After much debate and with much anticipation, the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game kicked off on Dec. 3, 2011 at 8:17 EST at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The game featured a rematch of a classic regular-season battle between Wisconsin and Michigan State, a game that ended with the Spartans winning on a Hail Mary in East Lansing.

The 13th-ranked Spartans represented the Legends Division while 15th-ranked Wisconsin had won the Leaders Division. Both teams were stocked with talent, as an astounding 40 future NFL players took the field. What follows is an oral history of the game, told by those who played, coached, covered and watched it that night.

 

Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune
This was unchartered territory. The Big Ten had resisted a conference title game for a while. Ohio State in 2006, beats Michigan and then has to wait 51 days to play Florida, gets demolished by Florida and then all of a sudden there's this feeling of 'Wait a second, we want to shorten this gap before the bowl games, especially before a BCS title game.' So we go into this experiment and I think everyone is curious. What is the crowd going to be like? What is the game going to be like?

Jim Delany, Commissioner, Big Ten Conference
We had a little bit of nerves going in just because it's the first one. But I had done a lot of work with Indianapolis over the years, from Final Fours to men's (basketball) tournaments, to women's (basketball) tournaments. It's a great facility and pretty much a turnkey operation. They did not disappoint. We had high expectations and they met and exceeded our expectations, but that's not surprising with Indianapolis.

Charles Davis, FOX Sports
I remember going into it thinking, 'Wow, we're going to be a part of something historic.' Little did we know – we thought the game would be good – but little did we know it would be that good.

Referee Bill LeMonnier, retired Big Ten official currently working as a rules analyst for ESPN
We all were really super honored that we got to be selected for the first one ever. Only one group of people gets to do that. It was phenomenal to be a part of that first experience.

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN.com
There was curiosity about what it was going to be like. Both teams had had great seasons. With Wisconsin, it was clear to me that they were the most talented team in the conference, with Russell Wilson, Montee (Ball), James White, Jared Abbrederis and some pretty good players still on defense even though J.J. Watt wasn't there. Michigan State had Kirk Cousins and a really good receiving corps. They had some studs on defense as well, especially in the secondary. It was a game I was really looking forward to because of the talent on the field.

Jeff Duckworth, former Wisconsin wide receiver, current offensive graduate assistant at UW
When you really look back at the players and coaches, you realize how much talent was on that field. It was ridiculous, on both sides.

Davis
People were eyeing TV contracts. When that TV contract was going to come up for the Big Ten, FOX wanted to be a player in it. We were lucky enough to have the Big Ten title game but we didn't have a piece of the regular season. I think we all felt a little extra pressure that it was incumbent upon us to put on a really good broadcast and a good show so that the Big Ten people would be impressed enough that when time came for that contract to come up, that they would consider us as a player in the deal.

Rittenberg
It was going to be a really good matchup between teams that had sort of established a bit of a rivalry in the years prior. Wisconsin had lost to Michigan State in East Lansing the year before but had still gone to the Rose Bowl over the Spartans, which was a point of angst and contention for Michigan State people.

Jared Abbrederis, former Wisconsin wide receiver
I wouldn't say it was about revenge but more so redemption, because the game we lost on the Hail Mary, I think in our eyes, we should have won that game. Redemption is a better word to use. We wanted to come back that game and prove who was the best in the Big Ten.

 

Antonio Fenelus, former Wisconsin cornerback, current defensive graduate assistant at UW
There was a revenge factor. The year before they beat us in East Lansing. That year they beat us, we should have won, they got the Hail Mary. It was like, 'We're tired of it.'

Greenstein
And then on top of it you have these two intriguing teams that played probably the most fascinating regular season game of the season and we're going to have a rematch. So who is that going to favor? There were a lot of intriguing questions heading into the game.

