ROSEMONT, Ill. – Following Week 12 contests, the Big Ten Conference Football Players of the Week Presented by IFS.ai were announced Monday. Below are this week’s honorees:
Co-Offensive Players of the Week
Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
QB – Jr. – Miami, Fla. – Christopher Columbus
- Connected on 22-of-24 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns in the Hoosiers’ win against Wisconsin
- Led five total scoring drives, with four ending in passing scores and one in a field goal that gave IU a 10-3 lead entering halftime
- Engineered a nine-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half and give IU a 10-point lead it would not relinquish
- Helped Indiana win a program-record-tying 11th victory and finish the season undefeated at home and set an IU single-season mark for touchdown passes with his 30th of the season in the fourth quarter to Omar Cooper Jr.
- Last Indiana Offensive Player of the Week: Fernando Mendoza (Sept. 22, 2025)
Kaytron Allen, Penn State
RB – Sr. – Norfolk, Va. – IMG Academy
- Finished the game with a career-high 181 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, averaging 7.2 yards per rush
- Allen was the first Nittany Lion to rush for 180+ yards since Journey Brown rushed for 202 yards against Memphis in the 2019 Cotton Bowl
- Scored on an eight-yard rush in the first quarter and added a 26-yard touchdown rush in the fourth quarter
- Allen now has 3,794 career rushing yards, trailing only Saquon Barkley (3,843; 2015-17) and Evan Royster (3,932; 2007-10) for the Penn State career rushing record
- Last Penn State Offensive Player of the Week: Tyler Warren (Nov. 18, 2024)
Defensive Player of the Week
Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State
DE – Sr. – Millsboro, Del. – McDonogh School
- Tallied two sacks for his ninth career game with multiple tackles for loss and fourth career game with multiple sacks in Penn State’s win against Michigan State
- He secured a solo sack in the third quarter
- Added a sack in the fourth quarter
- Owns 31 career tackles for loss and 21 career sacks
- Last Penn State Defensive Player of the Week honoree: Abdul Carter (Sept. 30, 2024)
Special Teams Player of the Week
Ryon Sayeri, USC
K – Fr. – West Hills, Calif. – Chaminade
- Kicked two field goals (40 and 28) and three PATs for a total of nine points in USC’s 26-21 victory over No. 21 Iowa in the rain
- Recorded six kickoffs for 388 yards (64.7 avg.) and three touchbacks
- He has the fifth-best field goal percentage in the nation with 94.4% accuracy going 17-of-18 and he’s second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage
- Sayeri is 6-of-6 in field goals versus ranked AP or CFP opponents, and he’s 6-of-6 over 40+ yards
- Last USC Special Teams Player of the Week honoree: Ryon Sayeri (Nov. 3, 2025)
Freshman of the Week
Andrew Marsh, Michigan
WR – Katy, Texas – Katy Jordan
- Recorded 12 catches and 189 yards, both of which are single-game records among Michigan freshmen (since at least 1979), in Michigan’s victory against Northwestern at Wrigley Field
- Eclipsed 100 receiving yards at 13:50 in the second quarter with a 32-yard catch down the sideline, marking Marsh’s second career 100-yard game (138 at USC)
- Marsh is the first U-M freshman wide receiver to record multiple 100-yard performances since 2009 (Roy Roundtree; redshirt freshman)
- Surpassed his career high in receptions (previous: eight) with nine catches in the first half alone
- Last Michigan Freshman of the Week: Bryce Underwood (Sept. 15, 2025)
