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Justin Fields, Drue Chrisman Earn Big Ten Player of the Week Honors

The Ohio State quarterback and punter put on a show in the Buckeyes big win on Saturday.
Brendan Gulick|
Justin Fields, Drue Chrisman Earn Big Ten Player of the Week Honors
Justin Fields, Drue Chrisman Earn Big Ten Player of the Week Honors

Ohio State's impressive win over Michigan State last weekend has brought home some meaningful recognition for two Buckeyes that were at their best.

Quarterback Justin Fields and punter Drue Chrisman were named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and Big Ten co-Special Teams Player of the Week, respectively, for how the dominated the Spartans.

Fields was the emotional leader the Buckeyes needed on Saturday, but he also balled-out on a big stage. Fields ran for a career-high 104 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed 17-of-24 passes for 199 yards and two more touchdowns. He led the Buckeye offense down the field repeatedly, as they finished the day with 322 rushing yards, 521 total yards and six touchdowns.

The Heisman-hopeful leads the Big Ten in completion percentage (78.1), yards per attempt (10.3), passing efficiency (196.1) and passing yards per game (281.4). In five games, he’s thrown 15 touchdown passes and just three interceptions (all of which came against Indiana).

Meanwhile, Drue Chrisman was a force to be reckoned with on Saturday when the Buckeyes needed to punt. He punted five times this weekend, but two stood out in particular. One of his punts - downed at the 1-yard line - was so perfect the coverage unit didn't needed to touch it to prevent it from going into the end zone. A few plays later, it resulted in Spartan quarterback Rocky Lombardi throwing a pass from deep in his own end zone that was deflected and intercepted by Ohio State defensive lineman Haskell Garrett for a pick-6. It was a huge momentum-swinging play that helped the Buckeyes win on the road.

The second memorable punt was a 74-yard blast down the field, which was downed at the Michigan State 2-yard line. It was the longest punt of Chrisman’s career, as well as the eighth longest punt in Ohio State history.

Perhaps Chrisman simply loves punting at Spartan Stadium. Last weekend's performance was his first trip back since he pinned Sparty inside the 6-yard line five times in 2018.

Chrisman is second in the conference in yards per punt (45.1) this season. According to Ohio State athletic communications, he passed former Buckeye A.J. Trapasso on Saturday for second place on the all-time list with 80 career punts inside the 20-yard line. Current Philadelphia Eagles punter Cameron Johnston (2013-16) holds the school record with 109.

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Ohio State's Best Path to the College Football Playoff

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Brendan Gulick
BRENDAN GULICK

Brendan Gulick is the publisher for BuckeyesNow, Cleveland Baseball Insider and Cavs Insider on the FanNation Network. He is also an accomplished host and play-by-play voice on TV and radio, including on Big Ten Network and NCAA.com where he's called 45 NCAA national championships. Gulick is an update anchor and fill-in host at 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, Ohio.

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