INDIANAPOLIS — The Big Ten championship game featured, according to most rankings, neither of the two best teams in the Big Ten, and the result was flashes of brilliance amid sloppy play as Penn State defeated Wisconsin, 38-31, on Saturday night. The conference title was an impressive achievement that will nonetheless most likely leave the Nittany Lions short of the College Football Playoff.

No. 8 Penn State (11-2) overwhelmed Wisconsin’s defense, which had entered the game holding opponents to 13.7 points per game, with a pass attack spearheaded by quarterback Trace McSorley and receiver Saeed Blacknall, both juniors. McSorley finished 22 of 31 for 384 passing yards and four touchdowns, while Blacknall caught six of those passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns.

No. 6 Wisconsin (10-3) ran the ball well, as is its tradition, with the hydra-headed running back committee of Corey Clement, Bradrick Shaw and Dare Ogunbowale. Clement led with 21 carries for 164 yards and a touchdown. But as the game wore on and Wisconsin’s stellar front seven found it more difficult to pressure McSorley, Wisconsin’s weaker defensive secondary was exposed.

It was a triumphant night for Penn State and its fans, who wore white and packed Lucas Oil Stadium for their team’s first title game appearance in the six years in which the Big Ten has had one; it also came five years after the Jerry Sandusky scandal. But it was unlikely that the sense of total triumph would last longer than 12 more hours.