K-State picked eighth in preseason Big 12 poll, KU last

Few are expecting big things from the football teams at Kansas and Kansas State this season.

The Wildcats were predicted to finish eighth in the preseason Big 12 poll, released Thursday, while the Jayhawks were picked last.

Media members that regularly cover the conference voted in the poll. They seemed in agreement on where to place K-State and Kansas. K-State was solidly in eighth with 88 points, trailing seventh-place West Virginia (126) and leading ninth-place Iowa State (59) by similar margins. Kansas was a nearly unanimous choice for last with 27 points. Of the poll’s 26 voters, all but one selected the Jayhawks to finish tenth. The other chose them ninth.

Some will argue the Wildcats deserve to be ranked higher. They placed five players on the preseason All-Big 12 team, and return an experienced defense. But questions remain on offense, and K-State finished eighth in the Big 12 a year ago at 6-7.

The Jayhawks were expected to be picked last coming off an 0-12 campaign.

Oklahoma is the runaway favorite to win the Big 12. The Sooners led the poll with 258 points and 24 first-place votes after winning the conference championship last season.

TCU was picked to finish second with 222 points and two first-place votes. No other teams were predicted to finish first.

Oklahoma State was picked to finish third with 202 points. Things tightened up from there with Baylor (156) at fourth, Texas (151) in fifth, Texas Tech (141) in sixth and West Virginia (126) in seventh.

This story was originally published July 14, 2016 at 10:31 AM with the headline "K-State picked eighth in preseason Big 12 poll, KU last."