Kansas State No. 9 in first football playoff rankings
Kansas State is within striking distance of qualifying for college football’s first playoff.
The Wildcats debuted at No. 9 in the inaugural playoff rankings Tuesday, five spots behind the all important top four of Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Mississippi.
From here, their goal is simple: Move up five spots by the end of the season and K-State (6-1, 4-0 Big 12) will qualify for one of the playoff’s two semifinal games. The road won’t be easy with three difficult road games — at No. 7 TCU, No. 20 West Virginia and No. 13 Baylor — remaining, but the difficult schedule will provide a boost if K-State continues winning.
K-State has to like its placement in the playoff’s top 25. The selection committee gave the Wildcats more respect than both the Associated Press and Coaches polls, which rank them 11th. It is ranked behind two undefeated teams and six one-loss teams.
It can pass TCU with a victory in Fort Worth on Nov. 8, and it could benefit from head-to-head SEC games. Mississippi State and Mississippi play each other late in the season, and so do Auburn and No. 6 Alabama. K-State is also looking up at No. 5 Oregon and No. 8 Michigan State.
“There are 18 one-loss teams in the FBS and the differences between many of these teams are slight,” selection chairman Jeff Long said in a statement. “The bottom line is it’s early, it’s close and it’s going to change.”
K-State coach Bill Snyder understands that. Maybe that’s why his players don’t seem interested in rankings of any kind at the moment.
“We aren’t focused on that right now,” K-State linebacker Will Davis said Tuesday before the rankings were revealed. “We really aren’t focused on anything other than Oklahoma State and working hard in practice.”
Added cornerback Morgan Burns: “We are going to continue to worry about us and to prepare the best we can. Coach always says, ‘Be 1-0 every day.’ That means not getting caught up in anything other people are saying about us. That is going to be huge for us moving forward.”
Reach Kellis Robinett at krobinett@wichitaeagle.com. Follow him on Twitter: @kellisrobinett.
College Football Playoff
Rec. | |
1. Mississippi St. | 7-0 |
2. Florida St. | 7-0 |
3. Auburn | 6-1 |
4. Mississippi | 7-1 |
5. Oregon | 7-1 |
6. Alabama | 7-1 |
7. TCU | 6-1 |
8. Michigan St. | 7-1 |
9. Kansas St. | 6-1 |
10. Notre Dame | 6-1 |
11. Georgia | 6-1 |
12. Arizona | 6-1 |
13. Baylor | 6-1 |
14. Arizona St. | 6-1 |
15. Nebraska | 7-1 |
16. Ohio St. | 6-1 |
17. Utah | 6-1 |
18. Oklahoma | 5-2 |
19. LSU | 7-2 |
20. West Virginia | 6-2 |
21. Clemson | 6-2 |
22. UCLA | 6-2 |
23. East Carolina | 6-1 |
24. Duke | 6-1 |
25. Louisville | 6-2 |
The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will issue weekly rankings each Tuesday, with the final rankings being announced Sunday, Dec. 7. The playoff semifinals will match the No. 1 seed vs. the No. 4 seed, and No. 2 will face No. 3. The semifinals will be hosted at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015. The championship game will be on Jan. 12, 2015 at Arlington, Texas.
This story was originally published October 28, 2014 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Kansas State No. 9 in first football playoff rankings."