Big Ten Championship: 5 Things We Learned from the Inaugural Title Game

In the first ever Big Ten Football Championship Game the Big Ten Legends champion, the Wisconsin Badgers and the Big Ten Leaders champion, the Michigan State Spartans put on an epic game. 

These two teams tonight put on an instant classic with a lot of lead changes, a lot of offense and two evenly matched teams fighting for a spot in the Rose Bowl. The game rivaled their first contest, where Michigan State pulled out a victory on the last play. 

This time around, the stakes were higher and Wisconsin was able to hold on this time for the victory. 

However, what did we learn from this game? What can we take away from the first ever championship game to determine the Big Ten champion? And how can next year's game live up to the fireworks that happened tonight? 

No. 1: Montee Ball Carried This Wisconsin Team Tonight

In the first quarter, Montee Ball had a total of 137 yards, with 105 rushing yards and 32 passing yards. The entire Michigan State offense only had 106. After the first quarter Ball had 14 points, while Michigan State only had seven.

After that first quarter, Ball seemed to disappear. However, he emerged in the fourth quarter to catch a touchdown and score his third rushing touchdown. That fourth rushing touchdown secured the victory for the Badgers in their victory. 

No. 2: Michigan State's Kirk Cousins Deserved Better

Cousins' playing in his final game in the Big Ten Conference deserved a better result than a loss. He played his heart out, made big throws and played almost a perfect game. However, it was a running-into-the-kicker call that will end his season. 

Cousins' final stat line will not make you fall off your seat. However, it was a great game with 22 completions on 30 attempts, with 281 passing yards and three touchdowns. 

No. 3: Russell Wilson and Wisconsin Had Their Own Hail Mary Pass

Russell Wilson had an awful first half. He did have a touchdown pass, but he couldn't get this Wisconsin offense going at all in the second quarter. However, he rebounded with a huge 42-yard touchdown pass to Jared Abbrederis in the third quarter. Then had a season-saving throw in their game-winning drive. 

On a 3rd-and-9, Wilson had to scramble out of the pocket which made him completely miss a wide-open Badgers receiver. The next play, the Michigan State defense forced Wilson to scramble again. 

Wilson barely saw receiver Jeff Duckworth down field, however, if he was going to make the throw, it would have to be across his body and 36 yards down field. With no other options, Russell launched a prayer down field that looked as if it would be picked off by two Michigan State defenders.

Somehow, both Spartans missed it and it fell into the arms of Duckworth. 

On the next play, Montee Ball rumbled into the end zone for a six-yard touchdown to give Wisconsin the lead. 

No. 4: Michigan State and Wisconsin Defenses Were Awful

Coming into this game, Wisconsin and Michigan State ranked in the Top 10 in allowed points per game. However, when these two teams come together, the defense goes right out the door. 

Michigan State finished the game scoring 39 points, with 22 of them coming unanswered in the second quarter. For the game, the Spartans gained over 450 total yards on offense. They were able to convert seven of their 13 third downs. 

While Wisconsin's defense was bad, Michigan State's didn't play any better. The Spartans gave up 345 total yards to Wisconsin, while allowing them to convert only six of their 14 third down attempts. However, they gave up 105 rushing yards to Montee Ball in the first half, while giving up four rushing touchdowns total. 

Neither one of these teams played a lot of defense, and it showed in the final score being 42-39. 

No. 5: That Next Year's Big Ten Title Game Has a Lot to Live Up to

You couldn't get a better game than what we saw between Wisconsin and Michigan State. They beat on each other, while taking both of their best shots. Both of these teams kept coming back after being down by more than seven points. 

What we got was two evenly matched teams that had a huge task in improving over their first game. They didn't just improve on it, they put their second game into a different stratosphere in terms of great games. 

This year's championship game will be extremely hard to top next year. However, we can never say never, as an Ohio State team led by Urban Meyer versus Michigan would make for an epic 2012 Big Ten Championship game. 

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