Big Ten Game Balls for the Week 11 slate are ready to be handed out!

This weekend, we had 6 games across Friday and Saturday, admittedly a slightly lower slate as teams continue to hit bye weeks. But the action did not disappoint!

Out in California, UCLA continues to look like one of the most improved teams on a weekly basis. The Bruins erased an early deficit in a surprising win over Iowa, giving some life to UCLA’s hopes of a bowl game.

At the top of the conference, Oregon and Ohio State did nothing to change the fact that they look like the best teams in the conference while Penn State was impressive in bouncing back from a loss to the Buckeyes. And don’t forget about Indiana with its magical season still rolling, albeit in a much closer game than any other to date.

With that in mind, let’s get to the B1G Game Balls:

Iowa at UCLA

  • Iowa: WR Jacob Gill. With the ground game shut down (Kaleb Johnson had just 49 yards), Gill stepped up in a huge way. He recorded 6 catches for 138 yards and was a menace against the Bruin defense all game long.
  • UCLA: RB TJ Harden. Ethan Garbers did have UCLA’s 2 touchdowns in this one, but he also threw 2 interceptions. Meanwhile, Harden was fantastic with 125 rushing yards and 6.3 YPC against a tough defense. He also added 16 yards in the receiving game.

Minnesota at Rutgers

  • Minnesota: K Dragan Kesich. No one had a truly flawless game for Minnesota in this one, including Kesich who missed an extra point. But he did go 2-for-2 on field goals, including another long-range blast from 51 yards.
  • Rutgers: QB Athan Kaliakmanis. There are many individuals who deserve some love for Rutgers handling the absence of Kyle Monangai. But Kaliakmanis going against his former team and throwing for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns (even with an interception) stands out. He also gets credit for the eventual game-winner with just under 8 minutes to play.

Purdue at Ohio State

  • Purdue: RB Devin Mockobee. Purdue’s RB had some success early against Ohio State and finished with an efficient 73 rushing yards and 5.6 YPC. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get any help with Purdue’s QBs going just 9-for-21 for 108 passing yards in the game.
  • Ohio State: DE JT Tuimoloau. Tuimoloau led the Buckeyes with 1.5 TFLs in the shutout and added half a sack. His play of the game came late with a forced fumble deep in Purdue territory that led to an easy scoop-and-score for Jack Sawyer. Coming off an emotional win, the OSU defense went right back to work vs. The Boilermakers.

Michigan at Indiana

  • Michigan: DE TJ Guy. Michigan’s defense found a way to make life difficult for the IU offense after halftime. With Indiana struggling to contain the interior of Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, Guy capitalized with 2 sacks and 2.5 TFLs to lead the Wolverines in both categories. It was the first time a team held Indiana under 31 points all season long.
  • Indiana: WR Ke’Shawn Williams. Indiana got some positive numbers from Williams offensively with team-high marks of 6 catches for 70 yards. But he also provided the play of the day on special teams. With Myles Price unavailable and the offense looking for a spark, Williams returned a 4th-quarter punt 22 yards to put the Hoosiers on the edge of field goal range. An 11-yard catch by Williams also sent IU well in range for a kick to make it 20-15 and eat up clock.

Maryland at Oregon

  • Maryland: WR Octavian Smith Jr. Maryland did not go quietly in this one, and the Terrapins even made it an 11-point game with some drama on Smith’s 4th-quarter touchdown grab. Unfortunately, Billy Edwards Jr. would throw a pair of late interceptions to erase any thought of an upset. Smith ended the game with 5 catches for 46 yards and a touchdown.
  • Oregon: DE Jordan Burch. It’s hard to impact the game in the variety of ways that Burch did on Saturday. In the first half, he recorded a strip sack that went for a massive scoop-and-score for the Ducks. After halftime, Burch carried the ball for 36 yards on a fake punt. He also deflected 2 passes and was truly everywhere against the Terrapins.

Washington at Penn State

  • Washington: LB Carson Bruener. It was a rather forgettable night for the Huskies, but it’s hard not to appreciate Bruener’s contributions. He delivered a game-high 11 tackles (4 solo stops) while fighting through shoulder ailment.
  • Penn State: Edge Abdul Carter. This was a complete performance from Penn State. Carter was one of the main tone-setters on the defensive side of the ball, finishing with 6 total tackles, 2 sacks and 4 TFLs. He tied his career-high marks in sacks and TFLs with his 3rd game this season with 2 sacks.