2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game

2012 Big Ten Football Championship Game
Conference Championship

Nebraska Cornhuskers Wisconsin Badgers
(10–2) (7–5)
31 70
Head coach: 
Bo Pelini		 Head coach: 
Bret Bielema
APCoachesBCS
141312
1234 Total
Nebraska 100714 31
Wisconsin 2121217 70
Date December 1, 2012
Season 2012
Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium
Location Indianapolis, Indiana
MVP Montee Ball, Wisconsin
Referee John O'Neill
Halftime show University of Nebraska Cornhusker Marching Band, University of Wisconsin Marching Band
Attendance 41,260
United States TV coverage
Network Fox
Announcers Gus Johnson, (Play-by-play) Charles Davis (Color Analyst) and Julie Alexandria (Sideline Reporter)
2012 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Legends Division
#25 Nebraska x   7 – 1         10 – 4  
#24 Michigan   6 – 2         8 – 5  
#17 Northwestern   5 – 3         10 – 3  
Michigan State   3 – 5         7 – 6  
Iowa   2 – 6         4 – 8  
Minnesota   2 – 6         6 – 7  
Leaders Division
#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
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for conference championship game and post-season bowl games due to NCAA sanctions
Rankings from AP Poll

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]

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 require 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.

In 2014, both Nebraska and Wisconsin were placed in the new Big Ten West division for football, and thus it will no longer be possible for them to meet in the conference championship game without conference re-alignment.

Teams

Wisconsin

Wisconsin finished third place in the Leaders division, but earned the right to play in the game, because division winner Ohio State (one-year postseason ban) and runner-up Penn State (four-year postseason ban, later shortened to a two-year postseason ban) were ineligible.

The 2012 Big Ten football championship game would be the last time Bret Bielema would coach the Badgers. He departed the badgers three days after the Big Ten championship game.[4][5] Wisconsin's Athletic Director, and former football head coach, Barry Alvarez would go on to coach the Badgers at the 2013 Rose Bowl against Stanford.

Nebraska

Scoring Summary

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

Statistics

Statistics WIS NEB
First Downs 24 23
Total offense 640 477
Rushes-yards (net) 539 282
Rushing, Attempts–Yards per rush 50–10.8 44–6.4
Passing yards (net) 101 195
Passes, Completions–Attempts 8–10 18–34
Turnovers, Fumbles–Interceptions 0–0 1–2
Penalties–Yards 4–51 4–40
Time of Possession 29:45 30:15

Sources:[6][7]

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).[7] Wisconsin set multiple school records in the game; first by scoring eight rushing touchdowns during the game.[8] The second school record for Wisconsin was having two 200-yard rushers in one game.[7] Nebraska set a record for the most rushing touchdowns allowed in a game.[8] 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.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Associated Press (November 23, 2012). "'Huskers Will Play for Big Ten Title", Fox Sports. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Ball helps Badgers rush past No. 14 Nebraska 70-31". Sports Illustrated. 2012-12-01. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  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. 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  4. ↑ "Bret Bielema, head coach of Wisconsin Badgers, accepts position to coach Arkansas Razorbacks - ESPN". Espn.go.com. 2012-12-15. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  5. ↑ "University To Introduce New Coach Bielema Wednesday". 5NEWSOnline.com. 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  6. ↑ "Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Wisconsin Badgers - Box Score - December 01, 2012 - ESPN". Scores.espn.go.com. 2012-12-01. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  7. 1 2 3 CBSSports.com wire reports. "NCAA College Football Recap - Nebraska Cornhuskers at Wisconsin Badgers - Dec 01, 2012". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  8. 1 2 http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1429256-big-ten-championship-nebraska-vs-wisconsin-live-scores-analysis-and-results
  9. ↑ "Postgame Notes: Big Ten Championship Game - UWBadgers.com - The Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers". UWBadgers.com. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
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