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2012 Big Ten Football Standings: Penn St. second to Buckeyes in Leaders division

Penn State is second in the Big Ten Leaders division standings behind Ohio State. Wisconsin is third behind the two ineligible teams. Nebraska and Michigan are atop the Legends division.

Patrick Smith

Despite both being ineligible for postseason play, the Penn State Nittany Lions and Ohio State Buckeyes battled for a spot at the top of the Big Ten Leaders division this past weekend. Penn State remains in second place in the division after the 35-23 loss, with a 3-1 conference record and 5-3 record overall. The Buckeyes are now 9-0 on the year and 5-0 in the conference, staying at the top of the Leaders division.

The Wisconsin Badgers, currently in third with a conference record of 3-2, would represent the division in the conference championship game if it finished behind the two ineligible teams. Wisconsin is already bowl eligible at 6-3.

In the Legends division, though the 6-3 Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-1 in Big Ten play) have the same conference record as the the 5-3 Michigan Wolverines, the Cornhusker's 23-9 win over the Wolverines on Saturday gives them a slight edge. The bowl eligible Northwestern Wildcats are not far behind at 3-2 in Big Ten play and 7-2 overall record.

The full Big Ten conference standings are below with conference record, followed by overall record, listed in parentheses.

Legends Division

1) Nebraska (3-1, 6-2)
2) Michigan (3-1, 5-3)
3) Northwestern (3-2, 7-2)
4) Iowa (2-2, 4-4)
5) Michigan State (2-3, 5-4)
6) Minnesota (1-3, 5-3)

Leaders Division

1) Ohio State (5-0, 9-0)
2) Penn State (3-1, 5-3)
3) Wisconsin (3-2, 6-3)
4) Indiana (1-3, 3-5)
5) Purdue (0-4, 3-5)
6) Illinois (0-4, 2-6)