Northwestern senior defensive end Dean Lowry has been named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and quarterback Clayton Thorson is the Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
Lowry set a school record with his six tackles for loss in Saturday’s 30-28 win at Nebraska that improved the Wildcats to 6-2 and made them bowl eligible.
The 6-foot-6, 290-pound Lowry totaled 10 tackles, including two sacks and a pass break-up. The six tackles for loss were the most by a Big Ten player in a single game since Purdue’s Rob Ninkovich had seven tackles for loss on Nov. 19, 2005.
Thorson had runs of 68 and 49 yards en route to a 126-yard rushing game that included a TD plunge. He passed for 177 yards and one TD. This is Thorson’s second career weekly honor from the Big Ten.
Northwestern, 2-2 in the conference, is off this weekend and will host Penn State on Nov. 7.
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