Brad Nortman, former Wisconsin punter, current Jacksonville Jaguars punter
You're used to playing in Camp Randall or another team's stadium and it's everybody cheering for one team. You go there and it's 50-50, or just about, with Michigan State fans and Wisconsin fans. It was just one of those cool, intimate back-and-forth games with fans represented on both sides. It was a really unique experience.

 

Paul Chryst, former offensive coordinator, current Wisconsin head coach
We wanted to be on the left hash and wanted to be in short yardage. After pregame I went up to Montee and Russell and said, 'Are you guys still good? First third-and-short, left hash, we're going with it.' They said, 'Gotta call it.' So I said, 'Make it work' and they did. It was a heck of a throw by Montee, he stood in there and took a shot. That early in the game, sending Russell out to catch a pass, maybe not the smartest move.

Russell Wilson, former Wisconsin and current Seattle Seahawks quarterback
I was hoping it was going to be a touchdown.

Davis
At one point, when Wisconsin was establishing itself, I remember talking to Gus Johnson between series and saying to him at one point 'We might be one series away from this game getting out of hand.' And sure enough, here comes Michigan State. Gus reminded me of that later in the game and said, 'Well, it certainly didn't get out of hand, did it?'

Chryst
I remember never being comfortable. I felt like some of the stops they got on defense, it was things that we could do better. So it wasn't like we had to scrap the plan. I remember feeling confident, but never comfortable.

Davis
When Michigan State made their run, (Mark) Dantonio had gone for it on a fourth down and threw a long touchdown pass, there was a touchdown pass that ended in a lateral, there were some wild plays, so now the excitement of the whole game really, really amped up. It wasn't just both teams slugging at each other.

Fenelus
It seemed like they were pulling everything out of the hat to come up with a win. It was the extra point fire pass, and then it was the double pass to Cunningham, and then it was the pitch-back from Nichol. You had to be on your Ps and Qs because you never knew what was coming next. It was fun. It felt like a true rivalry game.

 

Fenelus
Oh, man. I was right there. I was covering Cunningham and they threw it to Nichol. I went tackle him – I forget who missed the tackle – and then he pitches it back to Cunningham and he runs it in. You never see plays like that. It was a heads-up play by them. It was just like, 'Wow, what's next? What do they have up their sleeve next?'

Abbrederis
I think we ran that same play back-to-back. We ran the play and I caught it, but they had whistled it dead (for a false start penalty on Josh Oglesby). Russell threw it anyway and I caught it in the end zone, but I had to run back (to the huddle). So I remember running the route again thinking 'I'm not gonna get the ball this time,' because we'd just ran that play. Russell made a great play with getting facemasked and still being able to get the ball off. I wasn't expecting to be open and I think seeing him roll to the other side helped (shift the defense), but honestly it was just a great play call. We put that play in just for that week and put it in the game plan. Coach Chryst came up with that one, and it was just a perfect call for the defense that they had. We executed it.

Wilson
They brought a cornerback blitz and I had to get away from the guy, shed him. I believe it was a double post and I looked to the inside guy, and Abbrederis was running down the left sideline for a big-time touchdown.

Chryst
Russell, when he's moving around back in the pocket, it looks disorganized, but everything was purposeful with him. It was like orchestrated chaos. You're amazed that it's happening but not shocked. Guys around him knew that. It's a great example of how one good player can elevate others. Guys understood that the play was never over, the game was never over and he made them believe that. When those plays happen, you just kind of laugh and shake your head and say, 'I believe it,' because it's not the first time we've seen this.

Davis
I remember meeting him (Wilson) for the first time and what happened to me and our crew was the same thing that happens to everyone the first time you meet him, you're just blown away. And then you understood how he captured that team so quickly when he hit campus. The biggest thing (during the game) was just how he conducted himself and didn't allow his teammates to get caught up in, 'Oh my God, what's happened to our lead? Oh my God, what's going on now?' I think his calm and his resolve played a big part in that team hanging in the game. Just watching him play was a joy.

