The 2012 Rose Bowl will feature one of three possible teams from the Big Ten. The Michigan State Spartans have already punched their ticket to the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game, clinching the Legends Division. The Leaders Division will be decided with a Saturday afternoon battle in Madison between the No. 19 Penn State Nittany Lions and the No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers.
Wisconsin (9-2, 5-2) is a whopping 15-point favorite at home against the embattled Penn State (9-2, 6-1) squad, per our friends at Odds Shark. Both teams are coming off road wins last week, with Penn State beating Ohio State 20-14 and Wisconsin winning 28-17 at Illinois. Their matchup on Saturday is a 12:30 p.m. PST battle that will be televised nationally by ESPN.
A win by the Badgers over the Nittany Lions would give us a rematch of the amazingly entertaining October 22 battle, won 37-31 at home by Michigan State thanks to a Hail Mary in the final seconds. Wisconsin has won their last 14 consecutive home games at Camp Randall Stadium. Penn State has not played Michigan State this season.
The Big Ten Championship Game will be held on Saturday, December 3 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The 5 p.m. PST game (actually, the kickoff is scheduled for 5:17 p.m. PST) will be televised by Fox, with the winner headed for Pasadena and a Rose Bowl berth against the Pac-12 champion.
The 2012 Rose Bowl Game will be played on Monday, January 2, 2012 in Pasadena. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. PDT. 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.