Kansas State, Missouri move up in the college football polls

Kansas State moved up two spots, and Missouri advanced three spots in the newest Associated Presspoll, which was released Sunday.

The Wildcats, 9-2, who pummeled rival Kansas 51-13 on Saturday, moved into the top 10 at ninth.

Arizona, which moved up four spots to eighth, passed K-State, but the Wildcats benefited from losses by Mississippi State, Georgia and UCLA.

K-State wraps up the regular season at No. 5 Baylor at 6:45 p.m. Saturday on ESPN. The winner clinches at least a share of the Big 12 championship.

Missouri, 10-2, also moved ahead of No. 15 Georgia and No. 16 UCLA, landing at No. 14 — its highest ranking of the season.

The Tigers, who are 13th in the coaches’ poll, face the nation’s new No. 1 team, Alabama, in the SEC Championship Game at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

The Crimson Tide, 11-1, overtook undefeated Florida State, 12-0, for the top spot despite receiving fewer first-place votes (25) than the reigning national champion Seminoles (29).

Oregon, 11-1, remained third and received five first-place votes, while TCU, 10-1, which can clinch a share of the Big 12 title with a win Saturday against Iowa State, jumped Baylor for the No. 4 spot.

Ohio State and Michigan State checked in sixth and seventh, while Mississippi State dropped six spots to 10th.

Mississippi moved up five spots to No. 13 after beating Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, while Auburn checked in 20th and LSU returned to the poll at No. 23, giving the SEC seven ranked teams.

The Big 12 has four ranked teams, including No. 18 Oklahoma.

Nebraska, 9-3, returned to the poll at No. 25 on the same day it fired coach Bo Pelini after seven seasons.

This story was originally published November 30, 2014 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Kansas State, Missouri move up in the college football polls."