Middle Earth

2008 record: 5-7 overall, 2-6 Big 12 Conference

2009 projection: They'll duke it out with Iowa State at the bottom of the standings. At the end of the day, they'll have capable coaching and better players.

Reason to get excited: Bill Snyder's name rings holy throughout central and western Kansas. He's got talent, and he's done more with less.

Reason not to get worked up: The past eight months have sent the Wildcats into a downward spiral. Even leveling off and stopping the bleeding will be a big task. At 69, Snyder may not be able to maintain the workload and intensity to win consistently in a major conference. He seems excited and upbeat, but even he doesn't expect great things.

The gist: Snyder has one of the most difficult jobs in college football -- again. Twenty years after he first took the job, Snyder is back at the helm to provide stability within the program and help preserve what remains of his masterful job building a program. Ron Prince is out after three seasons, numerous internal issues, and a money scandal left in his wake. The offense has fresh, young talent on the offensive line and 2008 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year Brandon Banks, but the wide receiver will likely find catches and yards harder to come by on the receiving end of Carson Coffman's passes. Former quarterback Josh Freeman, like Nebraska's Jammal Lord earlier in the decade, will be appreciated more when his absence reveals how little surrounding talent he had to work with. The defense is a mental mess, with Prince installing a 3-4 and later switching to 4-3. Snyder seems set to run a 4-2-5 nickel and minimize the team's weakness at linebacker.

Rallying point: Snyder. He's a college football legend.

Cover your eyes: Coffman. The quarterback from Peculiar, Missouri, seems to have earned Snyder's trust, but doesn't have the look of a Big 12 leader. Says one reporter at Big 12 Media Days: "A picture is worth 1,000 words, and every one of them says Kansas State isn't going anywhere with him."

For what it's worth: If all Snyder does is calm the waters, win a few games, and bring in some strong recruits, his tenure will be a success. Expect 2-3 years out of Snyder and enjoy it while it lasts.