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2012 Big Ten Football Standings: Wisconsin likely headed for championship game

Ohio State and Penn State are on top of the Leaders Division, but neither are able to appear in postseason play due to sanctions, meaning Wisconsin will represent the division. The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions will meet Saturday in a battle of teams undefeated in conference play.

Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

Penn State and Ohio State will meet in a battle of ineligible teams atop the Leaders Division, while Michigan remained undefeated in conference play with a tight win over Michigan State.

The Nittany Lions rocked Iowa with a 38-14 win, while Ohio State needed overtime to remain undefeated against Purdue. Their matchup this week would likely settle who would represent the division in the Big Ten Championship game, but both teams are not able to appear this year. Wisconsin would need a collapse of historic proportions to fail to appear in the game, as their 3-1 record should be enough for a spot in a division where the only other eligible teams are all 0-3. The Badgers easily beat Minnesota this past weekend.

On the other side of the conference, the battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy ended with Michigan beating the Spartans 12-10 on the strength of four field goals, leaving them unbeaten in conference play. Nebraska kept their hopes alive and moved to 2-1 in conference by overcoming a 12-point fourth quarter deficit to beat Northwestern on the road, as the Wildcats' hopes of winning died when a 53-yard field goal went just wide right in the game's closing minute. Iowa is still in the top half of the divisional standings, but they looked comatose against Penn State.

Here is a look at the full conference standings:


Big 10 Conference Standings

(updated 10.21.2012 at 2:01 AM CDT)

Leaders Division Conf Overall
W L W L
Ohio St. Buckeyes 4 0 8 0
Penn St. Nittany Lions 3 0 5 2
Wisconsin Badgers 3 1 6 2
Purdue Boilermakers 0 3 3 4
Indiana Hoosiers 0 3 2 5
Illinois Fighting Illini 0 3 2 5
Legends Division Conf Overall
W L W L
Michigan Wolverines 3 0 5 2
Nebraska Cornhuskers 2 1 5 2
Iowa Hawkeyes 2 1 4 3
Northwestern Wildcats 2 2 6 2
Michigan St. Spartans 1 3 4 4
Minnesota Golden Gophers 0 3 4 3