The inaugural Big Ten Championship game may become an overnight sensation at this rate, as the Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan State Spartans put on an absolute show in front of the entire nation Saturday night. In the end, the Wisconsin Badgers earned the trip to Pasadena, earning a thrilling 42-39 victory for their second straight trip and second straight conference championship.
Once again, Russell Wilson and Montee Ball carried the team on their backs. The two combined for 324 of the Badgers’ 345 yards. Ball provided the offense early, with 13 rushes for 105 yards and two scores (one receiving) in the first quarter. The Spartans’ excellent defensive line clamped down for the rest of the game, however — Ball only managed 32 yards on 14 rushes after the first quarter, although he did add two more touchdowns down the stretch.
The Badgers would go shockingly cold in the second quarter. The Spartans picked up over 200 yards of offense while the Badgers only managed to go backwards. The offense was limited to three-and-out after three-and-out as Kirk Cousins marched the Spartans down the field, with his only hiccup of the half an interception by Shelton Johnson. The Badgers couldn’t do anything with the turnover, and the Spartans rode 22 unanswered points to a 29-21 halftime lead.
In the second half, Russell Wilson defined his career at Wisconsin. Wilson’s Badgers started four drives trailing in the second half. On three of them, Wilson led seven-play drives culminating in touchdowns, eventually giving the Badgers a 42-39 lead. Wilson made play after play under pressure, completing 13-of-19 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns in the half as the Badgers stormed back.
Wilson made plenty of great throws, but I don’t think any will define his legacy as a Wisconsin Badger more so than this pass on 4th and 6 in the fourth quarter. Just ask Gus Johnson.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uO9NAg1LIco
The play will also define Jeff Duckworth’s season, as he came out of seemingly nowhere to become the Badgers’ big play man for the Big Ten Championship. The above reception was his third, final, and obviously the biggest, but he was also on the business end of a touchdown pass in the first quarter and a first down pass for 14 yards in the third. His three-catch, 53 yard day is overshadowed statistically by Jared Abbrederis’s three-catch, 63 yard game, but in terms of the magnitude of each play, Duckworth was the stunning MVP of the Badgers receiving corps Saturday night.
The Badgers would take the lead on the next play, an easy touchdown run for Ball’s 38th of the season. After each team traded defensive stops on the next two drives, it seemed the Badgers were going to hand the Spartans a second last-possession victory as Brad Nortman’s punt was returned to the one-yard line by Keshawn Martin, but in a reversal of fortunes from October’s initial meetup, a Michigan State running into the punter penalty negated the return and allowed the Badgers to run out the clock.
Adversity, resiliency, etc. The buzz words will be out in force, as commentators often do when presented with games like Saturday night’s which leave us speechless in actuality. The truth is there isn’t one word or one characteristic which can fully describe the classic beginning of a new Big Ten tradition. This is a Badgers victory that will, as Jim Delany might put it, make Leaders into Legends.
This year’s Badger squad now becomes the 13th to emerge as Big Ten Champions, dating back to the days when it was still known as the “Western Conference” near the turn of the last century. Wisconsin will now play in its eight Rose Bowl on January 2nd, where they will face the Pac-12 Champion Oregon Ducks.