Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, November 10, 2012
Every Saturday night during the college football season, BTN.com web editor Brent Yarina hands out his weekly Big Ten Game Balls. The series is called "U.S. Marines Corps: Leaders of the Week," and it's designed to spotlight the Big Ten's top individual performances. Who took home the honors from Week 11? Find out in this post.
WEEK 11 GAME BALLS
1. Devin Gardner, QB, Michigan: 16-29, 284 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 9 car., 47 yards, 2 TD – One week after accounting for three scores in his first start, Gardner did one better in leading Michigan to a 38-31 overtime victory over Northwestern. The quarterback-turned-receiver-turned-quarterback threw two touchdowns (Watch No. 1 | No. 2) and ran for a couple, including the game-winning score in overtime (Watch it).
2. Taylor Martinez, QB, Nebraska: 12-20, 171 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT; 15 car., 104 yards – Another week, another late impressive Martinez comeback. This time, the junior quarterback rallied the Huskers from a 20-6 deficit, the Huskers' fourth double-digit comeback in Big Ten play. Like last week, the game-winning score went to Jamal Turner on a fourth-quarter touchdown pass (Watch it).
3. Montee Ball, RB, Wisconsin: – 27 car., 198 yards, 3 TD – Ball averaged 7.3 yards per carry and scored three times to pace a ridiculous Wisconsin rushing attack that torched Indiana for a school-record and Memorial Stadium-record 564 rushing yards and seven scores (Watch every rushing TD). In the process, Ball moved within one touchdown of tying Travis Prentice's FBS career record (78).
4. Donnell Kirkwood, RB, Minnesota: 29 car., 171 yards, 2 TD – There were two touchdowns scored in Minnesota's 17-3 victory at Illinois, and Kirkwood accounted for both (Watch TD No. 1 | No. 2), tying his career-high. Oh, and Kirkwood's 171 rushing yards also were a career-high.
5. James White, RB, Wisconsin: 14 car., 161 yards, 2 TD – The Hoosiers had absolutely no answer for White, who averaged a scintillating 11.5 yards per carry and scored on runs of 69 (Watch it) and 50 yards (Watch it). The 161 yards marked White's third 100-yard game in the last four contests – a span in which he's averaged 119 yards.
BTN.com web editor Brent Yarina covers football and men's basketball for BTN.com. He writes the popular uniform feature "Clothes Call," which also focuses on the latest cosmetic changes across Big Ten arenas and stadiums. Read all of his work here. You can subscribe to Yarina's RSS feed and follow him on Twitter @BTNBrentYarina. |