HOUSTON -- It's almost cliché to compliment the job Bill Snyder does annually, maximizing the talent on his Kansas State roster.
But it's accurate. Look at 2016 as evidence.
The Wildcats entered the season picked eighth out of 10 teams in the Big 12's preseason media poll. They are the youngest team Snyder has had in his 25-year Kansas State tenure, coming into Wednesday's game with a combined 125 starts from freshmen or sophomores (the previous high was 101 in 1989). In the team's season-opening loss to Stanford, they started 11 freshmen and sophomores, the most since 1997.