Following their impressive last-minute victory at No. 20 Minnesota, two Northwestern Wildcats were among the Big Ten’s Players of the Week. Junior quarterback Mike Kafka won the co-offensive Player of the Week honor along with Purdue quarterback Justin Siller. Filling in for the injured CJ Bacher, Kafka set the Big Ten record for rushing yards for a quarterback with 217 yards and also threw for two touchdowns.
On the defensive side, junior safety Brendan Smith was named the Big Ten defensive Player of the Week. With twelve seconds left and the game tied at 17, Smith intercepted a pass from Gophers’ quarterback Adam Weber and returned it 48 yards for the winning touchdown. The Massachusetts native also recorded six tackles in the game.
Kafka is also one of the four finalists for the AT&T Player of the Week award along with Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant, Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell, and Central Michigan’s Brian Brunner. Fans can vote for Kafka by texting “VOTE” to 51234. The winner will be announced on Thursday during College Football Primetime on ESPN.