Barnes and Shelley Earn Big 12 Awards

After dominant performances on their respective side of the ball, Alex Barnes and Duke Shelley have each earned Big 12 Player of the Week awards (offense and defense, respectively), as announced by the league office Monday morning.

Barnes picks up just his first Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week award, after the junior running back ran the ball a career-high 34 times for 181 yards and a career-high tying four touchdowns against the Oklahoma State Cowboys last Saturday. Barnes also added three catches for 51 yards to become just the third player in school history with over 175 rushing yards and over 50 receiving yards in a single game (joining Tony Jordan (1986 vs. Iowa State) and Darren Sproles (2003 vs. Oklahoma)).

For Shelley it is his second Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week award after the senior defensive back recorded two interceptions, a pass breakup, and six solo tackles against the Cowboys. Shelley was also named to the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll thanks to a kickoff return of 26 yards, return of 30 yards on his second interception.

It was also announced Monday that the Wildcats next game, in Norman against Oklahoma on Oct. 27th, will be a 2:30pm CDT kickoff and will air on FOX.