win it at least once (Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State). The average…
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