2012 Big Ten Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport	Football
Duration	August 31, 2012 through January 2013
Number of teams	12
TV partner(s)	ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Inc., Big Ten Network, FOX (championship game)
2013 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	Travis Frederick (Wisconsin)
Picked by	Dallas Cowboys, 31st overall
Regular Season
Season MVP	Braxton Miller
Top scorer	Montee Ball (132 points)
Leaders Division champions	Ohio State
Legends Division champions	Nebraska
Championship Game
Champions	Wisconsin Badgers
Runners-up	Nebraska
Finals MVP	Montee Ball
Football seasons
← 2011 2013 →

2012 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Legends Division
No. 25 Nebraska xy		7	–	1					10	–	4
No. 24 Michigan		6	–	2					8	–	5
No. 17 Northwestern		5	–	3					10	–	3
Michigan State		3	–	5					7	–	6
Iowa		2	–	6					4	–	8
Minnesota		2	–	6					6	–	7
Leaders Division
No. 3 Ohio State* x		8	–	0					12	–	0
Penn State*		6	–	2					8	–	4
Wisconsin y$		4	–	4					8	–	6
Purdue		3	–	5					6	–	7
Indiana		2	–	6					4	–	8
Illinois		0	–	8					2	–	10
Championship: Wisconsin 70, Nebraska 31
$ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for conference championship game and post-season bowl games due to NCAA sanctions. Rankings from AP Poll

The 2012 Big Ten Conference football season was the 117th season for the Big Ten. The conference began its season on September 1, as each of the conference's teams began their respective 2012 season of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. This was the league's second season with a divisional format and a championship game.

		Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Final
Illinois	AP
	C
	Harris	Not released
	BCS	Not released
Indiana	AP
	C
	Harris	Not released
	BCS	Not released
Iowa	AP
	C
	Harris	Not released
	BCS	Not released
Michigan	AP	8	19	17	18	RV	RV	25	23	20	RV	RV	23	20	21	19	24
	C	8	19	18	17	RV	RV	RV	25	20	RV	RV	23	20	24	22	RV
	Harris	Not released						RV	RV	20	RV	RV	24	20	23	22
	BCS	Not released								22			21	19	19	18
Michigan State	AP	13	11	10	21	20	RV	RV
	C	13	11	10	20	18	RV	RV			RV
	Harris	Not released						RV	RV
	BCS	Not released
Minnesota	AP
	C					RV
	Harris	Not released
	BCS	Not released
Nebraska	AP	17	16	RV	25	22	21	RV	RV	RV	21	18	16	17	14	23	25
	C	16	14	24	22	20	20	RV	RV	RV	21	16	14	14	13	21	23
	Harris	Not released						RV	RV	RV	21	16	14	14	13	18
	BCS	Not released									20	16	14	14	12	16
Northwestern	AP			RV	RV	RV	24	RV	RV		RV	RV	RV	RV	22	21	17
	C		RV	RV	RV	RV	22	RV	RV	RV	RV	21	RV	RV	20	17	16
	Harris	Not released						RV	RV	RV	RV	24	RV	RV		20
	BCS	Not released										24			22	20
Ohio State	AP	18	14	12	16	14	12	8	7	9	6	5	6	4	4	3	3
	C	Ineligible for ranking
	Harris	Not released						Ineligible for ranking
	BCS	Not released							Ineligible for ranking
Penn State	AP							RV	RV	RV		RV			RV	RV	RV
	C	Ineligible for ranking
	Harris	Not released						Ineligible for ranking
	BCS	Not released							Ineligible for ranking
Purdue	AP				RV	RV
	C					RV	RV
	Harris	Not released
	BCS	Not released
Wisconsin	AP	12	13	RV	RV	RV			RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV		RV	RV
	C	12	13	22	24	23	RV	RV	RV	25	RV	RV	RV	RV		23	RV
	Harris	Not released						RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV		25
	BCS	Not released								25

Legend

		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
		No change in ranking from previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll

April 14

• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Michigan
• Nebraska (canceled)
• Northwestern
• Purdue

April 21

• Minnesota
• Ohio State
• Penn State

April 28

• Michigan State
• Wisconsin

Index to colors and formatting
Big Ten member won
Big Ten member lost
Big Ten teams in bold

All times Eastern time.

