The University if Wisconsin overcame cold, wet conditions and a hard-nosed Ohio State team to win the Big 10 Saturday, coming back from 13-5 down to win 20-13 in the conference final.

This was Big 10 Finals Day, with three other games on tap. The most intriguing was Michigan State winning 3rd in the conferred, beating Indiana 26-20 a week after losing to the same IU team.

For Wisconsin, the game was a difficult one. Played after two other games had been played on that field, and with snow and cold hitting the Midwest, ballhandling and footing were difficult.

“Things were pretty slick,” said Wisconsin head coach Scott Adlington. “Even tackling was difficult because you couldn’t really get across.”

Ohio State handled the conditions better in the first half and led 13-5 at the break. But Adlington urged his players to be more practical - kick for territory, pressure on defense, and don’t get to cute with the ball.

“We didn’t want to be too fancy,” said Adlington. “Ohio State are really good North-South runners and they put us under pressure. But in the second half we started to use the boot a bit more and worked to capitalize on turnovers.”

Which was successful. Bolstered by a bench that raised the level of play late, and with the forward pack stealing three scrums against the head, the Badgers were able to come back with a try from wing Paul Iema and a penalty from center Ben McColgan to tie the game 13-13.

The teams battled through the slop until the final minute, when wing Jacob Kaplan went in for the game-winner, and McColgan converted to seal it 20-13.

“It very much and old-school effort,” said Adlington. “Our guys aren’t used to that style of play. We don’t see much of it. But we had five closers who stepped up the pace of the game at the right time. Everyone knew his role and did his job.”

Wisconsin joins Army as a conference winner that has secured an automatic place in the D1A playoffs in the spring.

Illinois beat Purdue to take 5th.