Top 25: Saturday Blitz Final 2014 College Football Rankings

Jan 2, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Kansas State Wildcats coach Bill Snyder before the 2015 Alamo Bowl against the UCLA Bruins at Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

18. Kansas State Wildcats, 9-4 (7-2)

Last Game: Lost to UCLA Bruins 40-35 in the Alamo Bowl

Clearly the third best team in the Big 12, the Kansas State Wildcats did not duck anybody this year on their schedule. Behind Jake Waters, Tyler Lockett, and Bill Snyder at coach, this team played Auburn tough early at home, beat everybody but TCU and Baylor on their Big 12 schedule, and gave UCLA all it could handle in a furious comeback attempt in the Alamo Bowl.

The record shows 9-4, but when you take schedule strength into account along with quality wins, Kansas State still deserves to be ahead of a few 10-win Power Five teams, as they are. Schedule strength has to count for something, and that was a huge plus for the Wildcats this past year along with no bad losses.

Snyder worked his magic once again to keep this team relevant in the college football world, and just like Arizona State, these guys were in the College Football Playoff race into November.

For that, they belong at No. 18.

Next: No. 17 Ranked Team