BTN.com staff, September 7, 2013
Every Saturday night during the Big Ten football season, BTN.com posts its "U.S. Marine Corps: Leaders of the Week." The feature is designed to honor some of the top individual Big Ten performances. See our Week 2 top 5 stars and our honorable mention honorees in this post.
1. Devin Gardner, QB, Michigan. The pick-6 in his end zone aside, Gardner dazzled in Michigan's exciting 41-30 victory over Notre Dame. The junior, who donned No. 98 to honor Tom Harmon, Michigan's first Heisman Trophy winner, completed 21-of-33 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns, and added a game-high 82 yards on the ground and one rushing score.
Watch Gardner's 12-yard TD to Jeremy Gallon:
2. Jeremy Gallon, WR, Michigan. Wearing Desmond Howard's No. 21, Gallon played the part Saturday night vs. Notre Dame. The diminutive receiver busted out for eight receptions, 184 yards and three touchdowns, both career highs, to help Michigan take down Notre Dame, 41-30, under the lights at Michigan Stadium.
Watch Gallon's 61-yard TD:
3. Shilique Calhoun, DL, Michigan State. Calhoun wears an offensive number (89), and the defensive end has scored like an offensive player in the season's first two games. One week after recovering a fumble for a score, Calhoun took another fumble to the house and added a pick-6 to help lead the Spartans past South Florida. That's three scores through two games, if you're counting at home, and it's one more than the Michigan State offense. For good measure, Calhoun added three tackles and one sack.
Watch Calhoun's pick-6:
4. Nathan Scheelhaase, QB, Illinois. We very well could have a repeat winner for the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Either way, Scheelhaase's four touchdown passes in Illinois' 45-17 upset victory over Cincinnati matched his 2012 total. Seriously. Scheelhaase was nearly flawless in the impressive and unexpected rout, completing 26-of-37 passes (70 percent) on his way to racking up 310 yards. Best of all, Scheelhaase didn't throw an interception.
Watch Scheelhaase's TD pass to Ryan Lankford:
5. Corey Clement, Melvin Gordon & James White, RBs, Wisconsin. Yes, all three of them – again. For the second consecutive week, each member of the trio surpassed the 100-yard plateau, marking the third time in the last four games Wisconsin has had three running backs reach the century mark. Clement led the way vs. Tennessee Tech, with 149 yards, while Gordon and White went for 140 and 109 yards, respectively. All three backs also scored at least one touchdown for the second straight week.
Watch all of Wisconsin touchdowns:
HONORABLE MENTION
Nate Sudfeld, QB, Indiana. 31-42, 363 yards, 4 TD
Mark Weisman, RB, Iowa. 30 car., 180 yards, 2 TD
Rodrick Williams, RB, Minnesota. 16 car., 148 yards, 1 TD
Ciante Evans, CB, Nebraska. 1 tackles, 2 INT, 1 TD
Blake Countess, CB, Michigan. 2 INT
Tony Jones, WR, Northwestern. 9 rec., 184 yards, 1 TD
Trevor Siemian, QB, Northwestern. 15-19, 259 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Kenny Guiton, QB, Ohio State. 19-28, 152 yards, 2 TD; 9 car., 83 yards, 1 TD
Bill Belton, RB, Penn State. 9 car., 108 yards, 2 TD; 1 rec., 21 yards
Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State. 23-33, 311 yards, 1 TD
DaQuan Jones, DT, Penn State: 9 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack
Akeem Hunt, RB, Purdue. 22 car., 82 yards; 2 rec. 38 yards; 2 KR, 123 yards, 1 TD
Joel Stave, QB, Wisconsin. 24-29, 219 yards, 3 TD
Wisconsin defense. Second consecutive shutout; 113 total yards (44 rushing yards; 69 passing yards)