Week 6 Football Release

• Week 6 of the 2024 college football season included eight tilts between Big Ten Conference opponents. Oregon will host its first Big Ten game, as Michigan State visits Autzen Stadium on Friday night. Ohio State will host Iowa on Saturday in a battle of conference unbeatens, while Rutgers visits Nebraska looking to go 5-0 for the first time since 2012.

• This week’s AP and US LBM Coaches Polls include 10 Big Ten teams, including five in the top 15 in both polls. Ohio State continues to lead the way at No. 3 in both polls, followed by No. 6 Oregon, No. 7 Penn State, and No. 10 Michigan. USC sits at No. 11 in the AP Poll and No. 15 in the coaches poll, while the AP lists Indiana and Illinois at No. 23 and No. 24, with the coaches listing the pair at Nos. 24 and 25, respectively.

• Five Big Ten teams remain undefeated through five weeks of the 2024 season. Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, and Rutgers rank among the 19 NCAA FBS teams sporting perfect records entering Week 6.

• On Monday, the Big Ten announced its Football Players of the Week, presented by IFS.ai. Michigan’s Kalel Mullings and Oregon’s Tez Johnson shared Offensive Player of the Week honors. Mullins recorded 24 rushes for 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns, as the Wolverines topped Minnesota 27-24. This marks Mullins’ third consecutive 100-yard and two touchdown game. Johnson helped the Ducks earn their first Big Ten victory with Saturday’s 34-13 win over UCLA. The receiver finished with 142 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in the win. Johnson caught 11 passes for 111 yards and posted 21 yards on a pair of punt returns.

• Penn State linebacker Abdul Carter earned Defensive Player of the Week accolades after matching a career high with four tackles for loss in the Nittany Lions’ 21-7 win over Illinois. Carter is the first Nittany Lion with four tackles for loss in a game since Yetur Gross-Matos against Iowa in 2018. The junior also recorded a pair of sacks and forced a fumble in the victory.

• Special Teams Player of the Week honors went to Michigan’s Dominic Zvada. The junior went 2-for-2 on field goals, including a 53-yarder, and 3-for-3 in extra point attempts. Zvada has made all four of his attempts from beyond 50 yards and became the first U-M kicker to make four field goals of 50-plus yards in the same season.

• Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith was named Freshman of the Week after totaling 102 yards and two touchdowns in Ohio State’s 38-7 win over Michigan State. The freshman caught five passes, including two one-handed grabs, for 83 yards and added a 19-yard touchdown run.

• Indiana continued its historic run to start the 2024 campaign. The Hoosiers’ improved to 5-0 with Saturday’s 42-28 win over Maryland, marking just the third time the program has started a season 5-0 and the first time since 1967.

• Oregon and USC claimed their first Big Ten victories on Saturday. Dillon Gabriel went 21-of-31 for 210 yards, while Jordan James rushed 20 times for 103 yards in the Ducks’ 34-13 win over UCLA. The Trojans rallied from a 21-10 halftime deficit, running to a 38-21 home win over Wisconsin. Miller Moss threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Ja’Kobi Lane, while linebacker Mason Cobb sealed the victory with a 55-yard pick six with just over five minutes to play.

• The top two teams in the regular season standings will meet in the 2024 Discover Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, Ind. The game, which will be broadcast on CBS for the first time ever, will be the first in conference history to match the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the overall conference standings.