2012 CFN All-Big 12 Team & Roundup

Big 12 2012 Conference Game of the Week, Player of the Week, Roundup & Standings

CFN 2012 All-Big 12 Team 

2012 Preview  2012 Big 12 Preview 
- 2012 CFN Preseason All-Big 12 Team & Top 30 Players
 

2012 CFN All-Big 12 Offense
QB – QB Collin Klein, Sr. KS
RB – Joseph Randle, Jr. OSU
RB – James Sims, Jr. KU
WR – Stedman Bailey, Jr. WVU
WR – Terrance Williams, Sr. BU
TE – Travis Tannahill, Sr. KS
OL – Gabe Ikard, Jr. OU
OL – Joe Madsen, Sr. WVU
OL – Cyril Richardson, Jr. BU
OL – Lane Taylor, Sr. OSU
OL – LaAdrian Waddle, Sr. TT
PK – Quinn Sharp, Sr. OSU
KR – Justin Gilbert, Jr. OSU

2012 CFN All-Big 12 Defense
DL – Calvin Barnett, Jr. OSU
DL – Devote Fields, Fr. TCU
DL – Alex Okafor, Sr. Texas
DL – Meshak Williams, Sr. KSU
LB – Arthur Brown, Sr. KSU
LB – Bryce Hager, Soph. BU
LB – A.J. Klein, Sr. ISU
DB – Cody Davis, Sr. TT
DB – Tony Jefferson, Jr. OU
DB – Kenny Vaccaro, Sr. Tex
DB – Jason Verrett, Jr. TCU
P – Quinn Sharp, Sr. OSU
PR – Justin Brown, Sr. OU

The Best Big 12
Players of 2012
1. QB Collin Klein, Sr. KSU
2. QB Geno Smith, Sr. WVU
3. WR Stedman Bailey, Jr. WVU
4. QB Nick Florence, Sr. BU
5. DE Devote Fields, Fr. TCU
6. WR Terrance Williams, Sr. BU
7. QB Landry Jones, Sr. OU
8. WR Tavon Austin, Sr. WVU
9. S Tony Jefferson, Jr. OU
10. LB A.J. Klein, Sr. ISU
11. DE Alex Okafor, Sr. Texas
12. LB Arthur Brown, Sr. KSU
13. OG Gabe Ikard, Jr. OU
14. RB Joseph Randle, Jr. OSU
15. P/PK Quinn Sharp, Sr. OSU
16. DE Meshak Williams, Sr. KSU
17. OG Lane Taylor, Sr. OSU
18. CB Jason Verrett, Jr. TCU
19. S Cody Davis, Sr. TT
20. DT Calvin Barnett, Jr. OSU
21. OT LaAdrian Waddle, Sr. TT
22. S Kenny Vaccaro, Sr. Texas
23. LB Bryce Hager, Soph. BU
24. RB James Sims, Jr. KU
25. RB John Hubert, Jr. KSU
26. QB Seth Doege, Sr. TT
27. OG Cyril Richardson, Jr. BU
28. S Nigel Malone, Sr. KSU
29. WR Josh Stewart, Soph. OSU
30. S Ty Zimmerman, Jr. KSU

2012 CFN Big 12 Off. Player of the Year
QB Collin Klein, Sr. Kansas State

There are several right answers here. West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith threw 40 touchdown passes and just six pick, completing over 71% of his passes. Baylor quarterback Nick Florence led the nation in total offense and led the way to a win over the No. 1 Kansas State Wildcats. West Virginia receiver Stedman Bailey caught 23 touchdown passes, and Tavon Austin finished second in the nation in all-purpose yards averaging 230 per outing. But it was Collin Klein who was the heart-and-soul leader of the Big 12 champion with 22 touchdown runs and clutch third down play after clutch third down play. The loss to Baylor cost him the Heisman and the Wildcats a shot at the national championship, but it was still a special season.

2012 CFN Big 12 Def. Player of the Year
DE Devonte Fields, Fr. TCU

The first-year star turned in a dominant year with nine sacks, a Big 12-leading 17.5 tackles for loss and 49 tackles. Even after the buzz started to grow and offenses started to key on him, he still found ways to make plays. While he only had one sack over the final five games, the attention paid to him helped open things up for the rest of the D.

3 Biggest Surprises

1. Kansas State. Coming off a strong season and a Cotton Bowl appearance, the hope was there for Kansas State to come up with another great run with Collin Klein back at quarterback and enough talent to expect a good bowl game. But Bill Snyder’s team once again did almost everything right with a strong ball-control offense, flawless special teams and few penalties while finishing No. 1 in the nation in turnover margin. The loss to Baylor was a clunker, but the Wildcats managed to finish 11-1 with a Big 12 title.