Rankings = AP / Coaches.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
August 30	11:00 pm	Minnesota	UNLV	Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas	CBS Sports Network	W 30–27 3OT	16,013	[1]
August 31	8:00 pm	No. 24 Boise State	No. 13 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan	ESPN	W 17–13	78,709	[2]
September 1	12:00 pm	Western Michigan	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Syracuse, New York	ESPN2	W 24–7	43,441	[3]
September 1	12:00 pm	Northwestern	Syracuse	Carrier Dome • Champaign, Illinois	ESPNU	W 42–41	37,830	[4]
September 1	12:00 pm	Ohio	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • State College, Pennsylvania	ESPN	L 14–24	97,186	[5]
September 1	12:00 pm	Miami (OH)	No. 18 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	BTN	W 56–10	105,039	[6]
September 1	3:30 pm	Iowa	Northern Illinois	Soldier Field • Chicago	ESPNU	W 18–17	52,117	[7]
September 1	3:30 pm	Southern Mississippi	No. 17 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska	ABC / ESPN2	W 49–20	85,425	[8]
September 1	3:30 pm	Eastern Kentucky	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana	BTN	W 48–6	40,572	[9]
September 1	3:30 pm	Northern Iowa	No. 12 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin	BTN	W 26–21	79,568	[10]
September 1	8:00 pm	No. 8 Michigan	No. 2 Alabama	Cowboys Stadium • Arlington, Texas	ABC	L 14–41	90,413	[11]
September 1	8:00 pm	Indiana State	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana	BTN	W 24–17	41,882	[12]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
September 8	12:00 pm	New Hampshire	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis	BTN	W 44-7	47,022
September 8	12:00 pm	Penn State	Virginia	Scott Stadium • Charlottesville, Virginia	ABC	L 16-17	56,087
September 8	12:00 pm	Central Florida	#14 / NR Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	ESPN2	W 31-16	104,745
September 8	3:30 pm	Air Force	#19 / #19 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan	ABC / ESPN2	W 31-25	112,522
September 8	3:30 pm	Indiana	Massachusetts	Gillette Stadium • Foxborough, Massachusetts	ESPN3	W 45-6	16,304
September 8	3:30 pm	Iowa State	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa	BTN	L 6-9	70,585
September 8	3:30 pm	#11 / #11 Michigan State	Central Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, Michigan	ESPNU	W 41-7	35,127
September 8	3:30 pm	Purdue	#22 / #22 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, Indiana	NBC	L 17-20	80,795
September 8	4:00 pm	#13 / #13 Wisconsin	Oregon State	Reser Stadium • Corvallis, Oregon	FX	L 7-10	42,189
September 8	7:30 pm	#16 / #14 Nebraska	#22 / #23 UCLA	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California	FOX	L 30-36	71,530
September 8	8:00 pm	Vanderbilt	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois	BTN	W 23-13	31,644
September 8	10:30 pm	Illinois	Arizona State	Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, Arizona	ESPN	L 14-45	54,128

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
September 15	12:00 pm	Arkansas State	NR / #24 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska	ESPN2	W 42-13	85,290
September 15	12:00 pm	California	#12 / NR Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	ABC	W 35-28	105,232
September 15	12:00 pm	Charleston Southern	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois	BTN	W 44-0	45,369
September 15	12:00 pm	Eastern Michigan	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana	BTN	W 54-16	40,217
September 15	12:00 pm	Western Michigan	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, Minnesota	BTN	W 28-23	44,921
September 15	3:30 pm	Boston College	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois	BTN	W 22-13	32,597
September 15	3:30 pm	Massachusetts	#17 / #18 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan	BTN	W 63-13	110,708
September 15	3:30 pm	Navy	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • State College, Pennsylvania	ABC / ESPN2	W 34-7	98,792
September 15	3:30 pm	Northern Iowa	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa	BTN	W 27-16	70,585
September 15	8:00 pm	Ball State	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana	BTN	L 39-41	48,186
September 15	8:00 pm	#20 / #19 Notre Dame	#10 / #10 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan	ABC	L 3-20	79,219
September 15	8:00 pm	Utah State	NR / #22 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin	BTN	W 16-14	79,332

