Ryan Day explains why he will not sit star players in Big Ten Championship game

Debate over the importance of conference championship games for national title contenders has been a contentious topic since the 12-team College Football Playoff was put in place. With this weekend’s Big Ten championship being against No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana, the argument continues.

Both the Buckeyes and Hoosiers are undefeated, and both programs are likely to receive a first-round bye in the CFP later this month. So, why play the game and risk losing, or worse, injury.

“We’re in it, and we want to be the one seed,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day told Taylor Lewan on ‘Bussin’ With The Boys.‘ ” I think everything matters when it comes down the stretch. If you’re just playing the numbers and you’re playing the trends, you want to be in a situation where you’re the No. 1-seed going into the playoffs.”

At the same time, Day said the set-up is worth taking a look at. Last year, the CFP incentivized the conference title slate by giving the top-four highest-ranked conference champions a first-round bye.

This season, the CFP will follow a straight-seeding model that allows the top-four highest-ranked teams to receive a first round bye. However, the five highest-ranked conference champions are all still guaranteed to be in the field.

That means, in some cases, the conference title game could be the difference in a team making the final field of 12. We saw that happen with Clemson last season, a three-loss team who snuck into the field as the 12-seed after upsetting SMU in the ACC title game.

For Ohio State and Indiana in the Big Ten championship, that’s not the case. Both teams are well within the CFP field and with both programs likely receiving a bye — what’s stopping Ryan Day and Curt Cignetti from sitting their star players during the matchup? According to Day, it’s all about momentum.

“Winning a Big Ten championship does matter. It was one of the things that was on our list of goals (during the preseason),” Day continued. “So it’ll be a great environment. It’s Indianapolis, they’ll have a great crowd. We’ll have a great crowd. So, you know, we want to win, we want to be undefeated, we want to be the one seed. That’s what’s motivating us.”

Kickoff between the Buckeyes and Hoosiers is set for Saturday at 8 p.m. ET. The 2025 Big Ten Championship game will air live on FOX.