Who says Big Ten football is boring?
Damn, that was one hell of an offensive performance in Indianapolis in a rematch of Michigan State and Wisconsin.
To top it off, we got to listen to Gus Johnson call the game. Seriously, he makes every play sound like life or death.
While many of the other games Saturday were sort of ho-hum (Bedlam, ACC, etc.), the inaugural Big Ten championship game was a balls out thriller.
Both teams were running trick plays, going for two-point conversions when they didn’t need to, and playing like the a berth to the Rose Bowl is bigger than the BCS National Championship.
For the Big Ten, the Rose Bowl is the brass ring. Hell, Michigan State hadn’t made the Rose Bowl since the 1987 season.
But instead of Mark Dantonio becoming the first Spartans coach since George Perles to lead Michigan State to the Rose Bowl, Bret Bielema will make it back-to-back for Wisconsin.
The Badgers also avenged a loss earlier this season in East Lansing.
This year’s Badgers are 11-2 and will face Oregon (11-2), which won the Pac-12 championship. It will be a contrast of styles, and Wisconsin will want to prove it can play with an elite team like the Ducks.
With Russell Wilson and Montee Ball, I actually like Wisconsin’s chances of pulling off what will likely be an upset.
But back to the Big Ten title tilt.
All week I read how this game didn’t really mean much and that the fans weren’t buying the tickets. Well, the game I watched was packed with big hits and the crowd was rowdy. And for the fans at home, we were all treated to the magic of Gus Johnson.
The Spartans have no reason to hang their heads after this game. Both teams played hard, and it could have gone either way.
Kirk Cousins was at the top of his game and finished with 281 passing yards and three touchdowns. Le’Veon Bell paced the running attack with 106 yards and touchdown. But a late drive came up short, and when it looked like the Spartans would get the ball back, a running into the punter penalty closed the door on a comeback.
As for Wilson, well the North Carolina State transfer truly became a Badger Saturday night. He threw three touchdown passes and eluded Michigan State defenders all game to extend plays. Of course, there is Montee Ball. When’s the last time there was a running back with 29 touchdowns in a season that no one is really talking about?
Yep, I can’t remember either.
If the Big Ten championship game continues to be this exciting in the future, then Jim Delany has proven why he is the smartest all conference commissioners.
