U.S. Marines Corps: Leaders of the Week

BTN.com has a new staple every Saturday night. It?s called "United States Marine Corps: Leaders of the Week," and it?s a feature designed to honor the best from every weekend of Big Ten action. Find the top performances, quotes and tweets from Week 12 in this post.

Marvin McNutt, Iowa – The star receiver continued his torrid pace with nine receptions for 151 yards and two touchdowns at Purdue (watch and rate his 2nd TD!). McNutt hasn't had fewer than 101 receiving yards in any of the last five games.

James Vandenberg, Iowa – Vandenberg completed 22 of 32 passes (69 percent) for 273 yards and three touchdowns, to go along with no interceptions, in Iowa's victory at Purdue.

Mike Daniels, Iowa – Daniels was a presence in the Purdue backfield all day Saturday, tallying eight tackles – four tackles for loss – and two sacks.

Kirk Cousins, Michigan State – Very quietly, Cousins is turning in an All-Big Ten season, the latest example coming in his 272-yard, three-touchdown effort in Michigan State's rout of Indiana on senior day. The senior captain has thrown for 828 yards and eight TDs, with no interceptions, in his last three games.

B.J. Cunningham, Michigan State – Cunningham caught two of Kirk Cousins' three scoring strikes, his second consecutive game with a pair of touchdowns, and went for 132 receiving yards.

Johnny Adams, Michigan State – The entire Spartans defense was dominant in limiting Indiana to three points, but Adams gets a lot of the credit for registering three tackles, a sack and returning an interception 86 yards for a touchdown (watch and rate the pick-6!).

Fitzgerald Toussaint, Michigan – For the third time in four weeks, Toussaint eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark, torching Nebraska for 138 yards and two touchdowns in Michigan's easy win.

Denard Robinson, Michigan – Robinson amassed 263 total yards and four touchdowns, including two scores through the air (watch and rate his 2nd TD!), to compile his best all-around game since Oct. 8 at Northwestern.

Montee Ball, Wisconsin – One week after breaking the Big Ten's single-season record for most touchdowns, Ball went for a career-high 224 rushing yards and three touchdowns in Wisconsin's comeback win at Illinois. In the process, Ball become just the fifth player ever to score 30 touchdowns in a season.

Chris Borland, Wisconsin – The Badgers' tackling machine added 16 stops and forced two fumbles en route to helping Wisconsin rally past Illinois.

Stephfon Green, Penn State – A non-factor through the first 10 weeks of the season, Green scored two touchdowns for the second consecutive, to go along with 93 rushing yards and eight receiving yards.

Glenn Carson, Penn State – Carson tallied a team-high 11 tackles and forced a fumble to help the Nittany Lions register a rare road victory over Ohio State.

QUOTES
"It's a joke." – Illinois offensive coordinator Paul Petrino, on the offensive pass interference calls his unit was flagged for against Wisconsin.

"I told them at halftime, this is going to be one of the greatest memories you'll ever have because you were in such an adverse situation, and then come up and be triumphant." – Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, on what he told his team when it was trailing after 30 minutes.

"We have to celebrate this one first, then we'll be all Ohio." Michigan QB Denard Robinson, on the Wolverines' annual season finale test against rival Ohio State.

"You can't play that way on the road and hope to win." – Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, on his team's loss at Michigan.

"This was the best moment of my career."- Michigan State DB Trenton Robinson, on winning the Legends Division and clinching a spot in the inaugural Big Ten Football Championship Game.

"This is special, because this is something we built. It wasn't here when we got here, but we brought in players that we thought could play, and they overachieved and bought into what we wanted to do."- Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, on winning the Legends Division.

"Essentially, we're in the Big Ten semifinal. I started to think about Wisconsin – and I'll have some nightmares tonight."- Penn State assistant Jay Paterno, on his thoughts following the win at Ohio State.

"Whether we win or lose out there, it's not going to help him out at all. But it definitely made him feel good that we went out there and got a win."- Penn State QB Matt McGloin, on how win helps former coach Joe Paterno, who was diagnosed with treatable form of lung cancer earlier this week.

"I don't think this is the time nor the place." – Ohio State coach Luke Fickell, on rumors that Ohio State has deal with former coach Urban Meyer.

Brent Yarina is a web editor and blogger for BTN.com. Find all of his work here and follow him on twitter at @BTNBrentYarina.