Kansas State loses BCS grip against Baylor

Saturday keeps getting better for 11-0 Notre Dame, which remained perfect with a 38-0 win over Wake Forest.

The Irish, one of three undefeated teams left standing in the championship race, can sit back and watch BCS rivals Oregon and Kansas State struggle in the early going against Stanford and Baylor, respectively.

Kansas State trailed 14-7 to Baylor after the first quarter. The Wildcats came into Saturday allowing 17.7 points per game, the 14th-best mark in the FBS.

Baylor would add to that advantage, taking a 28-7 lead with consecutive scores before KSU moved its way back into the game late in the first half. A quick-strike, 63-yard touchdown drive cut Baylor's lead to 28-14 with 1:58 left in the half. After Baylor punted back to KSU, Collin Klein led the Wildcats to a field goal as time expired to make it a 28-17 game after 30 minutes.

Yet there were significant issues for Snyder and his staff to address. For starters, Kansas State's defense seemed out of sorts. The Wildcats as a team were also playing uncharacteristically sloppy football: KSU racked up 40 penalty yards in the first half. Coming into today, KSU led the nation in averaging only 25.1 penalty yards per game.

For a time, the two scoring drives seemed to change the entire complexion of this game. But continued sloppiness has robbed KSU of any momentum; sloppiness has also robbed KSU of its shot at playing for the national championship, should Baylor not collapse over the game's final 13 minutes.

The Bears owned the third quarter, outscoring KSU 24-7 and taking a commanding 52-24 lead. The Wildcats have hurt themselves on offense, turning the ball over several times, and would need to force several turnovers of their own to have a chance to climb out of a 28-point hole.

Notre Dame watches on, knowing that it will move into the top two of this week's BCS poll should Baylor hold off KSU in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Stanford struck first against Oregon, taking a 7-0 lead in the second quarter following a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Kevin Hogan.

Oregon had a chance to get on the board in the first quarter, but coach Chip Kelly opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 from inside the Stanford 10-yard line. Quarterback Marcus Mariota's run up the middle gained nothing, handing the ball back to the Cardinal.

After Stanford tried and failed to convert its own fourth-down try in Oregon territory in the second quarter, the Ducks responded with a three-play, 59-yard drive to tie the game at 7-7. It was the same score as the two teams went into the locker rooms at halftime.

The Ducks are outgaining the Cardinal 232 yards to 213, but Stanford has more first downs, 13 to 8. Stanford has been able to control the clock by running the ball effectively and converting on third down.