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Broadcast	Result	Attendance
September 22	12:00 pm	Central Michigan	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa	BTN	L 31-32	70,585
September 22	12:00 pm	Alabama-Birmingham	#16 / NR Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	BTN	W 29-15	105,019
September 22	12:00 pm	Texas-El Paso	NR / #24 Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin	ESPN2	W 37-26	79,806
September 22	3:30 pm	Eastern Michigan	#21 / #20 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan	BTN	W 23-7	74,204
September 22	3:30 pm	Idaho State	#25 / #22 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska	BTN	W 73-7	84,923
September 22	3:30 pm	South Dakota	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois	BTN	W 38-7	28,641
September 22	3:30 pm	Temple	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • State College, Pennsylvania	ABC / ESPN2	W 24-13	93,680
September 22	7:30 pm	#18 / #17 Michigan	#11 / #15 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, Indiana	NBC	L 6-13	80,795
September 22	8:00 pm	Louisiana Tech	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois	BTN	L 17-52	46,539
September 22	8:00 pm	Syracuse	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis	BTN	W 17-10	50,805

Date	Bye Week	Bye Week
September 22	Indiana	Purdue

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 29	12:00 pm	Indiana	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois	BTN	NW 44–29	33,129	[13]
September 29	12:00 pm	Minnesota	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa (Floyd of Rosedale)	ESPN2	Iowa 31–13	70,585	[14]
September 29	12:00 pm	Penn State	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois	ESPN	PSU 35–7	46,734	[15]
September 29	3:30 pm	Marshall	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana	BTN	W 51–41	45,481	[16]
September 29	3:30 pm	No. 14 Ohio State	No. 20 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan	ABC	OSU 17–16	76,705	[17]
September 29	8:00 pm	Wisconsin	No. 22 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska	ABC	NEB 30–27	85,962	[18]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
September 29	Michigan

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 6	12:00 pm	Michigan State	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana (Old Brass Spittoon)	BTN	MSU 31–27	45,979	[19]
October 6	12:00 pm	No. 24 Northwestern	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • Happy Valley, Pennsylvania	ESPN	PSU 39–28	95,769	[20]
October 6	3:30 pm	Illinois	Wisconsin	Camp Randall • Madison, Wisconsin	ABC / ESPN2	WIS 31–14	80,096	[21]
October 6	4:00 pm	Michigan	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana	BTN	MICH 44–13	50,105	[22]
October 6	8:00 pm	No. 21 Nebraska	No. 12 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	ABC	OSU 63–38	106,102	[23]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week	Bye Week
October 6	Iowa	Minnesota

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 13	12:00 pm	Iowa	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan	ESPN	Iowa 19–16 2OT	70,211	[24]
October 13	12:00 pm	Northwestern	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis	ESPN2	NW 21–13	49,651	[25]
October 13	12:00 pm	Wisconsin	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana	BTN	WIS 38–14	46,007	[26]
October 13	3:30 pm	Illinois	No. 25 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan	ABC	MICH 45–0	110,992	[27]
October 13	8:00 pm	No. 8 Ohio State	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana	BTN	OSU 52–49	48,880	[28]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week	Bye Week
October 13	Nebraska	Penn State

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 20	12:00 pm	Minnesota	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	ESPNU	WIS 38–13	80,587	[29]
October 20	12:00 pm	Purdue	No. 7 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	ABC / ESPN2	OSU 29–22 OT	105,290	[30]
October 20	3:30 pm	Indiana	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland	CBS Sports Network	L 31–30	33,441	[31]
October 20	3:30 pm	Michigan State	No. 23 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan (Paul Bunyan Trophy)	BTN	MICH 12–10	113,833	[32]
October 20	3:30 pm	Nebraska	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois	ABC / ESPN2	NEB 29–28	47,330	[33]
October 20	8:00 pm	Penn State	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa	BTN	PSU 38–14	70,585	[34]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
October 20	Illinois

