The last time the Wisconsin Badgers played Michigan State, their national championship hopes seemed to die. This time around, Bret Bielema and Co. is hoping the consolation prize of a return trip to Pasadena doesn't die.

"We're looking forward to it," Wisconsin linebacker Chris Borland said this week. "We were frustrated with the way that game ended. But we're not going to overplay the revenge thing."

Wisconsin earned the right to play in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game by virtue of their 45-7 thrashing of Penn State last Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium. Michigan State wrapped up the Legends Division title the week before.

The last time these two teams met back on Oct. 22, Wisconsin suffered two serious breakdowns. Of course, the Kirk Cousins-to-Keith Nichol "Hail Mary" has been the highlight that has been played ad nauseum in the weeks since, but just as damaging was the Badgers total team breakdown in the final two minutes of the first half.

After a long, almost 10-minute Wisconsin drive stalled at the Michigan State 13-yard line, rather than go for the one yard needed for the first down, Bielema decided to try for a 17-9 lead with a Phillip Welch field goal.

From there, it was one disaster after another.

Welch's field goal was blocked, resulting in the Spartans getting possession at their own 20-yard line.

Eight plays later, Cousins found B.J. Cunningham open for a 35-yard touchdown strike. Michigan State led, 16-14 with just 1:15 left before halftime.

After a quick three-and-out in where Michigan State used all three of their timeouts in between plays, Brad Nortman's punt was blocked by Kyler Elsworth into the Wisconsin end zone for a quick and easy Spartans touchdown.

In the blink of an eye, a potential halftime lead of 17-9 was a demoralizing 23-14 deficit, caused by simple special teams failures, not to even mention the Hail Mary pass that effectively took the Badgers out of national championship consideration.

Certainly no one needed the play to be shown over and over to remember it. Badgers fans certainly remember it. They aren't alone

Even Bielema admitted this week that he still thinks about the game's final play, however, but added that he feels his team used the as a learning opportunity.

As for Saturday's re-match, Spartans coach Mark Dantonio says he prefers a balanced offense, but the temptation to pass the ball when you have Kirk Cousins under center can be a challenge. Cousins threw 21 touchdowns against just six interceptions this year, and averaged 227.9 yards per game. Cousins' favorite target was receiver B.J. Cunningham, who caught 67 passes this season for 1,125 yards and 9 touchdowns.

On Oct. 22, Cunningham went over the century mark with 102 yards on six receptions, including a 35-yard strike for his only touchdown late in the second quarter.

On the ground, the Spartans feature a two-man rotation of Le'Veon Bell and Edwin Baker. Bell is the closer, with 10 touchdowns to go along with his 794 yards on 147 carries. Baker carried the ball 155 times for 624 yards and four touchdowns. On Oct. 22, both were contained, with the Badgers getting beaten through the air primarily.

In a somewhat ironic twist, Wisconsin, for perhaps the first time, are likewise beating teams through the air, despite their record-setting running back.

This week, the Big Ten is announcing their award winners, trickling out one trophy at a time. For the first time, Wisconsin not only had the conference's top running back in Montee Ball (who won the fittingly named Ameche-Dayne Trophy) but also the conference's top quarterback in Russell Wilson, winner of the first ever Griese-Brees Trophy.

Few quarterbacks have come to Madison and been asked to do more than simply manage the game. Mike Samuel was one of the best game managers in recent memory. John Stocco was a great leader, but limited in passing ability. Brooks Bollinger won more games than any other quarterback and even started a handful of games in the NFL, but no one ever thought to invite him to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

In just one short, incredible season, Russell Wilson has become the greatest quarterback that Wisconsin has ever had.

Wilson leads the nation in quarterback efficiency rating (192.9) and has thrown 28 touchdowns to just three interceptions. Two of them came Oct 22. against Michigan State.

