Kansas State QB Jesse Ertz out indefinitely

Kansas State walks away from its season opener with a 34–0 win over South Dakota but lost something even more important — its quarterback.
Wildcats head coach Bill Synder confirmed Monday that sophomore quarterback Jesse Ertz will be out indefinitely with a knee injury.

Ertz lasted only two plays Saturday. Initially injured on the first offensive play of the game, he played one more snap before limping to the sideline and eventually leaving the field on a cart.
In his absence, junior Joe Hubener will see his first action Saturday when the Wildcats travel to UTSA.

Alamo Bowl, ESPN reach extension agreement

One year after UCLA and Kansas State produced a thrilling showdown, the Valero Alamo Bowl and ESPN reached a 10-year extension agreement, the two sides announced Sept. 2. The deal starts December 2016 and runs through 2025.

With the new college football playoff, the bowl pits the best teams from the Big 12 and Pac 12 who aren’t picked to one of the New Year’s Six bowls. In the first year in the new system last year, UCLA survived a 40–35 battle against Kansas State in the bowl’s first-ever top 15 matchup.

Weekly Awards

After taking down Sam Houston State in a 59-45 shootout win Saturday afternoon, the Red Raiders were well-represented in the Big 12 weekly awards.
Sophomore quarterback Patrick Mahomes was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week while senior receiver and kick returner Jakeem Grant was tabbed as the conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week.

With questions abound in Lubbock as head coach Kliff Kingsberry begins his third season with Texas Tech, Mahomes came out firing for the Red Raiders, passing for 425 yards and four touchdowns. Grant also played a big part, leading the conference with 210 all-purpose yards and scoring on a 94-yard kick return.

West Virginia senior safety Karl Joseph rounded out the weekly awards as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. Joseph recorded eight tackles, three interceptions and a recovered fumble in the Mountaineers’ 44-0 win over Georgia Southern.

TCU drops a spot in AP Poll

Despite coming out of Minnesota with a win over the Golden Gophers last week, the TCU Horned Frogs dropped a spot in this week’s AP poll.

The Horned Frogs’ narrow 23-17 win combined with Alabama’s win over No. 20 Wisconsin convinced voters to swap the Crimson Tide and Horned Frogs.

Baylor remained at No. 4 following its blowout victory over SMU, and Oklahoma stayed put at No. 19 after a win over Akron.

Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Kansas State each received votes.