Recap of the week that was: Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern and Wisconsin were off this week. Ohio State romped UNLV, the same team that lost to Howard a couple of weeks ago. Indiana returned to action with an easy win over FCS Georgia Southern. Nebraska beat Rutgers after a week of turmoil in Lincoln. Maryland had the conference’s worst performance on Saturday, losing badly at home to Central Florida. Michigan pulled away in the second half to beat Purdue. Michigan State lost to Notre Dame at home in the battle for the Megaphone Trophy. Penn State was the Big Ten team of the week, beating Iowa on the road on the last play of the game.

Big Ten Top Performers

Ohio State RB/KR Parris Campbell and QB J.T. Barrett:

Ohio State has some other-worldly athletes. Parris Campbell played like a young Percy Harvin, another all-purpose player who shined under Urban Meyer back at Florida. Campbell got things started for the Buckeyes before the game blew wide open.

He also contributed to the return game with an 82-yard runback. Sure, the game was against an awful opponent, but Campbell’s speed is on par with what Alabama and Clemson have with their skill players.

Quarterback J.T. Barrett had five touchdown passes to five different receivers in the first half. Barrett and the Buckeyes were so dominant that backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr. even got in on the action early and often, tossing two touchdowns. Ohio State travels to Rutgers next weekend.

Michigan LB Devin Bush

“The spark plug of the [Michigan] defense” gets after it. Those words were used by color commentator Joe Davis when describing Devin Bush’s play against Purdue in the third quarter.

The stats show Bush only had six tackles tackles in this grind-it-out game, but in this case those numbers are deceiving. He was an integral part of controlling Purdue’s high-flying, trick-play offensive scheme. He helped Michigan hold Purdue to zero points in the second half.

Indiana RB Morgan Ellison

The true freshman from Ohio had only one Power 5 scholarship offer coming out of high school: Indiana. Ellison had himself an eye-popping game in Indiana’s 52-17 blowout win over Georgia Southern. He carried the ball 25 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns.

The Hoosiers have put some great running backs in the NFL recently including Tevin Coleman of the Atlanta Falcons and Jordan Howard of the Chicago Bears. Is Morgan Ellison (a bigger, stronger back) next in line? Indiana plays at Penn State next week.

Penn State RB Saquon Barkley

The best player in the conference played like it in a prime time game against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City. This wasn’t a high scoring touchdown fest like in Penn State’s previous games — Iowa proved a tough opponent and are always hard to beat on the road especially at night.

Watching Saquon Barkley play, it’s clear he’s a once-in-a-generation type of running back. Surround him with some incredible special teams play... Penn State remains a strong contender for the Big Ten and potentially national titles. Quarterback Trace McSorley was held in check all night, save for the final walk-off play of the game: