MANHATTAN, Kan. – By setting both individual and team rushing records last week at No. 12 Utah, Kansas State sophomore running back Joe Jackson has been named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, while K-State also picked up Big 12 Offensive Line of the Week honors, the conference office announced Monday.
Jackson’s accolade was the 31st time a Wildcat has been named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and the first since running back DJ Giddens earned the nod following the 2023 UCF game. It is the first time ever the Wildcat offensive line has picked up the unit honor as the Big 12 began that award this season.
A native of Haines City, Florida, Jackson rushed for 293 yards and three touchdowns against the Utes to break Darren Sproles’ school record of 292 yards set against Louisiana in 2004. It was also 20 yards more than Sproles’ conference-game record of 273 yards against Missouri in 2003. When adding in his 19-yard reception, Jackson’s 312 scrimmage yards ranked second in school history and was the ninth-most all-purpose yards in K-State history. He became the first Wildcat to eclipse 300 all-purpose yards since Tyler Lockett had a 321-yard output at West Virginia in 2014.
The Wildcat offensive line paved the way for 472 rushing yards overall, breaking a school record that stood for 71 years as K-State topped the previous record of 439 yards at Drake on November 6, 1954. The rushing total came on only 42 attempts as the Wildcats’ 11.2-yard average was their best in the Big 12 era by nearly 2.0 yards per rush (9.4 average vs. Kansas in 2012). K-State totaled 574 yards of offense at Utah to tie for the eighth most in school history and rank third against a conference opponent.