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2012 Big Ten Football Standings: Ineligible OSU, Penn State top Leaders Division

Wisconsin is in the driver's seat to represent the Leaders Division in the Big Ten Championship game by virtue of the two teams ahead of them being ineligible for postseason play. None of the other three teams in the division has won a conference game.

Justin K. Aller - Getty Images

The two teams atop the Leaders division are both ineligible, as the race for the Big Ten championship continues to be muddled in a down year for the conference.

Penn State and Ohio State are each undefeated in conference play, as the Buckeyes held off a late surge by Indiana 52-49 and Penn State was on bye. The only other team in the division to have won a game thus far is Wisconsin, who moved to 2-1 with a victory over Purdue. With five games left for the Badgers, they appear to have a spot in the Big Ten Championship game wrapped up barring a drastic collapse.

Michigan appears to be the cream of the eligible crop, as they moved to 2-0 on the year with a shutout win over Illinois. They're tied at 2-0 in conference play with Iowa, who earned a surprising overtime win over Michigan State. The only bowl eligible team after seven weeks is Northwestern, who are 6-1 but their Week 6 loss to Penn State means they're trailing in the division race at 2-1.

The conference did not have any teams in the Top 25 of the initial BCS rankings.

Here's a look at the full conference standings:


Big 10 Conference Standings

(updated 10.7.2012 at 2:49 AM CDT)

Leaders Division Conf Overall
W L W L
Ohio St. Buckeyes 2 0 6 0
Penn St. Nittany Lions 2 0 4 2
Wisconsin Badgers 1 1 4 2
Purdue Boilermakers 0 1 3 2
Indiana Hoosiers 0 2 2 3
Illinois Fighting Illini 0 2 2 4
Legends Division Conf Overall
W L W L
Michigan Wolverines 1 0 3 2
Iowa Hawkeyes 1 0 3 2
Northwestern Wildcats 1 1 5 1
Nebraska Cornhuskers 1 1 4 2
Michigan St. Spartans 1 1 4 2
Minnesota Golden Gophers 0 1 4 1