Sports Update

By Ben E. Brake

It’s All in the Name!

Kansas State University is ranked 9th in the ESPN/USA Today poll and 8th in the Associated Press (AP) poll.
This isn’t great, it isn’t wonderful, but it will have to do. The only reason K-State is not ranked in the top 5 is
because of the name. KSU returns 16 starters from an 11-1 season in 1999 and finished 6th in both of the
major polls.

Some would think that being ranked 8th and 9th in the major preseason polls would be good, but if you look at
the teams that are ranked ahead of K-State you have to wonder why.

I believe that K-State should not be ranked any higher than 5th and should not be ranked any better than 3rd.
Nebraska and Florida State should be ranked 1 and 2 even though I believe K-State will beat Nebraska on
November 11. I personally think that K-State deserves the number 3 ranking and not the 8th or 9th rank in the
major polls.

Kansas State’s only loss came to Nebraska who was ranked 2nd in the final poll of 99. KSU finished the
season 11-1 ranking 6th in both the major polls and is returning 16 starters this year not counting OL Thomas
Barnett.

The AP and ESPN/USA Today polls have Alabama, Wisconsin, Miami, Michigan, TEXAS, and Florida
(ESPN/USA only) ranked ahead of Kansas State.

Alabama- returns 16 starters from a 10-3 season and a final ranking of 8/8. Bama lost to Louisiana Tech,
Tennessee and Michigan in 99.

Wisconsin- returns 16 starters from a 10-2 season and a final ranking of 4/4. Wisconsin lost to Michigan and
Cincinnati.

Miami (FL)- returns 13 starters from a 9-4 season and a final ranking of 15/15. Miami lost to Penn St., East
Carolina, Florida St., and Virginia Tech.

Michigan- returns 13 starters from a 10-2 season and a final ranking of 5/5. Michigan lost to Michigan St. and
Illinois.

Texas- returns 16 starters from a 9-5 season and a final ranking of 21/23. Texas lost to North Carolina St.,
K-State, Texas A&M, Nebraska, and Arkansas. K-State owns Texas!

Florida- returns 13 starters from a 9-4 season and a final ranking of 12/14. Florida lost to Alabama (2),
Florida St., and Michigan St.

Now, K-State loses one game to the number 2 team in the country in 99 and is knocked out of BCS
contention and loses ground on this years preseason ranking. K-State returns as many starters if not more
than the other teams that have more losses to lesser teams and get ranked higher in the polls. If Kansas State
would lose to any of the teams in bold, they would not only be kicked out of the top 25, but would become a
new junior college in Kansas as well.

What do the teams that are ranked ahead of K-State in the preseason poll have that KSU doesn’t have?
Answer: A Name, it’s all in the name.

The major media networks will not allow Kansas State to have the respect that they deserve nor will they get
the ranking they deserve. How many times did K-State hear on the TV that they almost lost to Iowa State and
Oklahoma State compared to the times you heard about Michigan losing to Illinois, or Wisconsin to
Cincinnati?

Being ranked 8th and 9th is not bad, I just believe K-State has earned 3rd. Kansas State will not get the
respect until they play Florida, Florida State and Michigan every year for their non-conference schedule. Don’t
expect any of those schools to schedule K-State anytime soon, they have their share of cupcakes too.

AP Preseason top Ten Poll- 1. Nebraska (36) 1,732 2. Florida State (29) 1,720 3. Alabama (3) 1,570 4.
Wisconsin (1) 1,408 5. Miami FL. 1,392 6. Michigan 1,380 7. Texas (2) 1,297 8. Kansas State (6) 1,276 9.
Florida 1,255 10. Georgia 1,226

ESPN/USA Today top Ten poll- 1. Nebraska (36) 1,442 2. Florida State (21) 1,426 3. Alabama (1) 1,266 4.
Michigan 1,196 5. Wisconsin (1) 1,192 6. Miami FL. 1,110 7. Florida 1,065 8. Texas 997 9. Kansas State
985 10. Virginia Tech 974

(#) Indicates first place votes.

Ben’s top Ten: 1. Nebraska 2. Florida State 3. Kansas State 4. Wisconsin 5. Alabama 6. Georgia 7.
Michigan 8. Texas 9. Florida 10. Washington