The curse of the Big 10?
In 2006 the Wisconsin Badgers went 11-1 with their only loss to Michigan who finished the season 11-1 and #3 in the BCS. Unfortunately the Badgers were left out of the BCS due to the limit of 2 teams per conference rule, as #1 Ohio State (12-0) also went to the BCS bowls.
In 2010 #9 Michigan State (11-1) was left out of the BCS bowls as #5 Wisconsin (11-1) and #6 Ohio State (11-1) both went to the BCS.
Now it 2011, the Big 10 fields three great teams again. #1 Penn State (12-0), #3 Michigan State (12-0), and #6 Illinois (10-1).
The loser of the Big 10 title game won't drop much in the standings, and if it is Penn State odds are they will stay ahead of the Fighting Illini due to their H2H victory over Illinois. The sad loser of the Big 10 season will be the one team that is ranked lowest in the final BCS poll of the season, due to the new selection procedure of taking the highest possible candidate most of the time.
Only time will tell, but at least there won't be a controversy about who deserves to be in the title game. Oh wait, there are 4 undefeated teams with 3 from BCS conferences? Darn..