College Football 2011 December Madness: Wisconsin vs. Kansas State

For the eighth consecutive season, Whatifsports.com is proud to present the ultimate college football playoff in a tournament we refer to as December Madness 2011.

Over the next three weeks, the top 16 college football teams (11 conference champions and five at-large programs based on BCS rating) will compete for the December Madness title.

Utilizing our award-winning college football simulation engine, we "play" each matchup 1,001 times.

View the December Madness playoff bracket and complete the box score to participate.

Six games into the regular season, the sixth-ranked Wisconsin was flying under the radar as a team ready to crash the BCS Championship Game party. Then came a Hail Mary, a tip and a Michigan State touchdown to squash those dreams.

Hungover from the loss to Sparty, the Badgers traveled to Columbus and allowed the Buckeyes' inept offense to pull the same stunt in the last minute.

But every valley needs a peak, and the Badgers finished the season on a five-game winning streak; that included a Big 10 championship game victory over Michigan State to avenge the last-second loss.

Heisman finalist Montee Ball is sitting at 1,759 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns (six receiving). He is the motor behind the Badgers' offense, along with everybody's favorite transfer quarterback, Russell Wilson (72.5 completion percentage). Wilson finished with 31 touchdowns and only three interceptions this season.

Bill Snyder's Kansas State team lasted seven games before its Achilles' heel cost it. Ranked eighth in the national polls ahead of Oklahoma, Kansas State allowed the Sooners to run up 58 points.

Oklahoma State followed with a 52-point barrage to give the Wildcats back-to-back losses. The Wildcats finished 71st in the nation in scoring defense at 27.8 points allowed per game.

As bad as the defense performed, versatile quarterback Collin Klein shined in his Junior season. He may have finished with less than 1,800 yards passing (with 12 touchdowns and five picks), but his feet did most of the work.

Klein's 26 rushing touchdowns (1,099 yards) are one shy of the FBS record for quarterbacks, which was set by Navy's Ricky Dobbs in 2009.

Game recap

Wilson nearly threw a perfect game. Ball rushed for 181 yards. Yet, still it came down to the wire for Wisconsin.

With the game tied 27-27 and 6:20 remaining, Wilson engineered an 11-play drive that chewed more than four minutes off the clock. He hit Sophomore tight end Jacob Pedersen on third-and-goal for the go-ahead score.

The Badgers' forced a four-and-out on the Wildcats' next possession, and ran out the clock for a 34-27 victory.

Wilson finished 22 of 27 for 342 yards and three touchdowns. K-State's Klein rushed 30 times for 105 yards with a touchdown in the loss.

Player of the game: Montee Ball (181 rushing yards, 1 TD)

Winning Percentage of 1,001 Simulations: Wisconsin 72.7 percent - Kansas State 27.3 percent