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 AP Coaches BCS 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 Total University of Nebraska–Lincoln 10 0 7 14 31 University of Wisconsin-Madison 21 21 21 7 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 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)
Big Ten Football Championship Game  < 2011  2013 >

2012 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Legends
#25 Nebraska xy		7	–	1					10	–	4
#24 Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	5
#17 Northwestern		5	–	3					10	–	3
Michigan State		3	–	5					7	–	6
Minnesota		2	–	6					6	–	7
Iowa		2	–	6					4	–	8
Leaders
#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 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 As of January 8, 2013 • 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. Wisconsin defeated Nebraska 70-31.

Wisconsin finished third place in the Leaders division, but division winner Ohio State (improper benefits to players, one-year postseason ban) and runner-up Penn State (child sex abuse scandal, four-year postseason ban) were ineligible as neither team was eligible for postseason play.

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. The game was played in prime time and televised by Fox, with kickoff scheduled for 8:17 PM Eastern Time. In only the 2nd year of the Big Ten Championship game, one team entered the game unranked in the BCS standings, AP poll, and Coaches' poll.