2. TCU QB Trevone Boykin. The Horned Frogs went through a rough offseason with suspensions and a major controversy, but at least there were some decent players in place, led by quarterback Casey Pachall, to give the team a high-powered passing game. When Pachall left the team, the season appeared primed to go into the tank, but Boykin was able to be just good enough to keep things alive with four touchdown passes against Baylor and in the loss to Texas Tech. He threw too many picks, but TCU was able to finish up the year 7-5 with wins over West Virginia and Texas on the way to the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl against Michigan State.

3. Baylor 52, Kansas State 24. The Wildcats were No. 1 in the country with everything there for the taking. All they needed to do was beat a mediocre Baylor team and beat Texas at home to win the Big 12 title, get Collin Klein the Heisman and play for the national championship. Instead, they came out dead-calm flat, while Baylor came out fired upon the way to a 28-7 lead. Just when it seemed like KSU was about to make a comeback, with ten points in the final two minutes of the first half, the Bears came back stronger with 24 third quarter points, punctuated by an 80-yard Lache Seastrunk touchdown run for a 52-24 win.

3 Biggest Disappointments

1. Texas. 8-4 would be a dream year for most teams, but most teams don’t have the talent that Texas does. It wasn’t just that the Longhorns didn’t win the Big 12 title, and it wasn’t just that they’re playing in the Alamo Bowl instead of a BCS game, it’s that they lost to Oklahoma 63-21 in a game that wasn’t even that close. It’s that when everything appeared to be back on track with a four-game winning streak and a 8-2 record, the team inexplicably came up with a horrible effort in a Thanksgiving Day loss to TCU before having problems in a 42-24 loss to Kansas State to close things out. There were too many NFL players on this team to be this mediocre.

2. West Virginia’s collapse. At 5-0 and with a thrilling win over Baylor and a seemingly great victory over Texas, the Mountaineers looked ready to be in the national title picture and Geno Smith seemed to have the Heisman locked up. And then came the problems with two straight blowout losses to Texas Tech and Kansas State on the way to a five game losing streak. It took games against Iowa State and Kansas to pull up out of the nosedive, but the great season was already gone.

3. Oklahoma at home. There was a time not all that long ago when the Sooners were unbeatable at home. They had one of the greatest advantages in college football with a stunning dominance against anyone who came into Norman. While a 10-2 record and a BCS-worthy season are hardly anything to get upset over, OU didn’t come through in what turned out to be the two biggest games of the season, dropping a 24-19 battle against Kansas State, and struggling to put points on the board in a 30-13 loss to Notre Dame.

Best Big 12 Game of the Season
Sept. 29 – at West Virginia 70, Baylor 63. There wasn’t any tackling, the angles from the defensive players were non-existent and the play was sloppy in several areas, but there wasn’t a more fun game all season long. Baylor quarterback Nick Florence threw for 581 yards and five touchdowns, and ran for another, while receiver Terrance Williams caught 17 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns … for the losing team. West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith was unstoppable, completing 45-of-51 passes for 656 yards and eight touchdowns, connecting with Stedman Bailey 13 times for 303 yards and five touchdowns and Tavon Austin 14 times for 215 yards and two scores. It took a while for the Mountaineers to get in the lead and stay there, giving up a 67-yard touchdown to Williams to close out the first half, but they were able to get a little bit of control in the fourth quarter after an 87-yard Bailey touchdown grab gave them a 63-49 lead. Florence and the Bears came back two touchdown passes around Bailey’s five score to pull within seven, but Smith and the WVU offense were able to run out the clock.

Second Best Game : Nov. 24 – at Oklahoma 51, Oklahoma State 48 OT
Third Best Game : Nov. 3 – TCU 39, at West Virginia 38 2OT

Coach of the Year
1) Bill Snyder, Kansas State
2) Art Briles, Baylor
3) Gary Patterson, TCU

Performances of the Year
1) Sept. 29 – West Virginia QB Geno Smith vs. Baylor. 45-of-51 for 656 yards and eight touchdowns, and five carries for 31 yards, in the 70-63 win.
2) Nov. 17 – West Virginia WR Tavon Austin vs. Oklahoma. 21 carries for 344 yards and two touchdowns, four catches for 82 yards and eight kickoff returns for 146 yards in the 50-49 loss to Oklahoma.
3) Sept. 29 – West Virginia WR Stedman Bailey vs. Baylor. 13 passes for 303 yards and five scores in the 70-63 win.

Top Freshman
1) TCU DE Devonte Fields
2) West Virginia S Karl Joseph
3) West Virginia LB Isaiah Bruce