The Oregon Ducks are getting ready for their big Rose Bowl showdown with the Wisconsin Badgers, as are their respective hometowns.

As we all know, college football is serious business, so an honor as prestigious as the Rose Bowl understandably carries with it a certain competitive gravitas. A victory would carry enormous bragging rights for the winning team and by extension, the winning town, state and populace.

Bill Novak of the Capital Times reports that the County Boards of the way-too-similarly-named Lane County, Oregon and Dane County, Wisconsin, have wagered hearty gift baskets of locally-made foods and products to be sent to the winning host county of the eventual winner of the game. If exchanging wines and cheeses wasn't serious enough, the heads of the respective boards have pledged to wear the colors of the winning team at a future County Board meeting. The kid gloves are apparently off.

The 2012 Rose Bowl Game will be played on Monday, January 2, 2012 in Pasadena. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. PST. The game will be televised by ESPN, with Brent Musberger, Kirk Hirbstreit, and Lisa Salters on the call. Stay tuned for more updates as the game approaches.

You can keep up with all Oregon news and information over at Addicted to Quack. You can follow the Wisconsin faithful at Bucky's Fifth Quarter. The full bowl pairings can be located right here.