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Is it really half over? How have seven weeks of the college football season flown by so quickly?
While that part is a bit on the sad side, there were a ton of positives coming out of Week 7 in the B1G. Saturday was full of so many outstanding individual performances, we nearly had to order more Game Balls.
This weekend definitely had a theme as running backs dominated the headlines most of Saturday. But a few other names and position groups had strong outings as well.
Here are the B1G Game Balls for Week 7:
Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin RB – It seems like the freshman is getting a Game Ball nearly every week. He’s certainly going to need another shelf for all of these if these performances continue over the next seven weeks. Taylor posted his third 200-yard performance of the year in Wisconsin’s 17-9 win over Purdue. He’s now just 14 yards shy of eclipsing the 1,00o-yard mark for the season.
Justin Jackson, Northwestern RB – This is what Northwestern had to have from its star running back in order to finally chalk up its first conference victory of the season. Jackson ended with 171 yards and two scores on 28 carries. He also became the Wildcats’ all-time leading rusher.
Jawuan Harris, Rutgers S – A receiver-turned-safety had the best outing of anyone on the Rutgers defense. This was the first time Harris suited up on the defensive side of the ball. The result? 11 tackles and an interception as the Scarlet Knights posted a 35-24 win over Illinois. Don’t expect Harris to transition back to receiver anytime soon.
Karan Higdon, Michigan RB – Doubling your season rushing total in one game is always worthy of a Game Ball. Higdon was huge for Michigan, rushing for 200 yards and three touchdowns against Indiana. And the Wolverines needed every bit of it, squeaking past the Hoosiers in overtime.
D.J. Moore, Maryland WR – Moore isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Maryland came up short against Northwestern but Moore was a bright spot for the Terrapins, catching 12 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Nobody else on the team caught more than two passes for the afternoon.
Leon Jacobs, Wisconsin LB – The numbers on the stat sheet aren’t eye-popping, but Jacobs made a huge difference for the Badgers. He led the team with nine tackles, recorded a tackle for loss and came up with a key interception late in the game that helped Wisconsin seal the victory and improve to 6-0.
J.T. Barrett, Ohio State QB – Barrett has been on a five-game hot streak since that subpar outing against Oklahoma in Week 2. Saturday’s performance against Nebraska might’ve been his best yet, completing 27-of-33 passes for 325 yards and five touchdowns. It was a great confidence-builder heading into the bye week and before a match-up with Penn State in two weeks.
L.J. Scott, Michigan State RB – He’s back. The old, powerful L.J. Scott that we knew and loved was in full force in Minneapolis on Saturday night, helping the Spartans edge out the Gophers to improve to 3-0 in the B1G. The running back ended the night with 194 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25 carries. He also caught one pass for 26 yards.
Rashan Gary, Michigan DE – Finally, the sophomore defensive end had the type of game everyone knew he was capable of producing. Gary finished the day with seven tackles, a sack and 2.5 stops for loss. He also accounted for two quarterback hurries and was nearly impossible to block all afternoon.
Chase Dutra, Indiana S – Despite the loss, Dutra had an incredible showing against Michigan. The safety notched a team-high 13 tackles, 12 of which were solo stops. If it weren’t for Dutra’s help in the secondary, Indiana would’ve surrendered a lot more than 27 points
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB