Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Following a 37-7 victory over Massachusetts in which the Wildcats won (although failed to dominate as thoroughly as hoped for), Kansas State has inched up ever so slightly in the USA Today/Coaches Poll released Sunday evening. After two straight weeks of receiving three points in the poll, the team received six this to crawl a bit closer to top 25 status (although the team still has a ways to go). Unfortunately, next week’s game against Texas is looking like a lose-lose situation that will fail to vault the Wildcats much higher into the polls.
While Texas was ranked the number 25 team in the nation just two weeks ago, the bottom has dropped out for the Longhorns as the team played ultra-sloppy in wet and sloppy conditions against BYU. They followed up that loss with a 44-23 dismantlement at home by Ole Miss, and did not receive a single vote this week in the polls. If K-State wins, they will have beaten an opponent sitting at 1-3 on the season. If the Wildcats lose, they’ll be the first team to fall to Texas since opening weekend. Lose-lose.
Elsewhere around the league, Oklahoma State remained the top-ranked team in the league following a 59-3 rout of overmatched Lamar, and staid pat at #11. Oklahoma climbed one spot to #12 thanks to a 51-20 triumph over lowly Tulsa. Baylor up three spots to #22 during its week off (for the record, I still believe the Bears are the most underrated team in the nation).
TCU dropped out of the poll after standing at #24 last week. The Horned Frogs lost to Texas Tech 20-10 in a game fueled with controversy. TCU did not receive any votes either, and sits at 1-2 on the season after losses to both Tech and LSU. Tech has looked extremely impressive so far this season, and received 49 points to rank 28th in the nation. With Oklahoma and Oklahoma State off next week, there’s little chance for movement in the polls in week four. Baylor takes on Louisiana-Monroe while Texas Tech hosts Texas State, so barring a significant let down there should be four teams ranked following next week’s match ups.