Wisconsin vs. Penn State: TV, Live Stream Info for Big Ten Championship 2016

The elite teams in the Big Ten may be Ohio State and Michigan, but neither will be competing in the Big Ten Championship Game Saturday night.

Penn State and Wisconsin will battle it out at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indiana, in a game that kicks off at 8:15 p.m. ET and will be televised and live streamed by Fox.

As of the most recent College Football Playoff Rankings, the Nittany Lions and the Badgers are on the outside looking in, and it doesn't seem likely that the winner will earn a playoff spot.

However, the Big Ten Championship is a huge accomplishment, and both teams have had excellent seasons.

The Nittany Lions have been the more effective offensive team, while the Badgers have played game-changing defense.

Penn State has managed to assert its offensive prowess in the second halves of games. In last week's regular-season finale against Michigan State, the Nittany Lions trailed 12-10 at halftime but then tore up the Spartans in the final 30 minutes.

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They followed similar patterns in earlier wins over Rutgers, Indiana, Purdue and Ohio State. Much of that has to do with the one-two punch of running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Trace McSorley. After Barkley establishes his physical game and tires out opposing defenses, McSorley has the arm strength to attack them with his deep passes.

Wisconsin's pass defense is quite dependable, and that unit picked off Minnesota's Mitch Leidner four times in the second half of the Badgers' regular-season finale. However, McSorley is a more dangerous passer than the Golden Gophers quarterback.

McSorley has thrown 21 touchdown passes and just five interceptions this season. Wide receiver Chris Godwin and tight end Mike Gesicki are the Nittany Lions' top pass-catchers.

The Badgers are looking forward to the challenge of competing against the Penn State offense. 

“They are a big-play team,” Wisconsin linebacker Vince Biegel told Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “They’ve got a lot of weapons on their offense that we’ll have to account for. But I’m excited about the weapons that we have on defense."

The Badgers operate out of a two-quarterback system, with Bart Houston and Alex Hornibrook splitting time. Hornibrook was hit hard in the Minnesota game, but the redshirt freshman has the toughness to come back this week and make plays when the game is on the line.

In addition to its quarterbacks, Wisconsin will try to unleash a ground game that includes Corey Clement, Dare Ogunbowale, Bradrick Shaw and the jet-sweep ability of Jazz Peavy. If Wisconsin can get its running game going, it should be able to wear down the Penn State defense.

Penn State co-defensive coordinator Tim Banks expects the Badgers to lean on their running game.

"They’re big on the offensive front with their line, and they have good backs," Banks told John McGonigal of the Centre Daily Times. "They have a long history of being able to run the ball, control the clock and take shots appropriately."

Prediction

While Penn State was able to hand Ohio State its only defeat this season, the Nittany Lions were pounded 49-10 in its meeting with Michigan. Wisconsin lost to the Buckeyes and the Wolverines, but both defeats were by seven points.

Wisconsin may have the edge in toughness in this game, and the Badgers should be able to outlast a very good and game Penn State team.