David Beaty: Iowa State ‘Best 1-8 team in the country’

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas head coach David Beaty runs off the field with his first win after beating Rhode Island 55-6 on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 at Memorial Stadium.

Computer rankings for any sport are inherently flawed, as is constantly proven with the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament selection committee’s overuse of the Ratings Percentage Index, more commonly known as RPI.

But as computer rankings go, the Jeff Sagarin Ratings, carried by USA Today, are better than most for both basketball and football.

Sagarin does not tell a pretty tale for Kansas football, which enters Saturday’s contest at Memorial Stadium 1-8 overall and 0-6 in the Big 12, same as Iowa State’s, but not the same when given a deeper look.

Iowa State’s average margin of defeat in Big 12 play is 11 points, compared to 30 points for Kansas.

“They are a lot better than 1-8,” Kansas coach David Beaty said. “They are the best 1-8 team in the country, maybe one of the best 1-8 teams you ever have seen.”

Sagarin lumps all 128 FBS schools with the lower-division 125 FCS schools and Kansas does not fare well.

Sagarin has Kansas ranked 140th, one spot ahead of Liberty University, coached by Turner Gill, formerly of KU.

In contrast, Iowa State is ranked 79th, one spot ahead of Army, one spot behind Colorado State.

KU’s ranking is the lowest among schools from power-five conferences. Big Ten member Purdue, ranked No. 112 by Sagarin, is the next-lowest.

To get a feel for what schools Sagarin’s computer formula considers to be of similar strength, consider that the 10 ranked ahead of Kansas, from 130 through 139: Idaho, Wofford, Cal Poly-SLO, North Texas, Nevada, North Dakota, Charleston Southern, San Jose State, Princeton, Massachusetts.

Beaty seeks his firs Big 12 win Saturday, which would tie him in that category with Gill, Charlie Weis and Clint Bowen, interim head coach for the final eight games of 2014.