 

Wilson
I knew I had to make a play, find a way. I always tell myself that. 'It's fourth down, you gotta give a guy a shot.'

Chryst
That was the play (laughing). No, we actually called something that had been pretty good that day. But then Russell got flushed and Duck actually pulled out of what he was doing and Russell just heaved it.

Wilson
I dropped back and got pressured a little bit so I slid to the left. I was trying to look for Abbrederis coming across the field. I believe Nick (Toon) was hurt at that point, so he was out of the game. I was trying to find Abbrederis but he was covered pretty good. I knew Duckworth was going down the seam.

Duckworth
Coach Chryst, that's one of his staple plays. I went out and ran it, and they covered it well, but Russell did his thing and bought time and threw it up and gave me a chance to make a play. That's something he'd been doing all year; he was always big about giving us receivers a chance when he threw it up. I heard the crowd and turned around and that's when I saw him throw it over. From there it was just trying to go get it.

Abbrederis
Nick (Toon) was out at that time, so I moved over to the X receiver, so I was on the other side of the field. I don't know if I should have been in Duck's spot or not. We were just shuffling around quick when he (Toon) went out. Russell threw it up and Duck made a great play on it. That's what he (Duckworth) did all the time, though. He didn't get too many opportunities, but when he came in, he made plays. The ball was in the air and I was just watching it, 'Come on, Duck,' and he came down with it. It was just a new sense of life for us.

Chryst
You couldn't have said, 'We're going to call this play and, Duck, this is where you're going to be and, Russell, you know that and put the ball there.' There's two guys making a play in a big way.

Wilson
We had talked so much about attacking the football and he had been doing it all year, in practice and in games. I gave him a shot and he went up and got it. That's what you need. You need a guy like Duckworth to go make some big plays for you. He was something spectacular in that game.

Duckworth
I was thinking, 'Just try to go make a play, try to get a pass interference, something, just attack it.' It was just kind of a natural reaction. I pushed off a little bit but you're just thinking about attacking it.

Chryst
It was fourth down so as the play in transpiring, I'm thinking that it's good that Russell is giving us a chance. If that's on second down, it's definitely, 'What are we doing?'

Wilson
I was thinking, 'He's got it,' all the way.

Rittenberg
He just brought an element that we haven't seen with Wisconsin quarterbacks. He had the mobility in the pocket, not just to scramble but to scramble to space to then make a throw and you saw that in the game. He was just so good at extending plays.

Greenstein
Russell was a finalist for the Tribune Silver Football. I went to Madison a few days after the Big Ten championship game to interview him and I thought the best way to talk to Russell would be in the film room. So we reviewed some of these plays and Russell was diagramming some of these, and in that case I think there was certainly some luck involved. But Russell was so good at keeping plays alive and knowing all of his options down the field that it doesn't surprise me he was able to pull that one out.

 

Davis
When he hit on that fourth down pass, wow. I still remember my partner Gus Johnson making those calls. You know, Gus in big moments, there's no one better. My goal was to just stay out of the way and let him have those moments because he's going to capture them. And boy he captured it perfectly.

The man's timing about plays and big games and moments is truly incredible.

Duckworth
I feel like I've seen the play quite a bit. People – especially being back here – people remind me of it all the time. (Fellow graduate assistant) Antonio (Fenelus) messes with me about it. It's definitely at the top (of plays in his career), and it's probably the top game, too. It was one of the most fun games.

Wilson
We had to find a way to make a play. Obviously on two-point plays you want to extend the play if it's not there right away and give him a chance, and (Jacob) Pedersen made a ridiculous catch.

Fenelus
PJ (Peniel Jean) came out of coverage, I remember, he was a young redshirt freshman playing on third downs. Coach (Chris) Ash had worked on it all week: Cover 2, stay back even if the quarterback runs. Because he (Cousins) got out of the pocket and started to scramble a little bit – but that's what they do to try to get you to come forward – and I remember him throwing it right over (Jean's) head. I was just thinking 'I hope he's out, I hope he's out.' It was close. I didn't see it enough to know for sure.

