Bill Snyder was on course to lead the Kansas State Wildcats to the BCS championship game before an upset at the hands of the Baylor Bears this past weekend. Still, at 10-1 with a possible Big 12 title and BCS game appearance on the horizon, few can deny the excellent coaching job of Snyder. On Monday he was named one of 16 finalists for the Maxwell Coach of the Year award.

Five of the Wildcats' 10 wins have come against ranked opponents, a school record. Four of those wins have come on the road. Last week, the Wildcats reached No. 1 in the BCS rankings for the first time ever. A 52-24 loss to Baylor last weekend all but ended any BCS title hopes, but the one-loss Wildcats are still on track for a BCS game. They play Texas on Dec. 1 to close the regular season after a week off this week.

Snyder is 169-84-1 in two stints as the head coach at Kansas State.