K-State Slate: 9.15.14 - Auburn news galore

Our SEC tour continued into Bayou Country as we visited with LSU, and things are starting to get entertaining in the comments. (They'll really get fun this afternoon when TB checks in with Georgia laureate T. Kyle King.)

Also, TB Charted the turbulent wind-driven Waters of Ames, and Pervis brings you this week's Crowdsourcing poll. Finally, over in the fanposts GTCat ran an update on his Biggest Little Man post from the pre-season.

K-State stayed put at #20 in the coaches' poll, and fell to #20 in the AP -- but gained quite a few points in each, which was more impressive on the coaches' side since someone didn't turn in a ballot (June Jones?). We'll have more on this later today when we Unbox the Polls.

In K-State news, Kellis Robinett reports on the Wildcats' state of mind heading into the game, and John Zetmeir examines the building relationships with this year's offensive line. And from the Boston Herald, a profile of a Gronkowski which one wouldn't expect from a Boston paper: Karen Guregian writes about Glenn Gronkowski and how proud Rob is of him.

Lots of content for you from Alabama today as the Auburn media goes into full-court, um, press regarding Thursday's tussle. From the Montgomery Advertiser, James Crepea profiles Auburn defensive end Gabe Wright, who's moving back to tackle where he belongs, wonders how and when Auburn should play Jeremy Johnson at quarterback, and says containing Jake Waters is really super-important for the Tigers' defense. Notable in the last of those articles is Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson's sense that if you swapped the two quarterbacks, they could replace one another without a hitch -- which indicates that if one succeeds and the other doesn't on Thursday, it's because of the scheme.

At al.com, Brandon Marcello reports on Auburn's week of correcting mistakes, which has an oddly familiar ring, and also on the question of whether wide receiver Sammie Coates will be available Thursday. (Not that I hope for such things, but it would help K-State tremendously if he's not.) Joel Erickson writes about the Auburn special teams wanting to deliver a little shock and awe. I have a suspicion Mr. Lockett will have a response to that on Thursday night, despite not being used there in the first two games.

There are also a trio of videos you can watch if you're inclined: first, Marcello talking with his colleague Erickson about Waters. After that, you can digest an eight-minute clip with Ellis Johnson previewing K-State, who had a lot to say about Waters and Tyler Lockett in his press conference. Lastly, a thirteen-minute marathon with Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, though that one focuses more on the Auburn offense than on discussing the Wildcat defense. Still, worth a watch to see what they're thinking, yes?

Lastly, there's a preview up at the official Auburn site.

Around the Big 12, we've got Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News previewing the week ahead, and David Ubben drops his power rankings. Berry Tramel also has power rankings, and sums up Thursday with one word. And we've also got Dennis Dodd's national power poll; the 'Cats dropped three spots this week, which conflicts with his gut feeling about Thursday's game. If he's right, he'll be moving K-State way up next weekend.

Looking beyond the horizon a bit, Brett Bloomquist of the El Paso Times comments on UTEP's surprisingly successful start to the season.