Top individual performances from Saturday's Big Ten football games

Week 8 of the Big Ten football season was filled with some outstanding individual performances, highlighted by five standout quarterbacks.

[ MORE: Best of Week 8 | Week 8 scoreboard | Power Rankings | Latest polls | Week 8 picks revisited | What Tom Dienhart learned | Dienhart: Nebraska's often-painful ride continues | Big Ten standings | Big Ten stats ]

Who was the most impressive?

Well, that?s what I?m here to tell you!

Here is a look at my top performers from Saturday?s Week 8 Big Ten football action.

Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State. Cook was nothing short of spectacular on Saturday in Michigan State's impressive 52-26 win over Indiana. The Spartans' senior QB threw for 398 yards and four touchdowns in the victory. He was just short of the school record of 400 yards passing, which was set by Bill Burke back in 1999 against Michigan. Look for Cook to hear his name in the Heisman Trophy conversation now.

J.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio State. Barrett made his first start of the season on Saturday, and it was a great one. The Buckeyes' dual-threat quarterback threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns in Ohio State's 49-7 victory over Rutgers. Barrett also added 101 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Christian Hackenberg, QB, Penn State. This guy had himself a day in Penn State's 31-30 win over Maryland. Hackenberg threw for 315 yards and three scores in the victory. It was his first 300-plus yard game this season and his second with three touchdown passes.

Clayton Fejedelem, DB, Illinois. Fejedelem stuffed the stat sheet Saturday in Illinois' 24-13 loss to Wisconsin. The senior defensive back recorded an eye-popping 19 tackles and also added an interception. Fejedelem has now recorded 12-or-more tackles in three games this season. That's impressive.

Alex Erickson, WR, Wisconsin. How often do you see a wide receiver lead his team in both rushing and receiving? That's exactly what Erickson did today, hauling in 10 catches for 96 yards and a touchdown, while also adding four rushes for 81 yards. Erickson has now caught six-or-more passes in five games this year.

Clayton Thorson, QB, Northwestern. This is the Clayton Thorson that Wildcat fans have been waiting to see. The redshirt freshman quarterback passed for 177 yards and a score, and ran for a career-high 126 yards and a touchdown in Northwestern's 30-28 victory over Nebraska.

Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State. Just another casual 100-plus yard game for Elliott on Saturday. The Buckeyes' star back carried the ball 19 times for 142 yards and two scores in OSU's commanding 49-7 win over Rutgers. That is 13 (yes, 13!) straight games of 100-or-more rushing yards for this Heisman Trophy contender.

Aaron Burbridge, WR, Michigan State. Connor Cook's favorite target was great on Saturday, hauling in eight catches for 128 yards and a touchdown in the Spartans' 52-26 win over Indiana. Burbridge has now totaled five games where he's caught eight-or-more passes for 100-plus yards. What a special talent!

Dean Lowry, DL, Northwestern. Lowry had a huge game on Saturday, totaling 10 tackles, six of which were for a loss. He also had a team-high two sacks in the Wildcats' 30-28 win at Nebraska. His 10 tackles and two sacks were both season-highs for Lowry.

Nate Sudfeld, QB, Indiana. The Hoosiers' senior quarterback was outstanding again on Saturday. Unfortunately for Sudfeld and the Hoosiers, it wasn't enough as Indiana fell to Michigan State, 52-26. Sudfeld threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns in the game, giving him four games of 300-plus yards this year.