Outcomes Of K-State Opponents Past..

Big slate of games today, with a couple eyebrow raising outcomes. So what did they mean for the Wildcats?

Score: Oklahoma 63, Texas 21

Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE

What it means: Oklahoma is gonna get some poll love with this beatdown of its biggest rival, which will validate the drum beating Jug of Snyder has been doing over the past two weeks. Dear nation: wake up. Oklahoma, despite losing at home to K-State, is a great football team. It’s just that they ran up against another great football team in K-State and lost. Unfortunately, a Texas win would look better down the line because it’s better to win against a good opponent late in the season than early in the season (the assumption being that K-State beats Texas later this year, but Texas is lower ranked than Oklahoma because they were demolished by the Sooners). However, this result should buy the Wildcats some immediate poll love. It also gives EMAW nation a boost of confidence that it can beat Texas for the fifth straight time win the Longhorns visit in December to conclude the regular season. That’s right – five straight. Because people need to be reminded, despite its lows in the middle of the previous decade, of how long this program has dominated the State of Texas recently.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Score: North Carolina 18, Miami 14
What it means: Miami losing to Notre Dame 41-3 last week removed a lot of luster from the Wildcats’ win over the Hurricanes. Today didn’t help much either. North Carolina is a pretty good team, but Miami needs to be a player in the ACC to make that early season shellacking look good. Miami is 3-1 in conference play and leads the Coastal Division, but more wins in the future would be welcome.

Score: Missouri State 27, South Dakota 24
What it means: a bad I-AA school that played K-State close in the first half got its first win of the season. Not really anything to hang your hat at.

Score: Oklahoma State 17, Kansas 14
What it means: Sure Oklahoma State got blown out by Arizona, but count me as one of the people still willing to defend the team. Now no one can ever defend this Oklahoma State team ever this year ever. They may be better than the slim win indicates, but anything short of a demolition when the Cowboys visit November 3 should be viewed as a disappointment.

Also worth noting: K-State’s next two opponents, West Virginia and Texas Tech, played in Lubbock today. Tech triumphed by a score of 49-14. Apparently their defense is as good as advertised. Tommy Tubberville looks to be conducting the turnaround he promised with a defensive emphasis. West Virginia will come out next weekend either discouraged, or angry and out for blood. It’s hard to know which it will be, but expect the impact to be extreme one way or the other.