Offensive Player of the Week: Jalon Daniels, QB, Kansas
Defensive Player of the Week: Marcus Neal Jr., DB, Iowa State
Special Teams Player of the Week: Aiden Flora, Returner, Iowa State
Freshman of the Week: Dominic Overby, WR, Iowa State
Offensive Line of the Week: Kansas
Defensive Line of the Week: Iowa State
IRVING, Texas – No. 22/21 Iowa State and Kansas shared the first set of Big 12 weekly awards of the 2025 season. ISU’s Marcus Neal Jr. (defensive), Aiden Flora (special teams) and Dominic Overby (freshman) earned individual honors while the Cyclones also had the Defensive Line of the Week after defeating No. 17/20 K-State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
KU’s Jalon Daniels (offensive) and its offensive line were honored after the Jayhawks’ 31-7 win over Fresno State in the first game in reimagined David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Daniels completed 90% of his 20 pass attempts for 176 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 47 yards in the win. He set a career high in completion percentage, connecting with 10 different receivers, and became the fourth Big 12 player all-time to have a single game with at least three passing touchdowns, 45 rushing yards and a 90.0 completion percentage.
In ISU’s Week 0 win, Neal Jr. tied career highs in tackles with eight and tackles for a loss with one-and-a-half in his first career start. The sophomore made the tackle to stop the Wildcats on a pivotal fourth-down play in the second quarter, which was one of the Cyclones’ three stops on fourth down in the game.
Flora handled punt and kick return duties for Iowa State in wet conditions in Dublin, Ireland while also playing as a gunner on the punt unit. He returned a pair of kicks for 56 yards while also recovering a fumble on a muffed punt in the first quarter.
With a 23-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, ISU’s Dominic Overby made an instant impact in his first career start. The redshirt freshman finished the game with a pair of receptions for 29 yards and the first touchdown of his career to help propel the Cyclones to a 24-21 victory over Kansas State.
The Kansas offensive line was key in the Jayhawks’ 31-7 win and Daniels winning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. The unit paved the way for 207 rushing yards and 176 yards through the air for 383 yards of total offense against Fresno State. The offensive line protected Daniels throughout the day, allowing just one sack. KU’s 39 sacks allowed since the start of the 2022 season are the third lowest in FBS during that span.
With strong play in the trenches, the Iowa State defensive line limited No. 17/20 K-State to just 21 points and 21 rushing yards by quarterback Avery Johnson. The Cyclones were disruptive to the Wildcats’ passing game with a number of batted passes and quarterback hurries in the win.