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Week 12 B1G Players of the Week
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You know it was a good week in the B1G when six different guys earned weekly accolades. Four different schools and two different kickers earned B1G honors after a wild Saturday.
Here’s who the conference dished out its player of the week nods to:
B1G Offensive Player of the Week: Nate Sudfeld, Indiana QB
B1G Co-Defensive Player of the Week: Jon Reschke, Michigan State LB
B1G C0-Defensive Player of the Week: Deonte Gibson, Northwestern DE
B1G Co-Special Teams Player of the Week: Michael Geiger, Michigan State K
B1G Co-Special Teams Player of the Week: Griffin Oakes, Indiana K
B1G Freshman of the Week: Shannon Brooks, Minnesota RB
Sudfeld led Indiana to its first B1G road win in three years and did so without the aid of tailback Jordan Howard, who was injured in the first quarter. The senior signal-caller helped IU overcome a three-touchdown deficit with five total touchdowns and 385 passing yards. Because of Sudfeld’s dominance, the Hoosiers are in position to pick up their first bowl berth in eight years.
Reschke fueled one of the all-time great defensive efforts from Michigan State. His six tackles and a sack helped the Spartans hand defending champion Ohio State its first loss in 25 games. He helped hold an Urban Meyer-coached team to its worst offensive output ever.
Gibson also led his team to an impressive road victory. The Northwestern defensive end racked up four tackles for loss, three of which were sacks, in Northwestern’s 13-7 win at Wisconsin. He led a unit that recorded a season-best 11 tackles for loss.
On special teams, a pair of B1G kickers had starring roles on Saturday. Geiger delivered the game-winning kick that stunned Ohio State, which gave Michigan State the clear path to the B1G East title. The honor was his first of the year.
Oakes couldn’t not get another B1G Special Teams Player of the Week honor after he became the first IU kicker ever to make four field goals in back-to-back games. The B1G leader in field goal percentage (90.9) picked up his third career weekly accolade.
Another guy who picked up his third weekly B1G accolade was Brooks, who shined again for the Gophers. His three touchdowns helped fuel Minnesota to a victory in a must-win game against Illinois. Like Oakes, it marked the second straight week in which Brooks picked up B1G Player of the Week honors.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.