Big Ten Championship Game 2011 Projections: Michigan State Locks Up A Spot

With just a week left in the Big Ten regular season, the Michigan State Spartans have already locked up a spot in the conference's inaugural championship game set for Dec. 3 in Indianapolis. It's the first time that the conference title will ever be decided by an official title game, as the Big Ten decided to move to this format after expanded with the addition of Nebraska this year.

The winner of the game will get the automatic BCS berth that comes with a conference title, presumably meaning a trip to the Rose Bowl. After beating Indiana 55-3 on Saturday, Michigan State is one of the teams that will be appearing there after locking up the Legends division. They're currently 6-1 in conference so far this season while second-place Michigan is 5-2, but the Spartans hold the tiebreaker after beating the Wolverines earlier this year.

The other side of the equation, the Leaders division, still hasn't been determined yet. Penn State currently leads with a 6-1 record, but they still need to beat Wisconsin on Saturday to land a spot in the title game. If the Badgers beat the Nittany Lions, they'll have identical 6-2 conference records but Wisconsin will have the tiebreaker.

For more on the Big Ten title game, stay tuned to SB Nation's NCAA football page.