Where Football Polls and Metrics Have Kansas State Placed in Week 15

Kansas State’s bowl-clinching victory over Colorado moved the Wildcats to 6-6 on the season.

But the Wildcats didn’t get much love from the polls and rankings we follow.

K-State (6-6, 5-4 Big 12) defeated a 3-8 Colorado team, 24-14. K-State salvaged something positive out of its season after a 2-4 start. Bowl matchups will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 7.

The Wildcats improved in three of the polls and rankings we monitor, remained the same in one and dropped in one. K-State did not get any votes in the AP Top 25 Poll and Coaches Poll.

Each week, we’ll take a look at where national polls and rankings place Kansas State’s football team. K-State ranked 48.8 in an average of five polls and rankings, a slight increase from last week’s average of 49.8. K-State’s best average since October was 40.6 after the Wildcats defeated rival Kansas, 42-17, at Lawrence.

Kansas State’s best ranking is 39 in ESPN’s Football Power Index, an increase of one spot from last week. The Wildcats’ worst ranking is 62 in The Athletic’s rankings of all 136 FBS teams — same as last week.

The polls and rankings we monitor are:

* Associated Press
* The Athletic
* CBS Sports
* US LBM Coaches Poll
* ESPN’s Football Power Index
* ESPN’s SP+ rankings
* Massey Ratings

Associated Press Top 25

The Wildcats again were not ranked by the AP this week. K-State was ranked 17th in the AP’s preseason poll but dropped out of the Top 25 after its Week Zero loss to Iowa State, 24-21, in Dublin.

The Athletic

Kansas State remained at 62. In The Athletic’s preseason poll, Kansas State was ranked 21st.

CBS Sports 136 Rankings

The Wildcats decreased by one spot to 55 from 54.

US LBM Coaches Poll

The Coaches Poll, which had Kansas State at No. 20 in the preseason, does not have the Wildcats ranked, not even in “others receiving votes.”

ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI)

K-State improved by one spot to 39 from 40.

Here are the FPI odds for K-State (with last week’s odds in parentheses):

* 100 percent chance of winning six games, which has been accomplished (last week it was 82.3 percent going into the Colorado game)
* 6.0 projected wins to 6.0 projected losses (5.8 projected wins to 6.2 losses last week)
* 0.0 percent chance of winning the Big 12 championship (same as last week)
* 0.0 percent chance of making the College Football Playoff (same as last week)
* 0.0 percent chance of making the national championship game (same as last week)
* 0.0 percent chance of winning the national championship (same as last week)

ESPN’s SP+ rankings

K-State increased two spots to 47 from 49.

According to rankings creator Bill Connelly, SP+ is “a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. SP+ is intended to be predictive and forward-facing.

“It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you’re lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you’re strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise.”

Massey Ratings

K-State is ranked 41, an improvement from 44 last week.

Massey Ratings are a compilation of 40 different college football rankings. K-State’s ranking is based on a consensus of the 40 rankings.

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