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The final game of the Big Ten season was supposed to be a competitive, hard-fought battle for a ticket to the Rose Bowl. Not only did the Wisconsin Badgers punch their ticket to a third straight appearance in the Granddaddy of 'Em All, they hit the No. 12 Nebraska Cornhuskers right in the mouth with a 70-31 win.
Wisconsin did almost all of their damage on the ground, finishing the day with 539 yards of rushing. Freshman running back Melvin Gordon ended the game averaging 24 yards a carry after picking up 216 yards and a touchdown on nine touches. Montee Ball finished with 202 yards on 21 carries and got into the end zone on three occasions.
The Badgers will move on to the Rose Bowl to face the No. 8 Stanford Cardinal. Stanford is normally stout against the run, but gave up 194 yards to UCLA's Johnathan Franklin in the Pac-12 Championship on Friday.
This is Wisconsin's third straight visit to Pasadena, but they've lost their last two trips. The last time the Badgers won a Rose Bowl was in 2000, a 17-9 win over the Stanford Cardinal.
Here's a look at the final Big Ten standings:
| Big Ten - Legends | CONF | OVERALL |
| * - Nebraska | 7-1 | 10-3 |
| * - Michigan | 6-2 | 8-4 |
| * - Northwestern | 5-3 | 9-3 |
| * - Michigan State | 3-5 | 6-6 |
| x - Iowa | 2-6 | 4-8 |
| * - Minnesota | 2-6 | 6-6 |
| Big Ten - Leaders | CONF | OVERALL |
| x - Ohio State | 8-0 | 12-0 |
| x - Penn State | 6-2 | 8-4 |
| * - Wisconsin | 4-4 | 8-5 |
| * - Purdue | 3-5 | 6-6 |
| x - Indiana | 2-6 | 4-8 |
| x - Illinois | 0-8 | 2-10 |