Big Ten alters 5th tiebreaker for division champion in event of 3-way tie

Penn State made the Big Ten do a little extra preparation for this year's playoff picture.

After the Nittany Lions upset Ohio State this past Saturday, the conference has sprung into action to alter its divisional championship tiebreaker format. In the event of a potential three-way tie atop the Big Ten eastern division between Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan, the conference has changed its fifth deciding tiebreaker to overall winning percentage, according to Brian Bennett of ESPN.

The former fifth tiebreaker was the CFP ranking, but because those rankings will not be released until Nov. 1, the Big Ten decided to act in the interest of timing.

"The CFP ranking was removed as one of the tiebreakers due to the timing of when the rankings are released and the potential competitive, and logistical impact the timing could have on the Big Ten championship game," league spokesman Adam Augustine told ESPN in an email Sunday night.

A lot needs to happen for this fifth tiebreaker to come into play, but the possibility is definitely not out of the question. Penn State and Ohio State would both need to win out, and Michigan would need to lose to the Buckeyes on Nov. 26 while remaining perfect up until that point.

If a fifth tiebreaker were needed, that would spell the end for Penn State because of its loss to conference opponent Pittsburgh on Sept. 10.

As it stands, the Big Ten series of tiebreakers now ranks as follows.

Following the eventual elimination of Penn State in the fifth tiebreaker, head-to-head record would be considered between Ohio State and Michigan. Given the need for Michigan to lose in order for this to happen in the first place, Ohio State would see itself heading to the Big Ten championship game.