Kansas State Takes Expected Tumble In Rankings After Houston Loss

Nov 2, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats tight end Garrett Oakley (86) is tackled by Houston Cougars defensive back A.J. Haulcy (2) in the second quarter at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-Imagn Images | Thomas B. Shea-Imagn Images

Kansas State's hopes of winning the Big 12 title and making the College Football Playoff are now a longshot.

After Saturday's loss to the Houston Cougars, the Wildcats dropped to No. 22 in the latest rankings. At 7-2, they now have to salvage the rest of the season. They blew a nine-point, four-quarter lead, falling 24-19 to the Cougars.

K-State coach Chris Klieman refused to make any excuses. The game was delayed nearly an hour because of weather.

"I don't want to hear any BS about we had a delay and stuff," Klieman said. "It's football, and this is a pretty nice locker room. We've been in some bad ones. This is a pretty nice locker room, so I don't want to hear we didn't have the ability to lounge out and stuff. We got beat because of our fundamentals today, period."

Quarterback Avery Johnson had his first bad game of the season, throwing two costly interceptions. He took the blame for the struggles.

"You know when it rains hard, when it pours like that, it's hard to grip the ball sometimes," Johnson said. "The playbook isn't as wide open because of conditions, but we just have to do a better job of sustaining drives and not having three-and-outs, leaving our defense on the field like we did in the second half."

The Wildcats return to action Nov. 16 against Arizona State.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

Follow our coverage on Facebook

X: @KStateOnSI