Where Kansas State Stands in National College Football Rankings for Week 8

Last week, Kansas State’s odds to win six games and become bowl eligible were only 26 percent. Those odds made sense as the Wildcats sat at 2-4 on the season.

This week, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index odds, K-State’s odds for bowl eligibility jumped to 49 percent after the Wildcats’ 41-28 victory over visiting TCU. K-State is 3-4.

K-State improved in five rankings that we monitor.

Each Wednesday, we’ll take a look at where seven national polls and rankings place Kansas State’s football team. K-State ranked 53rd this week in an average of five polls. Last week, K-State averaged 61.

Kansas State’s best ranking is 43rd in ESPN’s Football Power Index, one place better than last week. The Wildcats’ worst ranking is 64th in The Athletic’s rankings of all 136 FBS teams. Last week, K-State was 76th in The Athletic rankings.

The Wildcats are on a bye week before traveling to play rival Kansas on Oct. 25.

The polls 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 their Week Zero loss to Iowa State, 24-21, in Dublin.

The Athletic

Kansas State increased 12 places in The Athletic’s ranking of all 136 FBS teams. K-State is 64th and was 76th last week. In The Athletic’s preseason poll, Kansas State was ranked 21st.

CBS Sports 136 Rankings

The Wildcats moved up to 61st from 69th.

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 is ranked 43rd, one place better than last week.

Here are FPI’s odds for Kansas State (updated weekly). The Wildcats’ odds increased in four categories and remained the same in the other two. K-State’s projection for victories went up to 5.5 from 4.8, and its chance of winning six games increased from 26 percent to 49.2 percent.

* 49.2 percent chance of winning six games, which would be bowl eligibility (last week it was 26 percent)
* 5.5 projected wins to 6.5 projected losses (last week it was 4.8 projected wins to 7.2 projected losses)
* 0.3 percent chance of winning the Big 12 championship (last week it was 0.2)
* 0.3 percent chance of making the College Football Playoff (last week it was 0.1)
* 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 is ranked 48th, an improvement from 57th last week.

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 49th, an increase from 59th.

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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