Best overall
Big Ten Conference
89.8 index
ConferencesComparison Lab
Conference Research Lab
1897 College Football Conference Head-to-Head Records
Compare inter-conference records in 1897 with game receipts, win percentage, average margin, and adjusted dominance.
The 1897 conference head-to-head table shows completed inter-conference games by season-based membership, with record, win percentage, average margin, and game receipts behind each result.
Deepest
Big Ten Conference
100.0 depth score
Top-end
Big Ten Conference
— top-3 rating
Non-conference
American Athletic Conference
1-0 record
NFL pipeline
Big Ten Conference
0 picks
Conference index
Composite rankings use the visible formula weights and skip categories without data for that conference.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Big Ten Conference 6 FBS members · Power Four | 89.8 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 66.7 | 2-1 66.7% | 0 0 first round |
| 2 | Big 12 Conference 16 FBS members · Power Four | 38.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 1-0 100% | 0 0 first round |
| 3 | American Athletic Conference 13 FBS members · Group of Five | 38.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 1-0 100% | 0 0 first round |
| 4 | Sun Belt Conference 13 FBS members · Group of Five | 11.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0-0 — | 0 0 first round |
| 5 | Pac-12 Conference 6 FBS members · Other | 11.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0-0 — | 0 0 first round |
| 6 | Mountain West Conference 8 FBS members · Other | 11.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0-0 — | 0 0 first round |
| 7 | Conference USA 10 FBS members · Group of Five | 11.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0-0 — | 0 0 first round |
| 8 | Southeastern Conference 16 FBS members · Power Four | 7.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0-1 0% | 0 0 first round |
| 9 | Mid-American Conference 11 FBS members · Group of Five | 7.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0-1 0% | 0 0 first round |
| 10 | Atlantic Coast Conference 17 FBS members · Power Four | 7.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0-1 0% | 0 0 first round |
Conference DNA
- Big Ten Conference
- Big 12 Conference
- American Athletic Conference
- Sun Belt Conference
Best by category
- Best overall
- Big Ten Conference
- Deepest league
- Big Ten Conference
- Strongest top end
- Big Ten Conference
- Best non-conference
- American Athletic Conference
- NFL factory
- Big Ten Conference
- Coverage note
- Partial metrics
Power curve
Teams are sorted within each conference by the latest available team rating or final ranking proxy.
American Athletic Conference
Median —Big 12 Conference
Median —Conference USA
Median —Mountain West Conference
Median —Pac-12 Conference
Median —Sun Belt Conference
Median —Atlantic Coast Conference
Median —Mid-American Conference
Median —Depth shelf
Big Ten Conference6 top-25 · 6 top-40
American Athletic Conference0 top-25 · 0 top-40
Big 12 Conference0 top-25 · 0 top-40
Conference USA0 top-25 · 0 top-40
Mountain West Conference0 top-25 · 0 top-40
Pac-12 Conference0 top-25 · 0 top-40
Sun Belt Conference0 top-25 · 0 top-40
Atlantic Coast Conference0 top-25 · 0 top-40
Mid-American Conference0 top-25 · 0 top-40
Southeastern Conference0 top-25 · 0 top-40
Head-to-head matrix
Matrix cells use games between selected season conference members.
