Big Ten Roundup (Sept. 12): Rutgers, Minnesota Football Players Earn Week 2 Big Ten Honors

Minnesota football player Darius Taylor nearly rushed for 200 yards and won Big Ten Freshman of the Week, while Rutgers kicker Jai Patel won Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week in the team's 36-7 win over Temple.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — For the second week in a row, a Minnesota Golden Gopher earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors, while Rutgers got its first of the season via special teams. 

For P.J. Fleck and Minnesota, it was first-year running back Darius Taylor who won Big Ten Freshman of the Week following the team's 25-6 win over Eastern Michigan.

As for Greg Schiano and the Scarlet Knights, kicker Jai Patel was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week as reward for his 3-for-3 field goal performance in Rutgers' 36-7 victory against Temple.

Additionally, Michigan State quarterback Noah Kim was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, while Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week went to Iowa cornerback Sebastian Castro.

Here's everything you need to know in today's Big Ten Roundup:

Darius Taylor Named Big Ten Freshman of the Week

Not a football expert here, but 33 carries for 193 yards in just your second ever collegiate football game seems good. 

Darius Taylor is just a freshman, but he can move the pile. 💪@Dariustay1or x @GopherFootball

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/J2o2bEF04Q

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) September 10, 2023

Taylor came to play for Fleck and the Gophers as a four-star prospect out of Michigan, and has immediately emerged as the team's potential replacement to superstar tailback Mo Ibrahim. 

Sure, Eastern Michigan was not the world's stingiest opponent, but a 193-yard performance from any running back that has less than a calendar year of experience is impressive. 

According to the Big Ten's Monday press release, Taylor's 193 yards were the second-most ever accumulated by a true freshman at Minnesota. Only a 205-yard performance from Darrell Thompson in 1986 stands above what Taylor did on Saturday in Golden Gopher history. 

Jai Patel Named Special Teams Player of the Week

There are few jokes the college football internet loves more than #collegekickers, so when you make a career-long field goal, you better get conference player of the week. 

Patel knocked in a 51-yarder against Temple on Saturday, and did not miss a single kick throughout Rutgers' dominant win. 

Yessssssss Jai Patel!!!!! LFGGGGG from 51! #OneOnOneKicking @JaiPatel44 pic.twitter.com/ATglk2BmmY

— One On One Kicking Northeast (@OneOnOneNJNYPA) September 10, 2023

Indiana fans (rightfully) should be a little upset that bombs away punter James Evans has not yet received the Big Ten's weekly special teams award. But Patel had a great Week 2 performance, and was a deserving winner all things told. 

Kim, Castro Win Other Big Ten Weekly Awards

In perhaps the only positive Michigan State news of the week, the quarterback in East Lansing — Noah Kim — won Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. He completed 18-of-22 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns in the Spartans' 45-14 win over Richmond. 

To read more on the Week 2 performance of Kim, check out the full story on our sister website Spartan Nation. 

On the defensive side of the ball, it was unsurprisingly a Kirk Ferentz-coached Iowa Hawkeye taking home player of the week honors. Defensive back Sebastian Castro won the recognition, mainly for his pick-six that ended up being the difference in Iowa's 20-13 win over Iowa State. 

To read more on the Week 2 performance of Castro, check out the full story on our sister site Inside the Hawkeyes. 

Related Stories on the Big Ten:

• WEEK 2 BIG TEN POWER RANKINGS: Michigan's grip on the top spot in the conference has only tightened, while Wisconsin went flying out of the top five following a loss to Washington State. CLICK HERE
• MEL TUCKER UNDER INVESTIGATION: News broke on Sunday morning that the football coach of the Michigan State Spartans is under investigation for sexual harassment. CLICK HERE
• WOULD B1G EVER KICK A TEAM OUT OF CONFERENCE: With Stanford, Cal and SMU joining the ACC in 2024, conference realignment has truly gotten out of hand. With all the movement up into new conferences coming, we ask the question — would the Big Ten ever forcibly remove a team from its own conference? CLICK HERE