Sept. 27, 2004

OFFENSE:
Kyle Orton, Purdue 
SR, QB, Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk
Orton showed no rust after a bye week as the senior signal caller completed 35 of 50 passes (70 percent) for 366 yards and four touchdowns while adding a rushing score to lead the Boilermakers to victory at Illinois. The Big Ten Preseason Offensive Player of the Year boosted his squad to 515 yards of total offense and 38 points in the win. Orton leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally with 344.3 yards of total offense per game and a pass efficiency rating of 188.1. He has completed 74 of 106 passes (69.8 percent) for 982 yards and 13 touchdowns in only three games, as he set a career-best with 15 touchdown passes as a junior last season. He earns his third weekly Big Ten laurel and second this season, as he was honored two weeks ago on September 13 and picked up his first weekly accolade on October 20, 2003.

DEFENSE:
Erasmus James, Wisconsin 
SR, DE, Pembroke Pines, Fla./McArthur
James becomes the first Badgers standout to earn back-to-back Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors after racking up five tackles, including four solo stops, two sacks and a fumble recovery in a 16-3 win over Penn State. The Wisconsin defense has now held each of its first four opponents to a touchdown or less for the first time since the 1951 campaign, as the PSU offense was limited to 157 yards after entering the game averaging 465.3 yards per contest. James, who leads the League with five sacks and eight tackles for loss, is only the second Badger defender in school annals to collect multiple Conference weekly laurels in one season as defensive end Tom Burke was honored three times in 1998. This is the third weekly award for James, as he was also selected following his collegiate debut on August 27, 2001.

SPECIAL TEAMS:
Dave Rayner, Michigan State 
SR, K, Oxford, Mich./Oxford
Rayner was perfect on three field goal attempts and added three extra points to rally the Spartans from a 20-7 halftime deficit to a 30-20 triumph at Indiana. The senior kicker connected on boots from 44, 22 and 39 yards to increase his career total to 45 field goals, which ranks fourth on the school's all-time list. Rayner has now picked up Big Ten weekly accolades in three consecutive seasons, as he was also honored on October 20, 2003, and September 30, 2002.