K-State football receives votes in preseason poll

The annual USA Today Coaches Poll preseason rankings were released this morning, and the Kansas State Wildcats didn’t make the top 25 but did receive votes.

With 35 points in the poll, K-State is unofficially ranked 32nd in FBS. The Wildcats are coming off an 8-5 season that included a victory over the UCLA Bruins in the Cactus Bowl. K-State began the season ranked, but fell out of the rankings after a September loss to Vanderbilt and never reappeared in the polls.

The Big 12 has five teams in the top 25: No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 16 TCU, No. 20 West Virginia, No. 21 Texas, and No. 25 Oklahoma State. Including K-State and Iowa State (unofficially ranked 42nd), 70 percent of the Big 12 received votes, excluding only Texas Tech, Baylor, and Kansas.

The Coaches Poll has 65 voters — or roughly half of FBS head coaches — including five from the Big 12. Those are Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State, Tom Herman of Texas, Dana Holgorsen of West Virginia, Kliff Kingsbury of Texas Tech, and Gary Patterson of TCU. Additionally, UTEP head coach Dana Dimel, who was a longtime offensive coordinator at K-State, has a vote this season.