The Big 12 went a collective 11-1 over the first weekend of 2010 college football season but a win on the field doesn't necessarily equate to a win in the locker room. In the midst of all the celebrating and congratulating )as well as collective sighs of relief) there were a lot of coaches huddled in the corners and back offices of various locker rooms scratching their heads over what they just saw. Here's a rundown of this past weekend's winners and losers from the Big 12.
Winners
A.J. Klein, Iowa State - The Cyclones' fiery linebacker led a defensive charge that held Northern Illinois to just 3 points until the fourth quarter, and 10 points overall, with a 15 tackle (1 for loss) performance.
T.J. Moe, Missouri - With added pressure on Missouri's passing game due to the dismissal of running back Derrick Washington the Tigers' Sophomore receiver stepped up to catch 13 passed for 101 yards and a score.
Aldon Smith, Missouri - Sophomore defensive end produced 10 tackles and 2 sacks.
Robert Griffin III, Baylor - In his first game back from last year's season ending knee injury, Baylor's quarterback threw for 242 yards and a touchdown while also running for 59 yards and another score.
Daniel Thomas, Kansas State - Made his case for being the best running back in the Big 12 by rushing for 234 yards (8.4 YPC) and 2 touchdowns on 28 carries.
Alex Hrebec, Kansas State - Junior linebacker made 12 stops against UCLA.
Kansas State - With only 10 returning starters (5 offense/5 defense) the Wildcats entered 2010 as a huge question mark. They found some answers in their 31-22 win over UCLA.
Taylor Martinez, Nebraska - Freshman quarterback made his debut by completing 60% of his passes for 136 yards while also running for 127 yards (18.1 YPC) and three touchdowns on seven carries.
DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma - Doing his best to silence doubters about him being Oklahoma's workhorse by carrying the ball for a career high 35 times for 218 yards and two touchdowns.
Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma - Despite being the focus of the Utah State defense, Oklahoma's star receiver caught 9 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State - Senior running back led the Cowboys' offensive charge with 257 yards and 4 touchdowns on 21 carries (12.2 YPC).
Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M - Possibly the most hyped Big 12 quarterback (that doesn't play for the University of Texas) coming into the season. Johnson completed 70% of his passes for 322 yards and two touchdowns.
Lyle Leong, Texas Tech - Senior receiver helped the Red Raiders sneak past SMU by hauling in 11 catches for 142 yards and three touchdowns.
Losers
Kansas Jayhawks - Kansas fired the best football coach they'd ever had for not being a nice guy. Now they've got a nice coach and a loss to North Dakota State.
Kansas State Passing Attack - Carson Coffman completed 68.8% of his passes and threw a touchdown but in all the Wildcat passing attack could only muster 64 total passing yards.
Missouri Rush Defense - Illinois running back Mikel Leshour and quarterback Nathan Steelhaase ran for averages of 5.6 and 4.8 yards per carry respectively while the Illini ran for 200 yards.
Nebraska Rush Defense - Western Kentucky running back Bobby Rainey averaged 5.2 yards per carry while rushing for 155 yards and a score against the Husker defense.
Oklahoma Defensive Secondary - Got completely torched by Utah State! Aggie quarterback Diondre Borel threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 20 yards per completion.
Texas Rushing Attack - Tre' Newton had touchdown runs of 1, 2, and 1 yards but the new Longhorn run oriented offense failed to produce a 100 yard rusher and top backs Newton and starter Cody Johnson averaged less than four yards per carry.