| Conference | Big Ten Conference | American Athletic Conference | Big 12 Conference | Conference USA | Mountain West Conference | Pac-12 Conference | Sun Belt Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference | Mid-American Conference | Southeastern Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Ten Conference | — | 0 games | 0-10% · -2.0 margin · -1.0 adj | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 1-0100% · 24.0 margin · 1.5 adj | 1-0100% · 18.0 margin · 1.4 adj |
| American Athletic Conference | 0 games | — | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 1-0100% · 4.0 margin · 1.1 adj | 0 games | 0 games |
| Big 12 Conference | 1-0100% · 2.0 margin · 1.0 adj | 0 games | — | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games |
| Conference USA | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | — | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games |
| Mountain West Conference | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | — | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games |
| Pac-12 Conference | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | — | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games |
| Sun Belt Conference | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | — | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | 0 games | 0-10% · -4.0 margin · -1.1 adj | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | — | 0 games | 0 games |
| Mid-American Conference | 0-10% · -24.0 margin · -1.5 adj | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | — | 0 games |
| Southeastern Conference | 0-10% · -18.0 margin · -1.4 adj | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | 0 games | — |
Game receipts
1897-10-02Michigan 24, Eastern Michigan 0regular
1897-10-23Minnesota 10, Iowa State 12regular
1897-11-06Navy 4, Virginia 0regular
1897-11-13Purdue 30, Missouri 12regular
Resume & schedule
Big Ten Conference
- Overall
- 8-7 · 53.3%
- Non-conference
- 2-1 · 66.7%
- Postseason
- 0-0 · —
- Avg SOS
- —
- Home / Away / Neutral
- 6-3 / 2-4 / 0-0
- One-score / Blowout
- 1-2 / 5-4
- FBS games
- 6-6
- Non-FBS games
- 2-1
American Athletic Conference
- Overall
- 1-0 · 100%
- Non-conference
- 1-0 · 100%
- Postseason
- 0-0 · —
- Avg SOS
- —
- Home / Away / Neutral
- 1-0 / 0-0 / 0-0
- One-score / Blowout
- 1-0 / 0-0
- FBS games
- 0-0
- Non-FBS games
- 1-0
Big 12 Conference
- Overall
- 1-0 · 100%
- Non-conference
- 1-0 · 100%
- Postseason
- 0-0 · —
- Avg SOS
- —
- Home / Away / Neutral
- 0-0 / 1-0 / 0-0
- One-score / Blowout
- 1-0 / 0-0
- FBS games
- 0-0
- Non-FBS games
- 1-0
Conference USA
- Overall
- 0-0 · —
- Non-conference
- 0-0 · —
- Postseason
- 0-0 · —
- Avg SOS
- —
- Home / Away / Neutral
- 0-0 / 0-0 / 0-0
- One-score / Blowout
- 0-0 / 0-0
- FBS games
- 0-0
- Non-FBS games
- 0-0
Mountain West Conference
- Overall
- 0-0 · —
- Non-conference
- 0-0 · —
- Postseason
- 0-0 · —
- Avg SOS
- —
- Home / Away / Neutral
- 0-0 / 0-0 / 0-0
- One-score / Blowout
- 0-0 / 0-0
- FBS games
- 0-0
- Non-FBS games
- 0-0
Pac-12 Conference
- Overall
- 0-0 · —
- Non-conference
- 0-0 · —
- Postseason
- 0-0 · —
- Avg SOS
- —
- Home / Away / Neutral
- 0-0 / 0-0 / 0-0
- One-score / Blowout
- 0-0 / 0-0
- FBS games
- 0-0
- Non-FBS games
- 0-0
Sun Belt Conference
- Overall
- 0-0 · —
- Non-conference
- 0-0 · —
- Postseason
- 0-0 · —
- Avg SOS
- —
- Home / Away / Neutral
- 0-0 / 0-0 / 0-0
- One-score / Blowout
- 0-0 / 0-0
- FBS games
- 0-0
- Non-FBS games
- 0-0
Atlantic Coast Conference
- Overall
- 0-1 · 0%
- Non-conference
- 0-1 · 0%
- Postseason
- 0-0 · —
- Avg SOS
- —
- Home / Away / Neutral
- 0-0 / 0-1 / 0-0
- One-score / Blowout
- 0-1 / 0-0
- FBS games
- 0-0
- Non-FBS games
- 0-1
Mid-American Conference
- Overall
- 0-1 · 0%
- Non-conference
- 0-1 · 0%
- Postseason
- 0-0 · —
- Avg SOS
- —
- Home / Away / Neutral
- 0-0 / 0-1 / 0-0
- One-score / Blowout
- 0-0 / 0-1
- FBS games
- 0-0
- Non-FBS games
- 0-1
Southeastern Conference
- Overall
- 0-1 · 0%
- Non-conference
- 0-1 · 0%
- Postseason
- 0-0 · —
- Avg SOS
- —
- Home / Away / Neutral
- 0-0 / 0-1 / 0-0
- One-score / Blowout
- 0-0 / 0-0
- FBS games
- 0-0
- Non-FBS games
- 0-1
Efficiency landscape
Advanced season stats are averaged across visible conference members when available.
