Dillon Gabriel, Tyler Warren headline individual Big Ten honors for Week 7

Dillon Gabriel and Tyler Warren were some of the brightest college football stars in Week 7, and the impactful duo was honored by the Big Ten on Monday.

Across the weekend, both players delivered marquee performances in major wins for Oregon and Penn State. They were both recognized by the B1G as Players of the Week, and it’s hard to find anyone more worthy of the honor this time around.

Here is the full list of the B1G’s 6 individual honors for Week 7:

Co-Offensive Player of the Week

• Dillon Gabriel, Oregon QB
• Tyler Warren, Penn State TE

Gabriel established his spot in Duck lore with a massive performance in Oregon’s first-ever win against a top-2 team. He accounted for over 370 yards of offense (341 yards passing) with 3 total touchdowns and his 4th game this season with a rushing and a passing touchdown.

Warren re-wrote Penn State’s record books with 17 catches, the most in a single game for any Nittany Lions player. His 224 yards receiving were the most in B1G history for a TE and also goes down as the 2nd-most by any player in Penn State history. Warren’s do-it-all performance included lining up at TE, WR, RB, QB and center in Week 7.

Co-Defensive Player of the Week

• Aaron Graves, Iowa DL
• Koi Perich, Minnesota DB

Graves was the leading force in Iowa’s dominant blowout with 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles against Washington. He also delivered 5 tackles (2 solo) to go with a breakup as Kirk Ferentz won the 200 game of his head coaching career.

Perich produced a 2-interception game, bringing his season total to 4 during the 21-17 win over UCLA. His 2nd interception came on the final play of the game to preserve the win, giving him back-to-back weeks with a game-sealing takeaway.

Special Teams Player of the Week

• Luke Akers, Northwestern K/P

Akers handled every kicking situation for Northwestern as the placekicker, punter and kickoff specialist in Week 7. He was 7-for-7 on all of his kicks, including 3-for-3 on field goal tries. As a punter, he delivered 5 punts for 246 yards with 2 inside the 20.

Freshman of the Week

• Ryan Barker, Penn State K

Barker was sensational in his first start for the Nittany Lions while converting all 4 of his FG tries against USC. His efforts included a walk-off FG in overtime to beat the Trojans, and Barker became the first Penn State kicker with 4 field goals in a game since 2016.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.