Sure, the 2013 season is but a memory now. But we can still have fun walking down memory lane. In that spirit, we're reliving some of the top individual performances by Big Ten players in the year that was.
The list takes into account the difficulty of opponent and stakes of the game and tries to identify record-breaking, honor-winning, jaw-dropping games from league players. Players are limited to one entry on this list for variety's sake.
There have been lots of big-time performances by this next guy …
No. 8: Miller time drowns Penn State
Who and against whom: Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller turned in a brutally efficient performance in a 63-14 laugher over Penn State on Oct. 26.
The numbers: Miller completed 18 of 24 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 68 yards and two scores.
A closer look: When you're a two-time Big Ten offensive player of the year, you're going to have a lot of highlights. We could have chosen several Miller performances for this spot, including his four-touchdown day against Wisconsin in his first game back from a knee injury or his 19-of-23, four-touchdown passing show vs. Purdue.
But this one stands out for its pure buzz-saw quality. Penn State's defense was truly awful that night in Columbus, but the Buckeyes quarterback had a lot to do with it. Consider that Miller reached his career high in passing yards and was on the bench before the third quarter ended. He threw only three six passes in the second half, in fact, and got all of his rushing yards in the first two quarters. Imagine the numbers Miller would have put up if Urban Meyer really wanted to keep his foot on the gas, or if the Nittany Lions' offense had made this a real shootout.
Miller has had many outstanding performances during his three years at Ohio State. This might have been his best overall game.
More top performances:
