How K-State is using its long rivalry winning streak as extra motivation for KU

It’s impossible to ignore the type of winning streak that Kansas State has built in the Sunflower Showdown.

The Wildcats have won 16 straight football games against the Kansas Jayhawks, which means the Governor’s Cup — and nearly two decades of rivalry bragging rights — have lived in Manhattan since 2009 ... before Apple sold its first iPad.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how K-State football players choose to handle the streak this week as they prepare for a road game against Kansas.

Will they downplay it or use it as extra motivation?

For Taylor Poitier, a senior offensive lineman who has been at K-State since 2019, there is no debate.

“Continuing on the streak is a big thing for me,” Poitier said. “Because when I was younger and coming into this program, that’s all they would emphasize is just how much we have got to keep this going for all of the K-State fans and this program and everybody who lives in Kansas. Being able to carry on that tradition is really big for me.”

Needless to say, he doesn’t want to play for the team that lets the streak end.

Neither does senior linebacker Desmond Purnell.

“We have got to keep that standard,” he said, “that we set ourselves to.”

At times, beating Kansas hasn’t been much of a challenge for K-State over the past 16 years. Bill Snyder led the Wildcats to 10 straight wins with an average victory margin of 26.6 points per game. Then Klieman took over and guided the Wildcats to six straight wins by 20 points per game.

But the last two meetings have been close.

Kansas possessed a fourth-quarter lead in 2023 and 2024 before K-State escaped with a pair of wins that came by a combined six points.

For that reason, Klieman is in no mood to boast about K-State’s winning streak.

“I don’t think you can get caught up into it and use it as part of your preparation,” he said. “I don’t believe in that. You don’t need to tell guys where it’s at. They probably know. The streak isn’t going to have anything to do with Saturday. It will come down to who can block, who can get off blocks, who can tackle, who can make plays on the ball and who can do all the little things.”

The streak is important for both teams heading into this year’s meeting.

For the first time in 16 years, Kansas (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) enters the Sunflower Showdown as a favorite. Many have circled this as the year for the Jayhawks to finally end the streak. But K-State (3-4, 2-2 Big 12) has looked like an improved team over the past three weeks. A win over Kansas would help make up for a disastrous 1-3 start.

This game feels paramount to both sides, in part because a long winning streak is on the line.

“We need to keep the streak going because if we keep the streak going it means we won,” K-State defensive tackle Damian Ilalio said. “It’s not like nobody is ever going to talk to me in Manhattan if I don’t keep the streak alive. Thinking that way adds a lot of unnecessary pressure, and it doesn’t allow you to prepare the way that you want to. I’m just looking at it like any other game that is really important to win.”

This story was originally published October 21, 2025 at 6:30 AM with the headline "How K-State is using its long rivalry winning streak as extra motivation for KU."

Kellis Robinett

The Wichita Eagle

Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.