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 27	12:00 pm	Indiana	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois	BTN	IND 31–17	47,981	[35]
October 27	12:00 pm	Iowa	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois	ESPN2	NW 28–17	44,121	[36]
October 27	3:30 pm	Michigan State	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin	ABC / ESPN2	MSU 16–13 OT	80,538	[37]
October 27	3:30 pm	Purdue	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis, Minnesota	BTN	MN 44–28	41,062	[38]
October 27	5:30 pm	Ohio State	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • State College, Pennsylvania (Ohio State–Penn State football rivalry)	ESPN	OSU 35–23	107,818	[39]
October 27	8:00 pm	Michigan	Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska	ESPN2	NEB 23–9	86,160	[40]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 3	12:00 pm	Michigan	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis (Little Brown Jug)	BTN	MICH 35–13	48,801	[41]
November 3	3:30 pm	Illinois	No. 6 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio (Illinois-Ohio State football rivalry)	ESPN	OSU 52–22	105,311	[42]
November 3	3:30 pm	Iowa	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana	BTN	IND 24–21	40,646	[43]
November 3	3:30 pm	No. 21 Nebraska	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan	ABC / ESPN2	NEB 28–24	73,522	[44]
November 3	3:30 pm	Penn State	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette	ESPNU	PSU 34–9	40,098	[45]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week	Bye Week
November 3	Northwestern	Wisconsin

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 10	12:00 pm	Northwestern	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan	ESPN	MICH 38–31 OT	112,510	[46]
November 10	12:00 pm	Wisconsin	Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, Indiana	ESPN2	WIS 62–14	43,240	[47]
November 10	12:00 pm	Purdue	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa	BTN	PUR 27–24	70,585	[48]
November 10	3:30 pm	Minnesota	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois	BTN	MINN 17–3	46,912	[49]
November 10	3:30 pm	Penn State	No. 18 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska	ABC / ESPN2	NEB 32–23	85,527	[50]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week	Bye Week
November 10	Michigan State	Ohio State

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 17	12:00 pm	Indiana	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, Pennsylvania	BTN	PSU 45–22	90,358	[51]
November 17	12:00 pm	Iowa	No. 23 Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan	ESPN	MICH 42–17	113,016	[52]
November 17	12:00 pm	Northwestern	Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, Michigan	ESPN2	NW 23–20	75,101	[53]
November 17	3:30 pm	Minnesota	No. 16 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska	BTN	NEB 38–14	85,330	[54]
November 17	3:30 pm	No. 6 Ohio State	Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin	ABC / ESPN2	OSU 21–14 OT	80,112	[55]
November 17	3:30 pm	Purdue	Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, Illinois (Purdue Cannon)	BTN	PUR 20–17	41,974	[56]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 23	12:00 pm	No. 17 Nebraska	Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, Iowa (Heroes Game)	ABC	NEB 13–7	69,805	[57]
November 24	12:00 pm	No. 20 Michigan	No. 4 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio (The Game)	ABC	OSU 26–21	105,889	[58]
November 24	12:00 pm	Illinois	Northwestern	Ryan Field • Evanston, Illinois (Land of Lincoln Trophy)	BTN	NW 50–14	32,415	[59]
November 24	12:00 pm	Indiana	Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette (Old Oaken Bucket)	BTN	PUR 56–35	42,638	[60]
November 24	3:30 pm	Michigan State	Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium • Minneapolis	BTN	MSU 26–10	44,194	[61]
November 24	3:30 pm	Wisconsin	Penn State	Beaver Stadium • University Park, Pennsylvania	ESPN2	PSU 24–21 OT	93,505	[62]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 1	8:00 pm	No. 14 Nebraska	Wisconsin	Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis (2012 Big Ten Championship)	FOX	WIS 70–31	41,260	[63]
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

