Big Ten Football Players of the Week

by | Oct 23, 2017 | Football Blogs, RRSN News | 0 comments

Following Big Ten football games on Oct. 21, the offensive, co-defensive and special teams players of the week and freshman of the week in the Big Ten were announced this morning. Below are this week’s honorees:

Offensive Player of the Week

Saquon Barkley, Penn State

Jr., RB, Coplay, Pa./Whitehall

Recorded 176 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in Penn State’s victory over Michigan and has now scored a touchdown in 14 straight games, the longest active streak among FBS programs

Rushed 15 times for 108 yards and two touchdowns, while catching three passes for 53 yards and a score

Became the first Nittany Lion and fourth Big Ten player with 3,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in his career, but the first Big Ten player to amass these totals in just his third season

Receives his fifth career Offensive Player of the Week award and third this season

Last Penn State Offensive Player of the Week: DaeSean Hamilton (Oct. 2, 2017)

Co-Defensive Players of the Week

Joe Bachie, Michigan State

So., LB, Brook Park, Ohio/Berea-Midpark

Registered a career-high 13 tackles and also recorded a forced fumble in Michigan State’s win over Indiana

Tallied a forced fumble, 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack in the contest

Led a defense that held its opponent to less than 100 rushing yards for the fourth time this season

Collects his second career Defensive Player of the Week honor

Last Michigan State Defensive Player of the Week: Joe Bachie (Oct. 9, 2017)

Jason Cabinda, Penn State

Sr., LB, Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central

Recorded 13 tackles and one sack in Penn State’s victory over Michigan

Forced his second career fumble in the third quarter of the contest

His sack was one of seven by the Nittany Lions in the contest, the most against a Big Ten opponent since having seven sacks at Northwestern in 2011

Collects his first career Defensive Player of the Week honor

Last Penn State Defensive Player of the Week: Brandon Bell (Oct. 24, 2016)

Special Teams Player of the Week

Hunter Niswander, Northwestern

Sr., P, Peninsula, Ohio/Woodridge

Averaged 50.8 yards per punt on five attempts and had three downed inside the 20-yard line in Northwestern’s overtime victory over Iowa

His 80-yard punt early in the third quarter was a career long and tied for the fourth­longest punt in program history

Average of 50.8 yards per punt is the highest single-game mark by a Northwestern punter since at least 2000 and the most by any Big Ten punter this season (min. 5 punts)

Earns his first career Special Teams Player of the Week honor

Last Northwestern Special Teams Player of the Week: Charlie Kuhbander (Oct. 16, 2017)

Freshman of the Week

Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

Fr., RB, Salem, N.J./Salem

Carried the ball 22 times for 126 yards and a touchdown in Wisconsin’s win over Maryland, topping the 100-yard rushing mark for the fifth time in seven career games

Reached 1,000 career rushing yards in his seventh game, matching the FBS freshman record for fewest games need to record 1,000 yards and joining a group that includes Florida’s Emmitt Smith (1987), San Diego State’s Marshall Faulk (1991), Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson (2004), North Texas’ Jamario Thomas (2004) and Wisconsin’s P.J. Hill (2006)

Joins Smith, Faulk, Peterson and Thomas in achieving the feat as a true freshman

Claims his third consecutive and fourth career Big Ten Freshman of the Week award

Last Wisconsin Freshman of the Week: Jonathan Taylor (Oct. 16, 2017)

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