2011 Big Ten Football Championship Game

The 2011 Big Ten Football Championship Game was a college football game. It was played on December 3, 2011, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, to determine the 2011 champion of the Big Ten Conference. The Wisconsin Badgers of the Leaders Division beat the Michigan State Spartans of the Legends Division by a score of 42–39.[2][3] By winning the game, Wisconsin earned a berth in the 2012 Rose Bowl.

2011 Big Ten Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
Championship Game Logo
Wisconsin Badgers Michigan State Spartans (10–2) (10–2) 42 39 Head coach:  Bret Bielema Head coach:  Mark Dantonio AP Coaches BCS 15 12 15 AP Coaches BCS 11 9 13
1 2 3 4 Total Wisconsin 21 0 7 14 42 Michigan State 7 22 7 3 39
Date	December 3, 2011
Season	2011
Stadium	Lucas Oil Stadium
Location	Indianapolis, Indiana
MVP	Russell Wilson
Favorite	Wisconsin by 1.5
National anthem	Michigan State University Spartan Marching Band and University of Wisconsin Marching Band
Referee	Bill LeMonnier
Attendance	64,152
United States TV coverage
Network	Fox
Announcers	Gus Johnson (Play-by-play)[1] Charles Davis (Color Analyst) Tim Brewster (Sideline Analyst) Dhani Jones (Sideline Analyst)
Nielsen ratings	4.6 (7.8 million viewers)

2011 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Legends Division
No. 11 Michigan State x		7	–	1					11	–	3
No. 12 Michigan %		6	–	2					11	–	2
No. 24 Nebraska		5	–	3					9	–	4
Iowa		4	–	4					7	–	6
Northwestern		3	–	5					6	–	7
Minnesota		2	–	6					3	–	9
Leaders Division
No. 10 Wisconsin xy$		6	–	2					11	–	3
Penn State x		6	–	2					9	–	4
Purdue		4	–	4					7	–	6
Ohio State		3	–	5					6	–	7
Illinois		2	–	6					7	–	6
Indiana		0	–	8					1	–	11
Championship: Wisconsin 42, Michigan State 39
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The game was the first football championship game ever played in the Big Ten's 115-year history. The game was played in prime time and televised by Fox.[4]

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP WIS MSU 1 10:04 9 71 4:56 WIS Jeff Duckworth 3-yard touchdown reception from Russell Wilson, Philip Welch kick good 7 0 1 6:44 6 59 3:20 MSU Edwin Baker 8-yard touchdown run, Dan Conroy kick good 7 7 1 3:44 7 60 3:00 WIS Montee Ball 6-yard touchdown run, Philip Welch kick good 14 7 1 3:12 2 24 0:32 WIS Montee Ball 6-yard touchdown run, Philip Welch kick good 21 7 2 14:55 7 80 3:17 MSU B.J. Cunningham 30-yard touchdown reception from Kirk Cousins, Dan Conroy kick good 21 14 2 10:21 6 57 2:42 MSU Keith Nichol 3-yard reception from Kirk Cousins, lateral to B.J. Cunningham for 7 yards for a touchdown, 2pt run good 21 22 2 3:26 8 84 3:57 MSU Le'Veon Bell 6-yard touchdown run, Dan Conroy kick good 21 29 3 9:13 8 62 3:30 WIS Jared Abbrederis 42-yard touchdown reception from Russell Wilson, Philip Welch kick good 28 29 3 1:41 3 48 1:01 MSU B.J. Cunningham 44-yard touchdown reception from Kirk Cousins, Dan Conroy kick good 28 36 4 13:25 7 52 3:16 WIS Montee Ball 5-yard touchdown reception from Russell Wilson, Philip Welch kick no good 34 36 4 8:28 10 52 4:57 MSU 25-yard field goal by Dan Conroy 34 39 4 3:45 8 64 4:43 WIS Montee Ball 7-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good 42 39 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 42 39

References

1. Scott Dochterman (2011-06-01). "BTN to ride the Gus (Johnson) in hoops coverage". Retrieved 2011-06-01.
2. D'Amato, Gary (2011-12-04). "Badgers' Dramatic Big Ten Title Game Victory an Instant Classic", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
3. Sipple, George (2011-12-03). "Wisconsin 42, Michigan State Spartans 39: Rose Bowl Bid Comes Up Short in Big Ten Title Game", Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2011-12-04.
4. "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. Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2011-04-11.