Big Ten Football Standings 2012: Michigan and Ohio State top divisions

A narrow victory over their in-state rival Michigan State Spartans helps keep the Michigan Wolverines on top of the Legends division in the Big Ten. The team nipping at their heels, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, escaped Evanston yesterday with a 29-28 win over the Northwestern Wildcats who sit at fourth in the Legends conference. The Iowa Hawkeyes sit in third after being throttled by the Penn State Nittany Lions 38-14 in State College. Michigan State slides to fifth in the division standings following their loss to Michigan and the Minnesota Golden Gophers keep a goose egg in the conference win column following their 38-13 loss to Wisconsin.

Meanwhile the Ohio State Buckeyes remain atop the Leaders conference after escaping with an overtime victory in Columbus over the Purdue Boilmakers who are without a win in conference play and currently in fourth. Penn State sits in second followed by Wisconsin. Below Purdue are two more teams without a win in the Big Ten Conference to their credit. The Illinois Fighting Illini, who had the week off, sit above the Indiana Hoosiers who dropped an out of conference game 31-30 to Navy.

Remember though: the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions are ineligible for postseason play meaning if the season ended today, the Badgers would face the Wolverines in the Big Ten Championship game.