by @Alec_Busse
Kansas State remained ranked in the College Football Playoff polls despite losing to Texas 34-27 on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. After registering at No. 13 in the first rendition of the 2022 CFP polls last week, the Wildcats fell to No. 19 on Tuesday in the second released polls.
The Wildcats are 6-3 on the season and hold a 4-2 record in Big 12 Conference play, which has them tied with No. 18 Texas and Baylor for second place in the league.
For Kansas State to make it to the Big 12 title game, likely to play still undefeated and No. 4 TCU who beat Kansas State 38-28 in Fort Worth earlier season, the Wildcats need to beat Baylor, West Virginia and arch-rival Kansas. The Wildcats would also need the Longhorns to lose one of their final three games of the season to TCU, Kansas or Baylor to qualify for the Big 12 title game.
“It’s something we don’t get too caught up in because then you start thinking about variables or what needs to happen or what can happen,” head coach Chris Klieman said of the Big 12 race on Tuesday. “As soon as you start getting into that, you’re not going to do what you need to do to be successful. All the teams in the hunt, and race would tell you the same thing. It’s such a difficult league that you better control what you can control.”
This week, Kansas State travels to Baylor. The Bears enter Saturday’s game on a three-game win streak, which includes victories over Kansas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
Last week was the first time that Kansas State had appeared in the College Football Playoff rankings since Klieman was hired prior to the 2019 season. The Wildcats are ranked No. 23 in the AP Top 25.
