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By David Ubben
Rising: Long runs from Kendall Hunter
No running back in the nation has more runs of longer than 10 yards than Hunter's 41, and Louisville's Bilal Powell is the closest competitor, with 36.
In the Big 12, Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez has the next-most with 30 and Daniel Thomas of Kansas State has 29.
Falling: Sacks
Six players in the Big 12 had at least 9.5 sacks last year, including the nation's leader in Von Miller, who had 16.5.
This year? The Big 12 leader is Jeremy Beal, has just 7.5, which ranks 16th nationally. Nebraska's Jared Crick and Missouri's Brad Madison are second with 6.5, which ranks 31st nationally.
The league looked like it would have a defensive identity in 2010, but Texas' fall, along with the rise of Oklahoma State and Nebraska's offenses hasn't brought that to fruition.
Rising: Perplexing penalties
I've got no idea what this means, but get a load of this stat:
The Big 12 team who has drawn the most penalties this year: Kansas, with 82.
The team whose opponents have been flagged for the fewest: Nebraska, with 46. No. 11 in yardage is Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys opponents have been flagged 60 times. Colorado's opponents have been flagged 57 times, the next fewest.
Clearly a wide-ranging conspiracy is the only explanation, right?
Falling: Baylor kicker Aaron Jones
Jones got off to a big start, hitting 17-of-21 field goals to start the year, but had a disastrous outing in a loss to Texas A&M last week. The man they call "Stork" hit his first attempt of the day, a 38-yarder, but the rest of the day was a forgettable one. He missed an extra point after Jay Finley's touchdown run that would have given the Bears a three-possession lead. Then, his 41-yard attempt at the end of the half was blocked and nearly returned for a touchdown.
Then he missed a 27-yard attempt at the beginning of the second half, a half that ended with zero Baylor points. He missed again from 39 yards on the opening drive of the fourth quarter, finishing off a 1-for-4 day that featured his first missed extra point of the season.
"I will talk with him to see where he is at emotionally and mentally, but he can't let it beat him up," said Baylor coach Art Briles. "He is still a good kicker. It just didn't work out the way he anticipated or any of us did [on Saturday]. Lot of home run hitters strikeout a bunch, so you can't worry about the times you strikeout, you have to get ready for your next home run."
Originally posted by ESPN.com - Big 12 Blog
Click here to view the article.
Rising: Long runs from Kendall Hunter No running back in the nation has more runs of longer than 10 yards than Hunter's 41, and Louisville's Bilal Powell is the closest competitor, with 36.
In the Big 12, Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez has the next-most with 30 and Daniel Thomas of Kansas State has 29.
Falling: Sacks
Six players in the Big 12 had at least 9.5 sacks last year, including the nation's leader in Von Miller, who had 16.5.
This year? The Big 12 leader is Jeremy Beal, has just 7.5, which ranks 16th nationally. Nebraska's Jared Crick and Missouri's Brad Madison are second with 6.5, which ranks 31st nationally.
The league looked like it would have a defensive identity in 2010, but Texas' fall, along with the rise of Oklahoma State and Nebraska's offenses hasn't brought that to fruition.
Rising: Perplexing penalties
I've got no idea what this means, but get a load of this stat:
The Big 12 team who has drawn the most penalties this year: Kansas, with 82.
The team whose opponents have been flagged for the fewest: Nebraska, with 46. No. 11 in yardage is Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys opponents have been flagged 60 times. Colorado's opponents have been flagged 57 times, the next fewest.
Clearly a wide-ranging conspiracy is the only explanation, right?
Falling: Baylor kicker Aaron Jones
Jones got off to a big start, hitting 17-of-21 field goals to start the year, but had a disastrous outing in a loss to Texas A&M last week. The man they call "Stork" hit his first attempt of the day, a 38-yarder, but the rest of the day was a forgettable one. He missed an extra point after Jay Finley's touchdown run that would have given the Bears a three-possession lead. Then, his 41-yard attempt at the end of the half was blocked and nearly returned for a touchdown.
Then he missed a 27-yard attempt at the beginning of the second half, a half that ended with zero Baylor points. He missed again from 39 yards on the opening drive of the fourth quarter, finishing off a 1-for-4 day that featured his first missed extra point of the season.
"I will talk with him to see where he is at emotionally and mentally, but he can't let it beat him up," said Baylor coach Art Briles. "He is still a good kicker. It just didn't work out the way he anticipated or any of us did [on Saturday]. Lot of home run hitters strikeout a bunch, so you can't worry about the times you strikeout, you have to get ready for your next home run."
Originally posted by ESPN.com - Big 12 Blog
Click here to view the article.