September 29

• Minnesota @ Iowa (Iowa's record in homecoming games is 54-41-5)^[1]
• Wisconsin @ Nebraska 7 pm CT ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2 (Nebraska's record in homecoming games is 75-22-4)^[2]

October 6

• Michigan State @ Indiana (Indiana's record in homecoming games is 44-49-6)^[3]
• Nebraska @ Ohio State 8 pm ET ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2^[4]
• Northwestern @ Penn State (Penn State's record in homecoming games is 66-21-5)^[5]

October 13

• Illinois @ Michigan (Michigan's record in homecoming games is 84–27)^[6]
• Iowa @ Michigan State (Michigan State's record in homecoming games is 63-30-3)^[7]
• Northwestern @ Minnesota^[8]
• Wisconsin @ Purdue (Purdue's record in homecoming games is 50-35-4)^[9]

October 27

• Indiana @ Illinois (Illinois' record in homecoming games is 44-55-2)^[10]
• Iowa @ Northwestern^[11]
• Michigan State @ Wisconsin^[12]

The Big Ten has agreements with the following bowls:

Bowl Game	Date	Site	Television	Time (EST)	Visiting Team	Home Team	Score	Attendance	Ref.
Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas	December 28	Reliant Stadium • Houston, Texas	ESPN	9:00 pm	Minnesota	Texas Tech	L 31–34	50,386	[64]
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl	December 29	Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, Arizona	ESPN	10:15 pm	Texas Christian	Michigan State	W 17–16	44,617	[65]
Gator Bowl	January 1	EverBank Field • Jacksonville, Florida	ESPN2	12:00 pm	Mississippi State	#21 Northwestern	W 34–20	48,612	[66]
Heart of Dallas Bowl	January 1	Cotton Bowl • Dallas, Texas	ESPNU	12:00 pm	Purdue	Oklahoma State	L 14–58	48,313	[67]
Outback Bowl	January 1	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, Florida	ESPN	1:00 pm	#11 South Carolina	#19 Michigan	L 28–33	54,527	[68]
Capital One Bowl	January 1	Citrus Bowl • Orlando, Florida	ABC	1:00 pm	#6 Georgia	#23 Nebraska	L 31–45	59,712	[69]
Rose Bowl	January 1	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California	ESPN	5:00 pm	Wisconsin	#8 Stanford	L 14–20	93,359	[70]

Two name changes for Big Ten bowls this year. The Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl used to be known as the Insight Bowl and the Heart of Dallas Bowl used to be known as the TicketCity Bowl.

With only seven bowl eligible teams, the Big Ten is unable to place a team in the eighth bowl game they are contracted with, the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

Team	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Total
Illinois			1	1	1		1	4
Indiana
Iowa					1			1
Michigan					1	1		2
Michigan State		1		2				3
Minnesota
Nebraska						1	1	2
Northwestern
Ohio State		1		1			1	3
Penn State			1	1		1	1	4
Purdue		1						1
Wisconsin	1	1			1			3

