It’s Thanksgiving Week, which means (a) hardly anyone looks at OTE, (b) everyone is busy with other things, and (c) I have a million things to do for work because lawyers love to schedule EVERYTHING in the space between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That means no fun or sad or motivational or dumb intro, just sweet, sweet POTW awards and noms.

Happy Thanksgiving, reader!

Offensive Player of the Week: Nico Collins

Wide Receiver - Michigan Wolverines at Indiana Hoosiers

6 receptions, 165 yards, 3 TDs

Was about to hit Publish on this bad boy when I remembered I hadn’t written anything about what I thiiiiiiiink is Michigan’s first OTE OPOTW this season, and maybe the first of the last two seasons! Pretty incredible for a purportedly decent team to never have an offensive standout. It helps that I resolve all close calls/arguable OPOTW winners in favor of any team but Michigan, sure, but they’ve been a really terrible offensive team (at least on an individual level) for quite a while.

Not this week, though! Nico had a great week, putting up a statline unknown to all but the Hamlers and Hills and Minnesota’s entire receiving corps.

Honorable Mention - Offensive Player of the Week: Week 13

Shea Patterson - QB - Michigan Wolverines
20/32 for 366 yards and 5 touchdowns. Also had an interception. Also plays for Michigan. Both dings against winning OPOTW.

Cody White - WR - Michigan State Spartans
11 receptions, 136 yards, 3 TDs. A lot of receivers scored multiple touchdowns this week, which makes for some easy Hon Nom pikcing for OPOTW.

Brycen Hopkins - TE - Purdue Boilermakers
8 receptions, 127 yards, 2 TDs. Still my 86th favorite player in the conference, just once spot behind all 85 Wisconsin players. A team has 85 players, right?

Defensive Player of the Week: Chase Young

Defensive End - Ohio State Buckeyes hosting Penn State Nittany Lions
9 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, multiple Gus-gasms

I posted this video as a chance to make fun of Gus Johnson and the (probably by necessity) incessant focus of national broadcasters on a single player or two on a team to the detriment of all others. If you don’t have your sound on, this play includes Gus yelling “GUESS WHO” as Chase Young gets a single hand on the QB after his teammate (don’t even know the guy’s name) had wrapped up the QB. Gus yelled GUESS WHO because he spent the entire lead up to this play talking about Young and how great and important he is and DAMMIT HE WAS GOING TO BE PRESCIENT ABOUT THE UPCOMING PLAY! No matter that Young’s teammate got their first, wrapped up, and basically won the play by himself, Gus declared CHASE YOUNG GUESS WHO got the sack.

Chase Young is a great player. There are also other players on OSU, including players who get big sacks in big moments. Let’s not ignore them just so announcers can pretend they got something right. Also CY4Heisman.

Honorable Mention - Defensive Player of the Week: Week 13

Yetur Gross-Matos - DE - Penn State Nittany Lions
9 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 2 sacks. I don’t watch many PSU games, but it sure hasn’t seemed like Gross-Matos is having the year he did in 2018. Glad to see him back here.

Joe Gaziano - DL - Northwestern Wildcast
6 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, 2 passes defended. A Northwestern player! Huzzah! Also it really is unfair how Chase Young makes every other player seem like the best they can do is “Chase Young on a meh day.”

Josh Uche - LB - Michigan Wolverines
5 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 hurry, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery. Another Michigan player. Gross. Had a busy stat day though!

Special Teams Player(s) of the Week: Zach Hintze

Kicker - Wisconsin Badgers hosting Purdue Boilermakers
1/1 field goals, 62 long

This is a photo of Wisconsin kicker Zach Hintze attempting a field goal (ed. note: he made it) in high school. Notice where the holder is.

This is a photo of Wisconsin kicker Zach Hintze attempting a field goal this past Saturday against Purdue. It’s hard(er) to tell, but look where the holder is kneeling. Or just cheat and look where it says “62 yard attempt.” He made this one too. That’s right, Week 13’s OTE STPOTW is Zach Hintze for making a 62 yard field goal against Purdue. Following the kick, Hintze is 1 of 2 on field goal attempts in his college career, both attempts coming from 62 yards away.

I say it would have been good from at LEAST 63 yards.

Honorable Mention - Special Teams Players of the Week: Week 13

Matt Waldoch - K - Nebraska Cornhuskers
3/3 FGs, 29 long, 6/6 XPs. Technically did enough to qualify for STPOTW, which has been rare for kickers this season. Congrats, Matt!

Haydon Whitehead - P - Indiana Hoosiers
5 punts, 47.0 average. Off week for Big Ten punters, as the usual suspects were busy not carrying their teams on their backs all day. But yay punting!

OTE’s Offensive Play of the Week: Week 13

It’s just the 62-yard FG again. Go watch.

OTE’s Defensive Play of the Week: Week 13

You can choose between the Chase Young “sack” or the 62-yard FG. Either one is appropriate for this section.

Rondale’s Corner Tanner Time

Unfortunately Rondale Moore was not healthy and did not play this last week, as we’d all hoped. Tanner Morgan played, though, going 15/23 for 211 yards, 4 TDs and 1 interception. Rashod Bateman was his favorite TD-catching target.

Jammin’ with Jonathan

In what had better be his final game at Camp Randall, Taylor had 28 carries for 222 yards, 1 touchdown, and two fumbles. Purdue became the second team against which Jonathan Taylor has carried for at least 200 yards in all three career games against them (the other was Nebraska, last week). I’m sad he’s leaving.

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