Phil Miller's College Football Insider: Spartans' stunning catch not the final word

As the ball deflected off receiver B.J. Cunningham's visor, then off his arms and then settled into the arms of Michigan State teammate Keith Nichol, the play had the feel of history. The added dramatics of officials ruling Nichol down outside the end zone, and being overruled by a replay that caught a tenth-of-a-second thrust of the ball over the goal line, only added to the where-were-you decisiveness of the moment.

Michigan State's Hail Mary jackpot, giving the Spartans a shocking victory over national-championship-or-bust Wisconsin last Saturday, almost certainly will go down as the Big Ten season's most indelible play, the sort that will be replayed on Michigan TV sets for years.

And for all that, here's the most likely Rose Bowl impact of Nichol's catch:

None.

The practical effect of the Big Ten's new divisional setup and championship game has been understood in the abstract by coaches and fans since Nebraska was invited to join the league. But Saturday's thrilling finish gives the Spartans, Badgers and the rest of the Big Ten their first concrete experience in two-division dynamics.

Lesson No. 1: Division games are far more important.

"The kids took it hard, really tough. They're just not used to it," Badgers coach Bret Bielema said. "I had to remind them, our fate remains in our own hands. Tough as it was, we're still in control as long as we just clean things up and take care of our own business."

In previous seasons, a devastating loss like Wisconsin's, in a game matching two of last season's three co-champions, would all but end any chance of a Rose Bowl bid. The Badgers would be a one-loss team chasing an unbeaten conference leader, and any hopes of a Big Ten title would require winning the remainder of their games and hoping that Michigan State lost twice (since the Spartans now own the head-to-head tiebreaker) or creating a three- or four-way tie and hoping other tiebreakers go their way.

With the conference's Rose Bowl berth (or BCS Championship Game invitation, the one goal that really did slip away from the 6-1 Badgers in that end zone on Saturday) being awarded to the Dec. 3 title-game winner in Indianapolis, however, the out-of-division game merely eliminates Wisconsin's margin of error. At 2-1 but with games remaining against each of the Leaders Division contenders, Wisconsin is one of five Big Ten teams (Michigan State, Nebraska, Iowa and Penn State are the others) that can still assure itself of a trip to Pasadena by winning the remainder of its games.

That's why it's important for Wisconsin to get over the pain, and Michigan State to avoid a letdown, because this week's games -- the Spartans head to Nebraska, the Badgers visit Ohio State -- figure to have far more impact on the division races than what happened in Spartan Stadium.

Providing more hope

"Whoever wins this game probably puts themselves in the driver's seat," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said of the showdown in Lincoln, the end of the Spartans' four-game gauntlet that has already included victories over Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin. "Big game, big environment. It's a national-type game."