	Rnd.	Pick No.	NFL team	Player	Pos.	College	Conf.	Notes
	1	31	Dallas Cowboys	Travis Frederick	C	Wisconsin	Big Ten	from San Francisco
	2	44	Carolina Panthers	Kawann Short	DT	Purdue	Big Ten
	2	48	Pittsburgh Steelers	Le'Veon Bell	RB	Michigan State	Big Ten
	2	49	New York Giants	Johnathan Hankins	DT	Ohio State	Big Ten
	2	58	Denver Broncos	Montee Ball	RB	Wisconsin	Big Ten
	3	86	Indianapolis Colts	Hugh Thornton	OG	Illinois	Big Ten
	3	87	Seattle Seahawks	Jordan Hill	DT	Penn State	Big Ten
	4	100	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Akeem Spence	DT	Illinois	Big Ten	from Oakland
	4	106	Miami Dolphins	Dion Sims	TE	Michigan State	Big Ten	from New Orleans via New York[13]
	4	120	Minnesota Vikings	Gerald Hodges	LB	Penn State	Big Ten
	4	126	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	William Gholston	DE	Michigan State	Big Ten	from New England[15]
	4	129	Baltimore Ravens	John Simon	DE	Ohio State	Big Ten
	5	135	Jacksonville Jaguars	Denard Robinson	WR	Michigan	Big Ten
	5	150	Pittsburgh Steelers	Terry Hawthorne	CB	Illinois	Big Ten
	5	159	Green Bay Packers	Micah Hyde	CB	Iowa	Big Ten
	5*	168	Baltimore Ravens	Ricky Wagner	OT	Wisconsin	Big Ten
	6	178	New York Jets	William Campbell	OG	Michigan	Big Ten
	6	186	Pittsburgh Steelers	Justin Brown	WR	Penn State	Big Ten
	6	190	Cincinnati Bengals	Rex Burkhead	RB	Nebraska	Big Ten
	7	213	Minnesota Vikings	Michael Mauti	LB	Penn State	Big Ten	from Arizona[R7 - 1]
	7	226	New England Patriots	Michael Buchanan	DE	Illinois	Big Ten	from Chicago via Tampa Bay[R7 - 2]
	7*	240	Cincinnati Bengals	Reid Fragel	OT	Ohio State	Big Ten
	7*	248	Tennessee Titans	Daimion Stafford	S	Nebraska	Big Ten

2012 records against FBS conferences:

Through January 1, 2013

Conference	Record
ACC	(1-1)
Big East	(3-0)
Big 12	(1-3)
C-USA	(5-0)
Independents	(1-4)
MAC	(9-3)
Mountain West	(3-0)
Pac-12	(1-4)
SEC	(2-3)
Sun Belt	(1-0)
WAC	(1-1)
TOTAL	(28-19)

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special Teams			Freshman
	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team
September 3	Le'Veon Bell	RB	MSU	Derrick Wells	DB	MINN	Mike Myer	PK	Iowa	Frankie Williams	DB	PUR
	Taylor Martinez	QB	NEB				Venric Mark	PR/KR	NW
September 10	Denard Robinson	QB	MICH	Chi Chi Ariguzo	LB	NW	Cody Webster	P	PUR	Devin Funchess	TE	MICH
September 17	Braxton Miller	QB	OSU	Michael Mauti	LB	PSU	Jeff Budzien	PK	NW	Nate Sudfeld	QB	IND
										Deion Barnes	DE	PSU
September 24	Le'Veon Bell	RB	MSU	Chris Borland	LB	WIS	Ameer Abdullah	PR	NEB	Imani Cross	RB	NEB
Oct. 1	Taylor Martinez	QB	NEB	Michael Mauti	LB	PSU	Brett Maher	PK/P	NEB	Mason Monheim	LB	ILL
	Kain Colter	QB	NW
Oct. 8	Denard Robinson	QB	MICH	Gerald Hodges	LB	PSU	Corey Brown	PR	OSU	Aaron Burbridge	WR	MSU
	Carlos Hyde	RB	OSU
Oct. 15	Montee Ball	RB	WIS	Jake Ryan	LB	MICH	Mike Myer	PK	Iowa	Nick VanHoose	CB	NW
Oct. 22	Taylor Martinez	QB	NEB	Jordan Hill	DT	PSU	Brendan Gibbons	PK	MICH	Kyle Carter	TE	PSU
Oct. 29	Kain Colter	QB	NW	Ryan Shazier	LB	OSU	Brett Maher	PK/P	NEB	Philip Nelson	QB	MIN
				Michael Carter	DB	MIN				David Santos	LB	NEB
Nov. 5	Cody Latimer	WR	IND	Ryan Shazier	LB	OSU	Mike Sadler	P	MSU	Bri'onte Dunn	RB	OSU
	Taylor Martinez	QB	NEB
Nov. 12	Devin Gardner	QB	MICH	Kawaan Short	DT	PUR	Brett Maher	P/PK	NEB	Mason Monheim	LB	ILL
	Montee Ball	RB	WIS
Nov. 19	Devin Gardner	QB	MICH	John Simon	DE	OSU	Corey Brown	PR	OSU	James Ross	LB	MICH
	Matt McGloin	QB	PSU							Dan Vitale	SB	NW
Nov. 26	Le'Veon Bell	RB	MSU	Jordan Hill	DT	PSU	Sam Ficken	PK	PSU	Frankie Williams	DB	PUR
	Robert Mavre	QB	PUR