Big Ten Conference
- Offense PPA
- 0.0
- Defense PPA allowed
- 0.0
- Net PPA
- —
- Success rate split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Explosiveness split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Havoc split
- 0.0 / 0.0
American Athletic Conference
- Offense PPA
- 0.0
- Defense PPA allowed
- 0.0
- Net PPA
- —
- Success rate split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Explosiveness split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Havoc split
- 0.0 / 0.0
Big 12 Conference
- Offense PPA
- 0.0
- Defense PPA allowed
- 0.0
- Net PPA
- —
- Success rate split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Explosiveness split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Havoc split
- 0.0 / 0.0
Conference USA
- Offense PPA
- 0.0
- Defense PPA allowed
- 0.0
- Net PPA
- —
- Success rate split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Explosiveness split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Havoc split
- 0.0 / 0.0
Mountain West Conference
- Offense PPA
- 0.0
- Defense PPA allowed
- 0.0
- Net PPA
- —
- Success rate split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Explosiveness split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Havoc split
- 0.0 / 0.0
Pac-12 Conference
- Offense PPA
- 0.0
- Defense PPA allowed
- 0.0
- Net PPA
- —
- Success rate split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Explosiveness split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Havoc split
- 0.0 / 0.0
Sun Belt Conference
- Offense PPA
- 0.0
- Defense PPA allowed
- 0.0
- Net PPA
- —
- Success rate split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Explosiveness split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Havoc split
- 0.0 / 0.0
Atlantic Coast Conference
- Offense PPA
- 0.0
- Defense PPA allowed
- 0.0
- Net PPA
- —
- Success rate split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Explosiveness split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Havoc split
- 0.0 / 0.0
Mid-American Conference
- Offense PPA
- 0.0
- Defense PPA allowed
- 0.0
- Net PPA
- —
- Success rate split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Explosiveness split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Havoc split
- 0.0 / 0.0
Southeastern Conference
- Offense PPA
- 0.0
- Defense PPA allowed
- 0.0
- Net PPA
- —
- Success rate split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Explosiveness split
- 0.0 / 0.0
- Havoc split
- 0.0 / 0.0
Offense / defense / special teams
Big Ten Conference
- Offense rating
- —
- Defense rating
- —
- Special teams rating
- —
- Points per opportunity
- 0.0 / 0.0 allowed
American Athletic Conference
- Offense rating
- —
- Defense rating
- —
- Special teams rating
- —
- Points per opportunity
- 0.0 / 0.0 allowed
Big 12 Conference
- Offense rating
- —
- Defense rating
- —
- Special teams rating
- —
- Points per opportunity
- 0.0 / 0.0 allowed
Conference USA
- Offense rating
- —
- Defense rating
- —
- Special teams rating
- —
- Points per opportunity
- 0.0 / 0.0 allowed
Mountain West Conference
- Offense rating
- —
- Defense rating
- —
- Special teams rating
- —
- Points per opportunity
- 0.0 / 0.0 allowed
Pac-12 Conference
- Offense rating
- —
- Defense rating
- —
- Special teams rating
- —
- Points per opportunity
- 0.0 / 0.0 allowed
Sun Belt Conference
- Offense rating
- —
- Defense rating
- —
- Special teams rating
- —
- Points per opportunity
- 0.0 / 0.0 allowed
Atlantic Coast Conference
- Offense rating
- —
- Defense rating
- —
- Special teams rating
- —
- Points per opportunity
- 0.0 / 0.0 allowed
Mid-American Conference
- Offense rating
- —
- Defense rating
- —
- Special teams rating
- —
- Points per opportunity
- 0.0 / 0.0 allowed
Southeastern Conference
- Offense rating
- —
- Defense rating
- —
- Special teams rating
- —
- Points per opportunity
- 0.0 / 0.0 allowed
Recruiting & talent
Big Ten Conference
- Recruiting points
- —
- Avg class rank
- —
- Talent score
- —
- Future-facing coverage
- unavailable
American Athletic Conference
- Recruiting points
- —
- Avg class rank
- —
- Talent score
- —
- Future-facing coverage
- unavailable
Big 12 Conference
- Recruiting points
- —
- Avg class rank
- —
- Talent score
- —
- Future-facing coverage
- unavailable
Conference USA
- Recruiting points
- —
- Avg class rank
- —
- Talent score
- —
- Future-facing coverage
- unavailable
Mountain West Conference
- Recruiting points
- —
- Avg class rank
- —
- Talent score
- —
- Future-facing coverage
- unavailable
Pac-12 Conference
- Recruiting points
- —
- Avg class rank
- —
- Talent score
- —
- Future-facing coverage
- unavailable
Sun Belt Conference
- Recruiting points
- —
- Avg class rank
- —
- Talent score
- —
- Future-facing coverage
- unavailable
Atlantic Coast Conference
- Recruiting points
- —
- Avg class rank
- —
- Talent score
- —
- Future-facing coverage
- unavailable
Mid-American Conference
- Recruiting points
- —
- Avg class rank
- —
- Talent score
- —
- Future-facing coverage
- unavailable
Southeastern Conference
- Recruiting points
- —
- Avg class rank
- —
- Talent score
- —
- Future-facing coverage
- unavailable
NFL Draft pipeline
Big Ten Conference
- Draft picks
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- First round
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- Top 10 picks
- 0
- Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3
- 0 / 0 / 0
American Athletic Conference
- Draft picks
