Kansas, K-State football slated for prime time, national TV matchup in Sunflower Showdown
This year’s Sunflower Showdown will have quite the national showcase. The Big 12 announced on Monday that the rivalry game between the Kansas Jayhawks and Kansas State Wildcats — taking place in Manhattan this season — will air on Fox a week from Saturday, as the teams clash on Nov. 26, 2022, for their regular-season finale.
In fact, the game won’t just be on Fox. It’ll be a prime-time showdown, kicking off at 7 p.m., the Big 12 announced. The game has been played in the 11 a.m. time slot in the last two seasons. The last night game between the in-state rivals came in 2010.
Of course, both Kansas and K-State have largely outperformed expectations this year. For Kansas, the oddsmakers expected the Jayhawks to land somewhere between the two- and three-win mark, only for Kansas to blow through that, starting 5-0.
Now at 6-4, following a 43-28 loss to Texas Tech, the Jayhawks (3-4 Big 12) have already reached bowl eligibility for the first time since 2008. And the journey to this point has included a couple weeks inside the AP Top 25, as well as the opportunity to have ESPN’s College GameDay come to campus for football for the first time ever.
Expectations were higher for Kansas State in the preseason, as many expected the Wildcats to compete as an under-the-radar candidate to win the Big 12. An early loss to Tulane caused some warning signs in Manhattan, but K-State responded with three straight Big 12 wins, including two on the road.
Since that time, K-State has smashed Oklahoma State, 48-0, and blown out Baylor, 31-3. At 7-3 (5-2 Big 12), the Wildcats control their own destiny in reaching the Big 12 title game. Pending results around the conference this Saturday, Kansas State could need a win against the Jayhawks to advance to the Big 12 title game, where they would square off against 10-0 TCU.
The Horned Frogs defeated the Wildcats, 38-28, back on Oct. 22. Two weeks earlier, On Oct. 8, TCU won at Kansas, 38-31. In both games, the Horned Frogs faced multiple quarterbacks from the Sunflower State squads, with the starters (Jalon Daniels of Kansas and Adrian Martinez of K-State) sustaining injuries in the contest.
Recent history between the Jayhawks and Wildcats has favored Kansas State, which defeated Kansas 35-10 last year in Lawrence. The last game between the two teams decided by one score came in 2018, a 21-17 K-State win in Manhattan. Kansas quarterback Peyton Bender had the chance to drive for the win in that game, but he fumbled in K-State territory with under a minute to play.
The last Kansas win in the series came all the way back in 2008, though the Jayhawks do hold the all-time series edge over the Wildcats.