Award	Player	School
Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year	Braxton Miller	Ohio State
Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year	John Simon	Ohio State
Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year	Deion Barnes	Penn State
Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year	Braxton Miller	Ohio State
Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year	Allen Robinson	Penn State
Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year	Montee Ball	Wisconsin
Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year	Jacob Pedersen	Wisconsin
Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year	Taylor Lewan	Michigan
Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year	John Simon	Ohio State
Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year	Michael Mauti	Penn State
Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year	Micah Hyde	Iowa
Bakken-Andersen Co-Kicker of the Year	Brett Maher	Nebraska
Bakken-Andersen Co-Kicker of the Year	Jeff Budzien	Northwestern
Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year	Will Hagerup	Michigan
Dave McClain/Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year	Bill O'Brien	Penn State

Coaches All-Conference Selections ^[17]

HONORABLE MENTION: Illinois: Akeem Spence; Indiana: Ted Bolser, Dan Feeney, Cody Latimer, Jason Spriggs; Iowa: C.J. Fiedorowicz, Anthony Hitchens, Mike Meyer, Matt Tobin; Michigan: J.T. Floyd, Jeremy Gallon, Brendan Gibbons, Will Hagerup, Roy Roundtree, Jake Ryan; Michigan State: Denicos Allen, William Gholston, Isaiah Lewis, Chris McDonald, Marcus Rush; Minnesota: Michael Carter; Nebraska: Ben Cotton, Ciante Evans, Justin Jackson, P.J. Smith; Northwestern: Ibraheim Campbell, Brian Mulroe, Tyler Scott, Patrick Ward; Ohio State: C.J. Barnett, Travis Howard, Corey Linsley, Jack Mewhort, Andrew Norwell; Penn State: Adrian Amos, Deion Barnes, Kyle Carter, Mike Farrell, Matt McGloin, Stephon Morris; Purdue: Antavian Edison, Josh Johnson, Cody Webster; Wisconsin: Beau Allen, Marcus Cromartie, Travis Frederick, David Gilbert, Ethan Hemer, Drew Meyer, Devin Smith, Dezmen Southward, Mike Taylor

There was a tie among the Coaches for the Offensive Guard honor, so three players received the first team honor and only one on the second team. Coaches also selected three second-team running backs and three second-team defensive linemen.

Media All-Conference Selections

HONORABLE MENTION: Illinois: Jonathan Brown, Michael Buchanan, Terry Hawthorne, Graham Pocic, Akeem Spence, Hugh Thornton; Indiana: Ted Bolser, Mitch Ewald, Dan Feeney, Greg Heban, Will Matte, Jason Spriggs, Shane Wynn; Iowa: C.J. Fiedorowicz, James Ferentz, Joe Gaglione, Anthony Hitchens, Mike Meyer, James Morris; Michigan: William Campbell, J.T. Floyd, Devin Funchess, Jeremy Gallon, Brendan Gibbons, Jordan Kovacs, Patrick Omameh, Denard Robinson, Craig Roh, Roy Roundtree; Michigan State: Denicos Allen, Isaiah Lewis, Chris McDonald, Marcus Rush; Minnesota: Michael Carter, Ra'Shede Hageman, Troy Stoudermire; Nebraska: Ameer Abdullah, Will Compton, Ben Cotton, Ciante Evans, Justin Jackson, Brett Maher (punter), Kyler Reed, P.J. Smith, Baker Steinkuhler; Northwestern: Chi Chi Ariguzo, Ibraheim Campbell, Kain Colter, David Nwabuisi, Damien Proby, Tyler Scott, Patrick Ward; Ohio State: C.J. Barnett, Corey Brown, Christian Bryant, Reid Fragel, Corey Linsley, Etienne Sabino; Penn State: Adrian Amos, Deion Barnes, Mike Farrell, Matt McGloin, Stephon Morris, Sean Stanley, Zach Zwinak; Purdue: Ricardo Allen, Antavian Edison, Landon Feichter, Cody Webster; Wisconsin: Beau Allen, Chris Borland, Marcus Cromartie, David Gilbet, Ryan Groy, Drew Meyer, Jacob Pedersen, Dezmen Southward