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- First round
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- Top 10 picks
- 0
- Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3
- 0 / 0 / 0
Big 12 Conference
- Draft picks
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- First round
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- Top 10 picks
- 0
- Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3
- 0 / 0 / 0
Conference USA
- Draft picks
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- First round
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- Top 10 picks
- 0
- Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3
- 0 / 0 / 0
Mountain West Conference
- Draft picks
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- First round
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- Top 10 picks
- 0
- Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3
- 0 / 0 / 0
Pac-12 Conference
- Draft picks
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- First round
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- Top 10 picks
- 0
- Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3
- 0 / 0 / 0
Sun Belt Conference
- Draft picks
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- First round
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- Top 10 picks
- 0
- Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3
- 0 / 0 / 0
Atlantic Coast Conference
- Draft picks
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- First round
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- Top 10 picks
- 0
- Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3
- 0 / 0 / 0
Mid-American Conference
- Draft picks
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- First round
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- Top 10 picks
- 0
- Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3
- 0 / 0 / 0
Southeastern Conference
- Draft picks
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- First round
- 0 total · 0.0 per team
- Top 10 picks
- 0
- Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3
- 0 / 0 / 0
Postseason & history
| Conference | Postseason | Postseason score | Seasons tracked | Churn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Ten Conference | 0-0 · — | — | 131 | 20 |
| American Athletic Conference | 0-0 · — | — | 14 | 27 |
| Big 12 Conference | 0-0 · — | — | 31 | 28 |
| Conference USA | 0-0 · — | — | 31 | 62 |
| Mountain West Conference | 0-0 · — | — | 28 | 36 |
| Pac-12 Conference | 0-0 · — | — | 68 | 66 |
| Sun Belt Conference | 0-0 · — | — | 26 | 29 |
| Atlantic Coast Conference | 0-0 · — | — | 74 | 21 |
| Mid-American Conference | 0-0 · — | — | 80 | 25 |
| Southeastern Conference | 0-0 · — | — | 95 | 20 |
Realignment & geography
Big Ten Conference
- Current members
- 6
- Join / departure events
- 19 / 1
- States
- IL, IN, MI, MN, WI
- Time zones
- America/Chicago, America/Detroit, America/Indiana/Indianapolis
- Latitude spread
- 45.0
- Longitude spread
- 93.2
American Athletic Conference
- Current members
- 13
- Join / departure events
- 20 / 7
- States
- AL, FL, LA, MD, NC, NY, OK, PA, TN, TX
- Time zones
- America/Chicago, America/New_York
- Latitude spread
- 15.0
- Longitude spread
- 23.2
Big 12 Conference
- Current members
- 16
- Join / departure events
- 22 / 6
- States
- AZ, CO, FL, IA, KS, OH, OK, TX, UT, WV
- Time zones
- America/Chicago, America/Denver, America/New_York, America/Phoenix
- Latitude spread
- 13.4
- Longitude spread
- 32.0
Conference USA
- Current members
- 10
- Join / departure events
- 36 / 26
- States
- AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MO, NM, TN, TX, VA
- Time zones
- America/Chicago, America/Denver, America/New_York
- Latitude spread
- 37.4
- Longitude spread
- 106.7
Mountain West Conference
- Current members
- 8
- Join / departure events
- 22 / 14
- States
- CO, HI, IL, NM, NV, TX, WY
- Time zones
- America/Chicago, America/Denver, America/Los_Angeles
- Latitude spread
- 20.6
- Longitude spread
- 69.0
Pac-12 Conference
- Current members
- 6
- Join / departure events
- 36 / 30
- States
- CA, CO, ID, OR, UT, WA
- Time zones
- America/Boise, America/Denver, America/Los_Angeles
- Latitude spread
- 14.0
- Longitude spread
- 18.2
Sun Belt Conference
- Current members
- 13
- Join / departure events
- 21 / 8
- States
- AL, AR, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TX, VA, WV
- Time zones
- America/Chicago, America/New_York
- Latitude spread
- 8.5
- Longitude spread
- 19.1
Atlantic Coast Conference
- Current members
- 17
- Join / departure events
- 19 / 2
- States
- CA, FL, GA, KY, MA, NC, NY, PA, SC, TX, VA
- Time zones
- America/Chicago, America/Kentucky/Louisville, America/Los_Angeles, America/New_York
- Latitude spread
- 17.1
- Longitude spread
- 51.1
Mid-American Conference
- Current members
- 11
- Join / departure events
- 18 / 7
- States
- IN, MI, NY, OH
- Time zones
- America/Detroit, America/Indiana/Indianapolis, America/New_York
- Latitude spread
- 4.3
- Longitude spread
- 6.8
Southeastern Conference
- Current members
- 16
- Join / departure events
- 18 / 2
- States
- AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MO, MS, OK, SC, TN, TX
- Time zones
- America/Chicago, America/New_York
- Latitude spread
- 9.3
- Longitude spread
- 16.7
Realignment impact uses current tracked membership, state/time-zone footprint, and conference directory churn. Scenario modeling still lives in the Realignment Tool.
