K-State Wildcats vs. KU Jayhawks: Five things to know before Sunflower Showdown game
Kansas State and Kansas will renew their Sunflower Showdown football rivalry at 11 a.m. on Saturday inside Memorial Stadium.
They are teams heading in opposite directions.
The Wildcats (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) are feeling confident after a pair of victories against Texas Tech and TCU. The Jayhawks (1-7, 0-5) are searching for answers after losing seven straight games.
Here is everything you need to know to start preparing for K-State at KU.
The details
Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium, Lawrence
TV: FS1
Radio: KCSP 610 AM in Kansas City and KKGQ 92.3 FM in Wichita for K-State broadcast; WHB (810 AM) in Kansas City and KFH (1240 AM) in Wichita for KU
Line: Kansas State by 23 1/2
Five things to know
1. This rivalry has been dominated by purple for more than a decade. The Wildcats will try to extend their winning streak over the Jayhawks to 13 on Saturday. K-State has won every football game against its in-state rival since 2009. Those victories amazingly came against six different coaches (Mark Mangino, Turner Gill, Charlie Weis, Clint Bowen, David Beaty and Les Miles). Lance Leipold will get his first introduction to the series this week, but his presence on the KU sideline is unlikely to change things in the short term. KU has lost seven straight games and K-State is favored by more than three touchdowns.
2. K-State can secure bowl eligibility with a victory. Chris Klieman and the Wildcats have higher expectations than simply winning six games and becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2019, but moving to 6-3 and evening their conference record would be a nice achievement considering they were sitting at 3-3 two weeks ago. It would also give them extra momentum as they prepare for challenging late games against West Virginia, Baylor and Texas.
3. Awards rolling in for Felix Anudike-Uzomah. The sophomore defensive end has deservedly picked up several notable honors since he led K-State to a 31-12 victory over TCU by making four sacks and forcing two fumbles. He was named Walter Camp national defensive player of the week on Sunday and then he won Big 12 defensive player of the week on Monday.
4. Kansas provided us with an unusual stat last week. One of the main reasons why the Jayhawks dropped their last game to Oklahoma State 55-3: The Cowboys finished with more yards on interception returns (47) than the Jayhawks had passing yards (44). Rice is the only other FBS team to do that in a game this season.
5. K-State continues grim-reaper trend with opposing football coaches. For the second straight week, a Big 12 coach lost his job after losing to the Wildcats. Texas Tech wasted no time ousting Matt Wells and then TCU followed suit by mutually agreeing to part ways with longtime coach Gary Patterson. That seems like more of a coincidence than anything, as both programs were on a decline with or without a loss to K-State. But it is nevertheless interesting. Klieman is now the fourth longest tenured coach in the Big 12, despite entering the league in 2019.
This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 11:52 AM with the headline "K-State Wildcats vs. KU Jayhawks: Five things to know before Sunflower Showdown game."