There are many outlets that award All-America honors in football. The NCAA uses five official selectors to also determine Consensus and Unanimous All-America honors. The five teams used by the NCAA to compile the consensus team are from the Associated Press, the AFCA, the FWAA, The Sporting News and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. A point system is used to calculate the consensus honors. The point system consists of three points for first team, two points for second team and three points for third team. No honorable mention or fourth team or lower are used in the computation.

The teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named a Consensus All-American. If there is a tie at a position in football for first team then the players who are tied shall be named to the team. A player named first-team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is recognized as a Unanimous All-American.^[18]

Player	School	Position	Selector	Consensus/Unanimous
Montee Ball	Wisconsin	RB	AFCA, Walter Camp, AP, ESPN, Pro Football Weekly	Consensus
Taylor Lewan	Michigan	OL	Walter Camp, AP, ESPN, Sports Illustrated
Travis Frederick	Wisconsin	OL	Pro Football Weekly
Johnathan Hankins	Ohio State	DL	Scout.com
Venric Mark	Northwestern	PR	Sporting News, FWAA, CBS Sports
Michael Mauti	Penn State	LB	ESPN
Bradley Roby	Ohio State	CB	ESPN

The following players were first team Academic All-Americans: Rex Burkhead (NEB), Patrick Ward (NW), and Pete Massaro (PSU) all repeated from the 2011 first team. John Urschel (PSU) and Adam Replogle (IND) were also first team selections.^[19]

• Montee Ball, Wisconsin – Doak Walker Award

Team	Stadium	Capacity	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Game 8	Total	Average	% of Capacity
Illinois	Memorial Stadium	60,670	43,441	45,369	46,539	46,734	47,981	46,912	41,974	—	318,950	45,564	75.1%
Indiana	Memorial Stadium	52,929	41,882	48,186	45,979	48,880	40,646	43,240	—	—	268,813	44,802	84.6%
Iowa	Kinnick Stadium	70,585	70,585	70,585	70,585	70,585	70,585	70,585	69,805	—	493,315	70,473	99.8%
Michigan	Michigan Stadium	109,901	112,522	110,708	110,922	113,833	112,510	113,016	—	—	673,511	112,251	102.1%
Michigan State	Spartan Stadium	75,005	78,709	79,219	74,204	76,705	70,211	73,522	75,101	—	527,671	75,381	100.5%
Minnesota	TCF Bank Stadium	50,805	47,022	44,921	50,805	49,651	41,062	48,801	44,194	—	326,456	46,636	91.8%
Nebraska	Memorial Stadium	81,067	85,425	85,290	84,923	85,962	86,160	85,527	85,330	—	598,617	85,517	105.5%
Northwestern	Ryan Field	47,130	31,644	32,597	28,641	33,129	47,330	44,121	32,415	—	249,877	35,696	75.7%
Ohio State	Ohio Stadium	102,329	105,039	104,745	105,232	105,019	106,102	105,290	105,311	105,899	842,637	105,329	102.9%
Penn State	Beaver Stadium	106,572	97,186	98,792	93,680	95,769	107,818	90,358	93,505	—	676,308	96,615	90.6%
Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium	62,500	40,572	40,217	45,481	50,105	46,007	40,098	42,638	—	305,118	43,588	69.7%
Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium	80,321	79,568	79,332	79,806	80,096	80,587	80,538	80,112	—	560,039	80,005	99.6%