Tables / export
rank,conference,season,index,power,depth,resume,efficiency,schedule,talent,nfl,postseason,record,nonConferenceRecord,postseasonRecord,top25Teams,top40Teams,draftPicks,firstRoundPicks,states 1,Big Ten Conference,1897,89.8,100,100,66.7,,,,100,,8-7,2-1,0-0,6,6,0,0,IL; IN; MI; MN; WI 2,American Athletic Conference,1897,38.5,0,0,100,,,,100,,1-0,1-0,0-0,0,0,0,0,AL; FL; LA; MD; NC; NY; OK; PA; TN; TX 3,Big 12 Conference,1897,38.5,0,0,100,,,,100,,1-0,1-0,0-0,0,0,0,0,AZ; CO; FL; IA; KS; OH; OK; TX; UT; WV 4,Conference USA,1897,11.1,0,0,,,,,100,,0-0,0-0,0-0,0,0,0,0,AL; FL; GA; KY; LA; MO; NM; TN; TX; VA 5,Mountain West Conference,1897,11.1,0,0,,,,,100,,0-0,0-0,0-0,0,0,0,0,CO; HI; IL; NM; NV; TX; WY 6,Pac-12 Conference,1897,11.1,0,0,,,,,100,,0-0,0-0,0-0,0,0,0,0,CA; CO; ID; OR; UT; WA 7,Sun Belt Conference,1897,11.1,0,0,,,,,100,,0-0,0-0,0-0,0,0,0,0,AL; AR; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA; WV 8,Atlantic Coast Conference,1897,7.7,0,0,0,,,,100,,0-1,0-1,0-0,0,0,0,0,CA; FL; GA; KY; MA; NC; NY; PA; SC; TX; VA 9,Mid-American Conference,1897,7.7,0,0,0,,,,100,,0-1,0-1,0-0,0,0,0,0,IN; MI; NY; OH 10,Southeastern Conference,1897,7.7,0,0,0,,,,100,,0-1,0-1,0-0,0,0,0,0,AL; AR; FL; GA; KY; LA; MO; MS; OK; SC; TN; TX
Custom formula
Weights are stored in the URL. Categories without data are skipped for that conference.
Methodology & sources
Power
Default weight: 25
Depth
Default weight: 15
Resume
Default weight: 20
Efficiency
Default weight: 15
Schedule
Default weight: 8
Talent
Default weight: 7
NFL
Default weight: 5
Postseason
Default weight: 5
Conference membership is season-aware when a season standings page exists. Otherwise the comparison falls back to current FBS members and marks affected categories as partial where appropriate.
Power uses team ratings when available and final ranking proxies when ratings are sparse. Resume uses completed games, with non-conference records separated from same-conference games.
Recruiting uses team recruiting ranking points/ranks. NFL pipeline uses draft picks from the selected draft year, including a first-round count.
SP+, FPI, transfer portal net movement, returning production, active NFL player counts, and NFL salary data are not shown unless they exist in CFBTrack source data for this route.
FAQ
What is the CFBTrack Conference Index?
It is a 0-100 composite built from available power, depth, resume, efficiency, schedule, recruiting, NFL Draft, and postseason components. Missing categories are excluded instead of scored as zero.
Are conference records based on current alignment?
The default comparison uses season-based conference membership when standings data exists, then falls back to current FBS membership with partial coverage labels.
Do bowl games count?
Postseason results are shown as their own component and record split so regular-season strength and bowl/CFP performance can be compared separately.
Are FCS games included?
Raw records include completed games available in the schedule feed. The page separates FBS and non-FBS splits when opponent classifications are present.