Big 12 coaches tab Duggan, Anudike-Uzomah as top players

IRVING, Texas (AP) — TCU quarterback Max Duggan was named the Big 12′s offensive player of the year Wednesday by the league’s coaches, and Kansas State end Felix Anudike-Uzomah was picked as the top defensive player.

Those players will face each other Saturday when the third-ranked Horned Frogs (12-0) play No. 13 Kansas State (9-3) in the Big 12 Championship, Saturday at 11 a.m.

Sonny Dykes was selected Coach of the Year by his peers after TCU became the first Big 12 team since Texas in 2009 to finish a regular season undefeated. Dykes is the first coach to win the award in his first season with a program, and is part of the first father-son duo to win the award — the late Spike Dykes won it in 1996 with Texas Tech.

READ MORE: K-State football gears up for Big 12 Championship

Duggan, who lost his starting job going into the season, leads the Big 12 with 3,070 yards and 29 touchdowns ing and has thrown only three interceptions since taking over in the second half of the season opener. He has now made 40 career starts.

Anudike-Uzomah is second in the Big 12 with 7 1/2 sacks, including three against Texas Tech. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound junior has 19 1/2 career sacks along with eight forced fumbles. The Lee’s Summit High School product is a projected first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, which will be hosted in Kansas City.

Regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s game, Kansas State will head to the Sugar Bowl, either as the Big 12 Champion or the highest-ranked non-College Football Playoff team from the conference. The Sugar Bowl appearance would be the first for Kansas State under Chris Klieman’s leadership and the first since Collin Klein led the Wildcats to the Fiesta Bowl in the 2012 season.