THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2011
PAGE 9B
OKLAHOMA STATE
Season Grade: A
Record: 11-1
Bowl: Fiesta Bowl
Best Win: 44-10 against
Oklahoma
The Cowboys started out the season with two goals in mind. The first was to defeat Oklahoma, which they hadn't done since 2002, and the second was to win a conference championship, which they hadn't done since they shared the 1976 Big Eight title. The Cowboys achieved both goals, despite seeing star wide receiver Justin Blackmon's touchdowns and receiving yards decrease. Joseph Randle emerged as a scoring threat on the ground; he rushed for 23 touchdowns on the year. The Cowboys' lone blemish came in Ames, Iowa, in double overtime. Although the loss ultimately kicked them out of the BCS championship game, Cowboy fans can still view the season as a success.
OKLAHOMA
Season Grade: B
Record: 9-3
Bowl: Insight Bowl
Best Win: 58-17 against
Kansas State
What would be considered a pretty good year by many fan bases is seen as an utter disappointment in Norman, Okla., where the season began with a unanimous No. 1 ranking and ended without even a January bowl game. The wheels started coming off the Sooner Schooner when the team lost at home to Texas Tech. Quarterback Landry Jones did not perform up to expectations, posting a two to one touchdown to interception ration. Jones struggled down the stretch after he lost all-time NCAA receptions leader Ryan Broyles for the season. Jones threw no touchdown passes in his teams final three games, and the Sooners relied more and more on the legs of freshman quarterback Blake Bell, who ran for seven touchdowns in the Sooner's final three games.
MISSOURI
Season Grade: B
Record: 7-5
Bowl: Independence Bowl
Best Win: 38-31 overtime
victory against Texas A&M
The Tigers struggled out of the gate as they adjusted to first time starter James Franklin under center, but Missouri finished strong, winning four of its last five games to clinch a winning record. The big drama came in the middle of the season when rumors started swirling that Missouri might join Texas A&M in making the jump to the SEC after the season. The rumors turned true in early November, when the Tigers officially announced they were moving. With a comeback win against Kansas in what might be the last Border Showdown in the foreseeable future, Missouri took the series lead according to both schools and exited the Big 12 triumphantly, despite failing to win a single Big 12 conference title in football.
IOWA STATE
Season Grade: B
Record: 6-6
Best Win: 37-31 double over time win against Oklahoma State
Bowl Game: New Era
Pinstripe Bowl
In most parts, a 6-6 record wouldn't be worthy of a B grade, but when the Cyclones defeated Oklahoma State at home to become bowl eligible on November 18, Cyclones and coach Paul Rhodes showed how far the program has come in just three years under his reign. Quarterback Steele Jantz excited the Cyclone fan base early, but his erratic play found him a nice seat on the pine. Jared Barnett came on as his replacement and helped propel Iowa State in their big upset victory. The Cyclones may have finished the season at .500, but they laid a good foundation for the future this season.
SEASON RECAP
ETHAN PADWAY epadway@kansan.com
Season Grade: F
Record: 2-10
Best Win: 45-42 against
Northern Illinois
Bowl Game: The Toilet Bowl,
where Jayhawk fans vomited
after many terrible losses
The season is almost over and The Kansan's conference reporter grades the Big 12 teams on their performance
The Jayhawks did not look competitive for most of the season, and their 2011 defense is one that will live on in the record books of many other teams as they finished dead last in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 43.8 points per game. Their offense started off hot but finished the season just as fustle. Of quarterback Jordan Webb's 13 touchdown passes, just two came over the team's final seven games. The kick to the proverbial groin came in the final Border Showdown for the foreseeable future where quarterback James Franklin threw more touchdown passes to Kansas players than the Jayhawks' own quarterback did. The one area where the Jayhawks excelled was their running attack, which featured four underclassmen who will be able to contribute for years to come. Jayhawk fans' only enjoyment pertaining to football lies in their speculation about who their next coach will be.
KANSAS
Season Grade: B-
Record: 7-5
Bowl: Holiday Bowl
Best Win: 27-25 against
Texas A&M
TEXAS
Longhorn fans were happy to see quarterback Garrett Gilbert benched after the Longhorn's victory over BYU. The Longhorns offense lacked much of a kick during the season, as Mack Brown shuffled between Case McCoy and David Ash for most of the season before settling in with McCoy for the final two games. Ash struggled in the passing game, throwing three touchdowns and eight interceptions on the year, and could not do enough with his legs to remove some of the pressure. The Longhorns survived the season by relying on a stingy defense that allowed 20 points or less eight times on the year.
Season Grade:A
Record:9-3
Bowl:Alamo Bowl
Best Win:45-38 against
Oklahoma
Season Overview:The main storyline
BAYLOR
The main storyline for Baylor this season was quarterback Robert Griffin III's quest for the Heisman. He started the season throwing more touchdowns than incompleteness through the first three games and although he couldn't keep that torrid pace going, he still played electric enough to receive an invite to New York as a Heisman finalist, and has a good chance to strike the famous pose on Saturday night. Griffin's best game was a four-touchdown, 447-yard performance against Oklahoma where his 34-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Williams with eight seconds left reignited his Heisman bid.
KANSAS STATE
Season Grade: A
Record: 10-2
Bowl: Cotton Bowl
Best Win: 36-35 against
Baylor
The Wildcats came out of nowhere to challenge for the Big 12 title on the legs of quarterback Collin Klien and a stingy defense. Klean ran 26 touchdowns in for the Wildcats, 23 more than the Wildcats' second leading rusher. The Wildcats played in many close games, but Bill Snyder put them in a good enough position so that their record in one-score games was 8-1. Although Wildcat fans might be disappointed that their team didn't receive a bid to a BCS bowl, they can celebrate with a 10-win team that greatly overachieved this season, and greatly exceeded expectations.
TEXAS TECH
Season Grade: C-
Record: 5-7
Best Win: 41-38 against Okla-
homa
Bowl Game: None
The Red Raiders started fast against a relatively easy non-conference schedule that left them untested as they raced out to a 4-0 record to open the season. Things started to cool off following two close losses before the Red Raiders upset Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. Following their upset, the Red Raiders forgot how to be competitive in the Big 12 as they dropped their next three games 159-31. Quarterback Seth Doege started the season strong but fell apart after beating Oklahoma, throwing just six touchdowns over his final five games.
TEXAS A&M
Season Grade: C-
Record: 6-6
Best Win: 55-28 against
Baylor
Bowl: Meineke Car Care
Bowl of Texas
The Aggies entered the season stirring the pot of controversy trying to land an invite to the SEC, they got the invite and almost took down the Big 12 conference with them. The big storyline surrounding the Aggies was their inability to finish off games, they blew second half leads in five of their six losses, which eventually led to the dismissal of coach Mike Sherman following the Aggies defeat in the Lone Star Showdown. They leave the Big 12 with only one conference championship to their name.
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