K-State Q&A: Breaking down every football game the Wildcats will play in 2025
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- K-State opens 2025 football with Iowa State overseas and faces irregular schedule.
- Key offensive players include returner Jayce Brown and Purdue transfer Jaron Tibbs.
- Big 12 faces backlash for omitting K-State–Iowa State rivalry from future schedules.
The Kansas State football team will play a peculiar schedule this season.
Not only will the Wildcats start with a conference game against a rival in a foreign country, but they will also take on Army and then play a weekday road game against a Big 12 opponent (Arizona) that won’t count in the league standings. After that, coach Chris Klieman and company will have to navigate three open weeks and face a conference slate of unknown strength.
That makes it exceedingly difficult to predict how the season will go. It feels like every single game comes with a disclaimer.
Iowa State: The Cyclones have won four of the past five against the Wildcats, but moving the game overseas and playing it in August could change that mojo and help K-State.
North Dakota: Nobody beats up on FCS teams better than Klieman. So there shouldn’t be much drama around this game. Still, you never know how the Wildcats will play one week after returning from Ireland.
Army: The triple option can be a headache for any defense.
At Arizona: K-State demolished Arizona last season. But players may be running on fumes for the rematch after four straight weeks of games and two trips to different time zones.
UCF: I’m not expecting much out of the Knights, but Arizona State went from worst to first last season. And K-State will host UCF after an off week. Klieman doesn’t have the best record when he has extra time to prepare.
At Baylor: The Bears were the hottest team in the Big 12 at the end of last season. If Baylor coach Dave Aranda can build off that momentum, the Wildcats will have a tricky game on their hands in Waco.
TCU: K-State should win this game, but Josh Hoover is the best passer in the league.
At Kansas: The Wildcats haven’t lost to the Jayhawks since before Steve Jobs invented his first iPad, but Kansas has played K-State hard in recent years. Will a renovated stadium in Lawrence help KU coach Lance Leipold close the gap? This game also comes after an open week.
Texas Tech: K-State has also owned Texas Tech on the football field, but the Red Raiders will be the biggest spenders in the Big 12 this season.
At Oklahoma State: I expect the Wildcats to be favored in this game. OSU teams under Mike Gundy usually thrive at home as an underdog, especially when the Cowboys have a week off to prepare.
At Utah: I watched K-State play three games in the state of Utah last season (two men’s basketball, one football) and the Wildcats got blown out in all of them. Maybe they will handle this trip better, but that’s not a great omen.
Colorado: For some reason, this feels like the most straightforward game of them all. The Wildcats will be motivated to beat CU coach Deion Sanders and the Buffs at home on senior day. The better team should win.
This could be a wild season for K-State.
To steal a line from the unforgettable football movie “The Replacements” -- if nothing else, it should be fun to watch.
Now, let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
What was the most exciting or newsworthy K-State football item you heard at Big 12 Media Days? - @garrett_b_83 via X.
My oldest son asked me a similar question when I returned home from Frisco, Texas and he was disappointed with my answers.
Big 12 Media Days is great because it gets us all talking about football in the middle of July, but it’s not the most exciting event when it comes to buzzworthy content. Literally nothing has changed for anyone since spring practices came to an end.
This is talking season, but nobody is in the mood to provide bulletin-board material right now.
I found it interesting that Avery Johnson has changed his workout routine because he thought his fast-twitch athleticism was lacking last season. His stories from the prestigious Manning Passing Academy were also fun.
Chris Klieman giving some preseason love to a few newcomers was worth noting, too. I wasn’t expecting him to proclaim Ohio State transfer George Fitzpatrick as the starting left tackle this early.
But nothing was earth-shaking about the event.
Too bad Avery Johnson didn’t challenge Jalon Daniels to a wrestling match. Now that would have made news!
Perhaps next year we can have all the Big 12 coaches come together for a chicken wing-eating contest. That would really spice up the event.
Brett Yormark wants to “win globally.” But is he losing locally by not scheduling Kansas State and Iowa State in football for 2027? -@matthewengelken via X.
The Big 12 made a huge mistake when its leaders didn’t select Farmageddon as a protected rivalry on the football schedule.
K-State and Iowa State have been playing annually since the American Revolution (actually 1917, but you get the point). They should continue playing each and every year, regardless of what else is going on in the Big 12.
No one would cry if K-State played UCF or Utah a little less often. But it will absolutely stink for one of those opponents to take Iowa State’s place on the conference schedule.
I have never been a fan of Yormark’s “global” push. He should strive to make the Big 12 more popular and relevant within its own footprint. Not Australia or Mexico.
Farmageddon going on hiatus, even for one year, is a mistake.
Let’s talk tight ends and wide receivers for a moment. Remind me, what’s coming back. Which group will have the most TD receptions? Will a receiver make it two years in a row of leading the team in receiving yards, and who is it? Does Linkon Cure crack the lineup this year? - @ChadFullington via X.
The only big names returning at wide receiver are Jayce Brown and Sterling Lockett.
Brown should be the No. 1 wide receiver for the second straight year. There were rumors that he was looking to transfer at the end of last season, but K-State scored a major victory when he decided to stay in Manhattan. He should be one of the best wide outs in the Big 12.
Lockett could help as a reserve. He’s got talent. Maybe this is the year we start to see him contribute on a more regular basis.
You really want to keep an eye on Jaron Tibbs and Jerand Bradley. Those newcomers should provide an upgrade at the position. Avery Johnson has been particularly happy with Tibbs since he arrived on campus from Purdue.
I do think Linkon Cure plays meaningful snaps this season.
He is too good of an athlete to redshirt. My question with him: Does he line up more often at wide receiver or tight end? He is such a good pass-catcher, I could see offensive coordinator Matt Wells using him in creative ways.
Have you heard anything on the status of Kansas State men’s basketball player Tyreek Smith? I think it’s strange that his eligibility remains up in the air in July - Andrew B. via e-mail.
Jerome Tang and the Wildcats are holding out hope that Smith will be granted an extra year of eligibility, but they haven’t heard anything definitive about his status yet.
No news is probably bad news, though.
It is also notable that K-State has been actively recruiting new players for the upcoming season. That wouldn’t be happening if the Wildcats were confident that Smith was going to play in 2025-26.
Smith has been a college basketball since 2019 with stints at Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, SMU, Memphis (but he never played) and now K-State. The Wildcats hoped that he could spend a few months practicing with the team and then play next season. But his eligibility has always been a wild card.
We will have to wait and see what happens, but for now optimism is dwindling.
This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Breaking down every football game the Wildcats will play in 2025."