Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, August 26, 2013
We?re three days from the 2013 football season kicking off. Indiana (Indiana State) and Minnesota (UNLV) get things started for the Big Ten on Thursday on BTN/BTN2Go. To help count down the days to kickoff, BTN.com is ranking the top 25 players. Join us as we count it down, from 25-1, every day.
No. 3: Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraska
Martinez has overhauled the school record book the past three seasons, and he's poised to leave as an all-time great. The oft-criticized quarterback has started a school-record 39 games at Nebraska and led the Huskers to three straight seasons of at least nine wins. This season, he?s likely to continue his assault on the record book, while putting his name among some elite quarterbacks in the history of college football. A big goal for Martinez: to become a more efficient passer while leading the Huskers to their first conference title since 1999.
View Martinez's career passing stats:
| Year | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Comp % | Yds | Yd/A | TDs | Int | Sacked | Yds |
| 2010 | Neb | 13 | 116 | 196 | 59.2 | 1631 | 8.3 | 10 | 7 | 26 | 176 |
| 2011 | Neb | 13 | 162 | 288 | 56.3 | 2089 | 7.3 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 99 |
| 2012 | Neb | 14 | 228 | 368 | 62.0 | 2871 | 7.8 | 23 | 12 | 34 | 245 |
| Career | 40 | 506 | 852 | 59.4 | 6591 | 7.7 | 46 | 27 | 81 | 520 |
And rushing stats:
| Year | Team | G | Rush | Yds | Yd/Rush | TDs |
| 2010 | Neb | 13 | 162 | 965 | 6.0 | 12 |
| 2011 | Neb | 13 | 188 | 874 | 4.6 | 9 |
| 2012 | Neb | 14 | 195 | 1019 | 5.2 | 10 |
| Career | 40 | 545 | 2858 | 5.2 | 31 |
BTN.com?s top 25 players of 2013
1. Aug. 28
2. Aug. 27
3. Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraska
4. Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State
5. Venric Mark, RB, Northwestern
6. Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State
7. Allen Robinson, WR, Penn State
8. Devin Gardner, QB, Michigan
9. Chris Borland, LB, Wisconsin
10. Max Bullough, LB, Michigan State
11. Ra'Shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota
12. Kenny Bell, WR, Nebraska
13. Tyler Scott, DE, Northwestern
14. Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska
15. Brandon Vitabile, C, Northwestern
16. Jack Mewhort, OT, Ohio State
17. Kain Colter, QB, Northwestern
18. Jared Abbrederis, WR, Wisconsin
19. Spencer Long, G, Nebraska
20. Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State
21. Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin
22. Deion Barnes, DE, Penn State
23. Isaiah Lewis, S, Michigan State
24. James White, RB, Wisconsin
25. Anthony Hitchens, LB, Iowa
