Kansas State just keeps on winning
Posted: Friday October 16, 1998 09:44 PM
The problem with Kansas State, as everybody in college football will tell
you, is Indiana State. And Northern Illinois. And Northeast Louisiana, for
goodness sake.
Yes, the No. 4 team in the country is only No. 4 because of that
out-of-conference cakewalk. The Wildcats knew going into the season that
their soft schedule -- ranked 106th in the country in the Sagarin ratings
-- could hold them back in the polls. And that's important, considering the
new Bowl Championship Series takes polls very seriously.
Still, the Wildcats also know that they're doing the only thing they can
about it.
Winning.
"They are very capable of understanding the process without looking too
far ahead. It's not like they're not getting the message," Kansas State
coach Bill Snyder said of his team. "They know. They flat know."
Kansas State, 5-0 heading into the meat of its Big 12 schedule, was a
college football steamroller in its first four games this season, blowing
by its patsies by an average score of something like 62-5. Despite the
blowouts, Kansas State couldn't budge out of its spot at No. 5 in the AP
poll.
Heads finally started to turn last week when the Wildcats passed their
first real test of the year, winning 16-9 over Colorado in Boulder, the
first time they'd won in the Rockies in 25 years. That -- along with
Nebraska's shocking loss to Texas A&M -- helped inch the 'Cats up another
notch in the AP poll.
After the win against No. 14 Colorado, Kansas State rose a spot in the
coaches' poll, too, where they now sit at No. 3.
Their early season walkovers have made for some eye-popping statistics.
The Wildcats lead the nation in scoring offense (duh, at 53 points a game),
in scoring defense (six points per outing), in rushing defense (66.6 yards
per game) and in both net punting and punt returns. They also lead the
country in total defense, allowing 216.8 yards per game.
Creampuff city: The Wildcats' out-of-conference opponents have a combined 4-12 record AP | |
All the numbers have made them tops in at least one poll -- the Sagarin,
which is used in the BCS formula to decide who will play for the national
championship. Kansas State moved to No. 1 in that computer breakdown this
week, edging out No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 Ohio State.
If the Wildcats know one thing for sure, it's that one slip up will be
all it takes to push them out of the championship picture. That's why
Kansas State, which has run off a school-tying 13 straight wins, knows what it has to do going into Saturday's game against Oklahoma State (2-3).
Keep winning.
"You all [the media] can talk about the weak schedules all you want, but
this team [Kansas State] is a solid football team," Oklahoma State coach
Bob Simmons said. "Yeah, he's [Snyder] got a great schedule where he
jump-starts his football team. But he's got talent on his football team."
Around the nation
EAST : Boston college running back Mike Cloud needs 35 yards this
week to set the Big East record for rushing yardage through six games. He's
outpacing the records set last year by West Virginia's Amos Zereoue ...
Speaking of Zereoue, he had to sit out last week's win over Temple with a
leg injury, but should be back for the October 24 game against Miami.
SOUTHEAST : Georgia Tech will play No. 8 Virginia on Saturday
without starting linebacker Matt Uremovich, who has been suspended for
failing an NCAA drug test. He's the third player suspended by the Yellow
Jackets in the past two months after a failed drug test. The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution reported that the Uremovich was suspended for
taking an over-the-counter drug that was nonetheless banned by the NCAA. The other two Tech players suspended were caught for taking androstenedione -- the
same over-the-counter substance baseball slugger Mark McGwire has used ...
Florida State backup defensive end David Warren may not play this weekend
against Clemson. Doctors have done several tests but still have not figured
out exactly what it was that caused Warren to suffer a seizure on the way
home from Miami last weekend ... Florida defensive tackle Ed Chester, a
finalist for the Lombardi Award, underwent major knee surgery this week
where doctors found additional nerve damage.
MIDWEST : It's not pretty for Cincinnati, which is saddled with
the worst defense in the nation. The Bearcats are allowing 558 yards a game --
and 50 points -- during their 0-6 start. This week they get Memphis (0-4)
.. Northwestern coach Gary Barnett closed practices for two days this week
in advance of this weekend's game against Michigan. Last week, he feared
that Iowa somehow had learned about a fake punt the Wildcats tried to pull
in the first quarter ... Illinois, coming off a loss to No. 1 Ohio State
last week, gets 6-0 Wisconsin this week.
WEST : Nothing's going right for Arizona State (2-4) this year.
The Sun Devils, who fancied themselves a title contender before the season, had
to wing it during much of the second half of last week's loss to Notre
Dame. The scoreboards, clocks and public address system at Sun Devil Stadium all were malfunctioning ... There are six Pac-10 teams in this week's AP Top 25
... Injured junior running back Chad Morton still may not be ready to suit
up for Southern California in this weekend's game at Washington State. The
Trojans are coming off an upset loss to Cal, which scored the final 22
points of the game. The week before, USC ripped off 22 straight in the
fourth quarter to beat Arizona State.
INDEPENDENTS : Central Florida (5-1) is off to its best start in
five years. Star quarterback Daunte Culpepper completed 28 of his 33 passes
with a touchdown last week in a win over Northern Illinois, but for the
first time this year, the Knights scored more touchdowns rushing than
through the air ... Navy, off to a 1-4 start that jeopardizes two straight
years of winning records, has just what it needs this week: a game against
Colgate. The Midshipmen are 5-0 against Colgate.
Around College Football appears every Friday on CNNSI.com
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