K-State Wildcats vs. Iowa State Cyclones: Five things to know about Ireland game
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- K-State and Iowa State will play their annual rivalry game Saturday in Dublin.
- Winner gains an early edge in Big 12 title race; loser faces tight margin for error.
- Veteran quarterbacks Johnson and Becht expected to drive high-level Week 0 duel.
The Kansas State Wildcats and the Iowa State Cyclones have been playing football games against each other since 1917, but the Big 12 rivals are about to take part in a Farmageddon matchup unlike any we have seen before.
K-State and Iowa State are bucking tradition this season. They are moving their annual game off campus and taking to Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland for an 11 a.m. (Central Time) kickoff on Saturday.
Here is everything you need to know to start preparing for the game:
Game details
Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland
TV: ESPN
Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City and KFH (1240 AM and 97.5 FM) in Wichita
Betting line: K-State by 3 with an O/U of 49.5
Five things to know before Saturday
1. Iowa State has owned this rivalry in recent years. The Cyclones have won four of the past five games in this series, by a victory margin of 72 points. During the Chris Klieman era, no other team in the Big 12 has given the Wildcats more problems than their neighbors to the northeast.
2. This game could have Big 12 championship implications. Yes, we know it’s August. But that doesn’t change the fact that this could be a massive game in the conference title race. The winner will vault to the top of the Big 12 standings and have a tiebreaker edge for the entire season. The loser won’t have much, if any, room for error in league play. This isn’t your typical opener against a FCS opponent at home. It is a huge contest for both teams.
3. Chris Klieman won his last season opener against a power-conference team. The year was 2021 and K-State began that season with a game against Stanford at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Wildcats won handily 24-7 and then went on to win eight games that season. Perhaps that positive experience will help Klieman’s team in a similar situation this week.
4. K-State will depart for Ireland on Wednesday. The plan is for the Wildcats to bus to Kansas City and then fly directly to Dublin. It will be an overnight flight to give coaches and players the best chance at sleeping on the way over and avoiding jet lag. From there, they will practice in Ireland on Thursday and then have all of Friday to get acclimated to their surroundings. One thing they can’t prepare for ahead of time: weather. Forecasts call for high temperatures in the 60s this week. That will be a big change compared to the summer heat in Manhattan.
5. Avery Johnson vs. Rocco Becht should be a fun quarterback duel. It’s hard to find a pair of junior quarterbacks who have more experience than these two. Becht has thrown for 6,625 yards over the past two seasons with the Cyclones. Johnson has already thrown for more than 3,000 yards and rushed for nearly 1,000 with the Wildcats. Neither one should be intimidated by the environment of a big game in Week 0. It will be entertaining to see them go head-to-head for another year.
This story was originally published August 18, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "K-State Wildcats vs. Iowa State Cyclones: Five things to know about Ireland game."