LeMonnier
The receiver (Keyshawn Martin) went high in the air for it and he really made one heck of an athletic play as he secured the ball, airborne, of trying to reach back with one foot and toe tap inbounds because he knew he was going to end up out of bounds. When he came down, he did get his toe inbounds but his foot was coming down simultaneously, so it wasn't a true toe tap. But the officials on the field thought he was inbounds, they ruled it a catch, it was going to be a first down for Michigan State (at the Wisconsin 34-yard line), late in the fourth quarter (2:57 left in the game). It went to a replay review and there were two things they saw: they felt that it wasn't a clear toe, they felt the foot came down with part of it on the line, and then as he fell to the ground, he did bobble the ball. So it was an excellent replay reversal, that made it fourth down and then Michigan State punted. It was a play made for replay, and it was good that they got it correct because that could have had a huge impact on the game.

LeMonnier
The only thing that I was aware of, it's a big stage, and especially in that situation, you don't want a phantom foul. Before that punt, I looked across and I saw that it was fourth-and-3, it wasn't fourth-and-6. Now that shouldn't enter my mind whether I'm going to call roughing the kicker or running into the kicker, but I felt myself in a good mindset.

Fenelus
I still talk to (long snapper Kyle) Wojta about this play whenever I see him. I just remember Coach (Charlie) Partridge saying, 'I think we're going to call a timeout.' He was the special teams coordinator at the time. He says, 'We're going to line up and then we're going to call a timeout just to see what they line up in, see if they're going to try to block it.' I don't think Wojta heard it. I was the left gunner, and I just remember somebody, I think it was Coach Partridge or Coach Bielema, saying 'Don't snap it!' I think I was the only one that heard it from the sideline. So I'm yelling at Wojta, 'Don't snap it!' and he puts his head down and snaps the ball.

Nortman
I can't really see anything down the field so I'm assessing what I'm doing and looking up at the punt. Then I feel contact in my midsection, the thigh of my kicking leg, and it was enough momentum for me to go down with it. By the time I felt that pressure and the hit on my side I had no balance to stay up, and I was on the ground before I knew what happened. I turned and saw the flag, and I was pretty happy about it at the time. Once I saw the yellow, I knew we were good to go.

Davis
As soon as I saw the punter go down, I thought, 'Oh, they got a problem here.' It wasn't the biggest hit in the world but it was significant enough that it had to be called.

Abbrederis
When he punted it, I think I saw the flag right away so I could relax a little, but you never know what the call is going to be. When Martin got the ball and started running all over the place and ended up taking it back, it was just 'Oh my gosh,' and there's a pit in your stomach. You never really know. You didn't take a breath of fresh air until the ref made the call.

LeMonnier
As the player came in, he came in untouched, he didn't get pushed or blocked into him. He got enough of him that, to me, it was not a hard call.

Fenelus
I'm thinking 'Oh my gosh,' because we really didn't get anybody down field. I was running to the left and he (Martin) broke all the way to our right. When they said running into the kicker, I got pretty pumped. Brad saved us on that one.

 

LeMonnier
The tough thing for Michigan State was, they ran that thing back to the 2-yard line and got knocked out of bounds. As he was returning it, I've got the goal line back at that end, and as he was running it back, I said to myself, 'Whether he scores or doesn't score, it's really immaterial because this is going back to the previous spot and Wisconsin's getting a new first down.'

Wilson
I didn't see the flag right away. Me and Coach Chryst were on the phone getting ready for the next possession, if need be.

Davis
I felt so bad for the poor kid from Michigan State who was an Indianapolis native. I still remember Bill LeMonnier, the referee. The look on his face was like 'I don't want to throw this flag, but you've given me no choice.'

Rittenberg
The penalty on the punt, Brad Nortman, the look on his face after the game, he knows he stole it. But hey, that's what you're supposed to do.