"The number one thing Russell brings to the table is consistency," Bielema said on Monday. "No matter what you are talking about, whether its football play, whether its character, whether its practice habits, preparation, execution, coming through in clutch situations, third down efficiency, red zone efficiency, everything about Russell Wilson is consistent. Everything you get one day you get the next."

This time around, Wilson and the rest of his offensive teammates will have to prepare for is the return of Spartans defensive end William Gohlston, who was suspended for the first game between the two teams. Gohlston was shelved by the Big Ten for punching Michigan offensive lineman Taylor Lewan on Oct. 15.

Without Gohlston to contend with seven weeks ago, Ball ran for 115 yards and one touchdown. In the four games since Wisconsin's los at Ohio State Oct. 29, Ball has been on a tear, averaging nearly 200 yards and 3.25 touchdowns per contest.

Conversely, the Spartans have been solid against the run, and currently rank 11th in the country in that category, giving up 102.5 yards per game.

In terms of intangibles, Michigan State would seem to have hunger on their side. The Spartans haven't played in the Rose Bowl since 1988, and have never played in a BCS game. Moreover, Michigan State hasn't won any bowl game in a decade, their last win coming in the now-defunct Silicon Valley Classic in 2001.

Let's just say Michigan State's recent football history is less than glorious.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin desperately wants to avenge last year's heartbreaking loss in Pasadena. The winner on Saturday will head back to the "Granddaddy of Them All."

Three Key Matchups:

Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins vs. Wisconsin DB's Marcus Cromartie, Aaron Henry, Shelton Johnson, and Antonio Fenelus. The last time Cousins went up against these guys, we all know what happened...as does everyone in the country because ESPN kept playing the highlight over and over.

Wisconsin C Travis Frederick vs. Michigan State NT Kevin Pickelman. Frederick, a sophomore, is subbing for the injured Peter Konz. Pickelman, a senior anchor of Dantonio's defense wants to disrupt Ball and Wilson. Control the line of scrimmage, control the game.

Michigan State CB Darqueze Dennard vs. Wisconsin WR Nick Toon. Toon has become one of the program's best all-time receivers in his four years in Madison. This year, teaming with Wilson has been a boon to his NFL hopes, catching 52 passes for 788 yards with 9 touchdowns. Give Wilson a sliver of an open Nick Toon, and he'll hit him.

Other Games of Note:

SEC Championship Game; LSU vs. Georgia. No matter who wins, chaos will ensue. Assuming LSU, the consensus No. 1 team in the country wins, they will very likely take on division rival Alabama in a re-match of the slugfest the two teams had Nov. 5. Lest the SEC honks try to tell you that game was a "classic" don't forget the Crimson Tide missed four field goals and lost at home. Aesthetically pleasing of a game, it was not.

Big 12 Championship Game; Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State. The only hope the No. 3 Cowboys have of going to the national championship is to knock off their arch rivals, something they haven't done in 9 years. Oklahoma State's only los was in double overtime at Iowa State Nov. 18.

Pac 12 Championship Game; UCLA vs. Oregon. UCLA lost 50-0 to USC last week and advanced to the title game with a 6-6 record. Their coach, Rick Neuheisel, has already been fired. The only reason they are playing and not the Trojans is because they are still serving NCAA sanctions from the Reggie Bush case. Expect this game to be ugly. Very, very ugly.

ACC Championship Game: Virginia Tech vs. Clemson. The Hokies only loss came at the hands Tigers Oct. 1, a 23-3 shellacking at Lane Stadium. Last week, Virginia Tech throttled Virginia 38-0, while Clemson, who started out 8-0, has lost three of their last four games, including suffering a 34-13 rout last Saturday night to South Carolina.

For what it's worth:

With the addition of Nebraska to the Big Ten, the Big Ten crossed the six-million mark for the first time in 2011.

As the higher-ranked team, Michigan State is considered the "home" team and will wear their green uniform jerseys. Wisconsin will wear their white jerseys.

My prediction:

Wisconsin 31, Michigan State 24