2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game

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2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game Logo.svg
Championship Game Logo
1234Total
Nebraska10071431
Wisconsin212121770
DateDecember 1, 2012
Season 2012
Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium
Location Indianapolis, Indiana
MVP Montee Ball, Wisconsin
Favorite Nebraska by 12
Referee John O'Neill
Halftime show University of Nebraska Cornhusker Marching Band, University of Wisconsin Marching Band
Attendance41,260
United States TV coverage
Network Fox
Announcers Gus Johnson, (Play-by-play) Charles Davis (Color Analyst) and Julie Alexandria (Sideline Reporter)
Nielsen ratings 3.0 (4.9 million viewers)
Big Ten Football Championship Game
 < 2011   2013 > 
2012 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Legends Division
No. 25 Nebraska xy  7 1   10 4  
No. 24 Michigan  6 2   8 5  
No. 17 Northwestern  5 3   10 3  
Michigan State  3 5   7 6  
Iowa  2 6   4 8  
Minnesota  2 6   6 7  
Leaders Division
No. 3 Ohio State* x  8 0   12 0  
Penn State*  6 2   8 4  
Wisconsin y$  4 4   8 6  
Purdue  3 5   6 7  
Indiana  2 6   4 8  
Illinois  0 8   2 10  
Championship: Wisconsin 70, Nebraska 31
  • $ BCS representative as conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • * Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for conference championship game and post-season bowl games due to NCAA sanctions.
Rankings from AP Poll
LB Chris Borland tackles QB Taylor Martinez Chris Borland tackles Taylor Martinez.jpg
LB Chris Borland tackles QB Taylor Martinez

The 2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game. It was played on December 1, 2012, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, to determine the 2012 champion of the Big Ten Conference. It was played between the Wisconsin Badgers of the Leaders Division and the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Legends Division. [1] Wisconsin defeated Nebraska, 70–31. [2]

Contents

The game was the second football championship game ever played in the Big Ten's 116-year history; the Big Ten expanded to twelve teams the year before thus becoming eligible under NCAA rules which, at that time, required conferences to have a membership of at least 12 to have a conference championship game. The game was played in prime time and televised by Fox, [3] with kickoff scheduled for 8:17 PM Eastern Time. In only the second year of the Big Ten Championship game, one team entered the game unranked in the BCS standings, AP poll, and Coaches' poll.

Teams

Wisconsin

Wisconsin finished third place in the Leaders division, but division champion Ohio State and second-place Penn State were ineligible to play in the championship game because of postseason bans. Teams that play in the conference championship game must be eligible for the postseason. [4] [5]

The 2012 Big Ten football championship game would be the last time Bret Bielema coached the Badgers. He departed Wisconsin three days after the Big Ten championship game to accept the head coaching position at Arkansas. [6] [7] Wisconsin's Athletic Director, and former football head coach, Barry Alvarez went on to coach the Badgers at the 2013 Rose Bowl against Stanford.

Nebraska

Scoring summary

1st quarter
2nd quarter
3rd quarter
4th quarter

Statistics

StatisticsWISNEB
First Downs2423
Total offense640477
Rushes-yards (net)539282
Rushing, Attempts–Yards per rush50–10.844–6.4
Passing yards (net)101195
Passes, Completions–Attempts8–1018–34
Turnovers, Fumbles–Interceptions0–01–2
Penalties–Yards4–514–40
Time of Possession29:4530:15

Sources: [8] [9]

Records

Montee Ball took over as the record holder for Football Bowl Subdivision "career rushing touchdowns record" from Travis Prentice with 76 touchdowns (Ball scored one touchdown in the 2013 Rose Bowl thus extending the record). [9] Wisconsin set multiple school records in the game; first by scoring eight rushing touchdowns during the game. [10] The second school record for Wisconsin was having two 200-yard rushers in one game. [9] Nebraska set a record for the most rushing touchdowns allowed in a game. [10] Wisconsin's redshirt freshman running back Melvin Gordon ran for a career-high of 216 yards on just nine possessions, averaging 24 yards per carry. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Wisconsin Badgers football team</span> American college football season

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References

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  2. "Ball helps Badgers rush past No. 14 Nebraska 70–31". Sports Illustrated . December 1, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  3. "Big Ten Announces Media Agreement with FOX Sports to Televise 2011–16 Big Ten Football Championship Games". BigTen.org: The Big Ten Conference Official Site. November 17, 2010. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
  4. Lesmerises, Doug (September 5, 2012). "Ohio State can win Leaders Division title and earn trophy, despite postseason ban". The Plain Dealer . Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  5. "Ohio State stays perfect after beating Wisconsin in OT". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 17, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  6. "Bret Bielema, head coach of Wisconsin Badgers, accepts position to coach Arkansas Razorbacks – ESPN". Espn.go.com. December 15, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  7. "University To Introduce New Coach Bielema Wednesday". 5NEWSOnline.com. December 4, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  8. "Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Wisconsin Badgers – Box Score – December 01, 2012 – ESPN". Scores.espn.go.com. December 1, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 CBSSports.com wire reports. "NCAA College Football Recap – Nebraska Cornhuskers at Wisconsin Badgers – Dec 01, 2012". CBSSports.com. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Regimbal, David. "Big Ten Championship: Nebraska vs. Wisconsin Live Scores, Analysis and Results". Bleacher Report.
  11. "Postgame Notes: Big Ten Championship Game – UWBadgers.com – The Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers". UWBadgers.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.