K-State Receives Votes Again In Coaches Poll
By Dave Thoman
Following a season-opening loss to FCS North Dakota State, the Wildcats plummetted in the eyes of the USA Today Coaches poll voters and received just three points in the first regular season poll. Following a 21-point victory over Louisiana Lafayette, not much has changed as the Wildcats once again received three points in the poll released this Sunday. The votes tied K-State for 40th nationally, alongside Illinois and Bowling Green.
Looking forward, K-State may not have much opportunity to rise going forward. Next Saturday the Wildcats host UMass. The Minutemen began their season with a 45-0 loss to Wisconsin, followed by a 24-14 defeat at the hands of FCS Maine University. K-State shouldn’t win over converts no matter how big of a win it can pull out. Bill Snyder’s squad then travels to play Texas, who dropped from #16 to unranked following the Longhorns’ embarrassing loss to BYU in Provo yesterday. Texas lost by a margin of 40-21, allowing the most rushing yardage in program history and losing its defensive coordinator Sunday afternoon. Mack Brown’s squad received enough votes to come in at #29 in the poll.
Elsewhere around the league in the Coaches Poll, Oklahoma State moved up three spots, from #14 to #11, after downing Texas-San Antonio by 56-35. Oklahoma moved up from #15 to #13 after its 16-7 victory over West Virginia. Baylor moved into the top 25 after being left out the past two weeks, premiering at 22. The Bears have been turning heads during their first two games, and defeated Buffalo 70-13. TCU remained unchanged at #24. Texas Tech received seven points in the poll, good for for 36th overall. The Red Raiders downed Stephen F. Austin by the score of 61-13.
TCU visits Texas Tech on Thursday this week, creating the opportunity for an exciting game and some movement in the polls. Texas has an opportunity to regain some voter support when it hosts No. 25 Ole Miss. There are no other Big 12 games relevant to polling position, although Iowa State does have its annual rivalry game against Iowa.