Nortman
Michigan State fans still troll me on Twitter and call me a flopper, but it was the right call. I have no doubt about that. It was a great moment and I was happy to be part of a game-clinching play like that.

Greenstein
As a fan of neither team specifically, as a fan of entertaining football, it was disappointing. Because it's been such a great game and both teams have made plays. You don't want it to end on a mistake, just like you wouldn't want a game to end on a bad call. And that was a mistake. It was obviously the proper call, had to be called, but as a neutral observer it was disappointing to have that happen.

Davis
I just remember the Michigan State crowd just losing their mind, thinking this is a ticky-tack foul. Where we were broadcasting, right in front of us was heavy, heavy Michigan State fans. And they all turned around and screamed at us in the booth like we had something to do with it. I understand where they're coming from, but to this day I still say that he had no choice but to drop the flag there.

LeMonnier
My buddies that are from Michigan that worked the Big Ten with me, they always gave me some razzing, saying that all around the city of Lansing they had No Trespassing signs with my name on it, all kidding of course.

I was at Michigan State recently because I work for ESPN now and I had one of the Michigan State people come up to me and say 'You know, I've been wanting to be mad at you for about five years now but I can't. Your running into the kicker call was really the right call. But I wanted so bad to be mad at you.'

 

Nortman
It was great to get some revenge on Michigan State. We had lost the game up there that we felt like we should have and could have won. All the stars kind of aligned for us to meet again. We had a special team that year. To play against a really good team -- both those rosters were littered with NFL players -- it was a really special game to be a part of. It will always be near and dear to my heart.

Wilson
To think about the Big Ten Conference and to think about all the history that's in this conference and to think that that's the first-ever Big Ten championship ever won in a title game and it's by the Wisconsin Badgers and I was a part of that team, it's special. It's something that people will never forget for a long time because there's so much history, so many great schools, so many great players from this conference, I think that means something. One of the best memories of my sports career, for sure.

Greenstein
I remember it being a glorious night. It was just wildly entertaining. I recall thinking, 'This is exactly what Jim Delany wanted.' In the SEC you had these LSU-Alabama games that you felt like were 'Alright, whoever kicks more field goals is going to win.' The Big Ten didn't have a team that was in the national hunt that year but that conference title game had to be the most entertaining of them all. Even though you didn't have a team that was vying for a BCS title, you could stand up and say 'Man, these guys put on a show.'

LeMonnier
When I think back on my 20 years in the Big Ten, if I picked the top five games that I look back and say 'Wow, was that great to be around,' this game is going to be in the top five.

Rittenberg
It was a fun crowd, it was a fun atmosphere. One thing that was different about it is that you had a meaningful Big Ten game late in the season played indoors. It kind of set this tone for a different type of style. And if you look at the scores, other than last year, it's been a pretty high-scoring championship game that's almost un-Big Ten like, I think, largely because it's in a domed stadium. Those two teams sort of set the tone with a lot of big plays on offense.

Greenstein
A lot of folks, including me, thought the game should be played outdoors. This is Big Ten football. Play it at Soldier Field. Jim wanted it to be played on a fast track, he wanted to show that the Big Ten has really good skill guys. And that's what it showed because the skill guys in the game were outstanding.

Bill Hancock, former Executive Director of the BCS and current Executive Director of the College Football Playoff
Surely no one who was there will ever forget it. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric and the competition was fantastic. I think Jim Delany said something like 'Wow' when he stood on the podium to present the trophy. It was a great night for college football.

Delany
The game lived up to the hype. We had about 64,000 fans, just a tad short of a sellout for our first game. It was a big ratings winner, well-played, exciting. It was our first rodeo with a championship game, but we'd been around Indianapolis and we had high expectations. The game met those. The venue met those. FOX met those. It was a great way to kick it off.
 

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Interviews by Brian Lucas and Brian Mason of UW Athletic Communications.