We have another Big Ten football weekly award that was handed out to an Ohio State player for his efforts against Rutgers. Freshman Bo Jackson was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after carrying the ball 19 times for 110 yards (5.8 ypc) and two touchdowns.

Jackson’s emergence comes at a great time for Ohio State. The Buckeyes haven’t been as dynamic in the running game as what we saw last season, and they’ll need it to not only have a chance to win the Big Ten but to make another deep run in defending their College Football Playoff national championship. Jackson has now topped the 100-yard mark in five games this season (Grambling, Ohio, Penn State, UCLA, and Rutgers) while splitting time with other running backs. Three of those five have come in the last four games as he has begun to separate himself as the most explosive option in the ground game.

Jackson is closing in on 1,000 yards for the year, having tallied 129 carries for 835 yards (6.5 ypc) heading into the game against Michigan, a game in which the team that rushes for the most yards almost always comes out with the victory.

Jackson’s award makes the seventh time an Ohio State player has been recognized by the Big Ten in its weekly awards this year, joining quarterback Julian Sayin’s three Freshman of the Week awards (Grambling, Minnesota, Wisconsin), Sayin’s Player of the Week also against Wisconsin, and Caden Curry’s Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against Washington.

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