Sunflower Showdown is almost here

Football

This Saturday, on Senior Day in Manhattan, Bill Snyder could win his 200th game as the head coach at Kansas State. That it may come against arch-rival Kansas will make it that much sweeter.

Snyder thinks Kansas is showing a lot of improvement under David Beaty. Indeed, he credits the upset win over Texas to that steady progress, noting the 20-point spread in that game didn’t make sense to anyone paying attention to football in Lawrence (clearly not a reference to actual Kansas fans). — Ken Corbitt, Topeka Capital-Journal.

For his part, Beaty was willing to wait a day or two before he dampened the excitement over Kansas’s first big win this season. But barely ten minutes after his closing remarks to the team, the Jayhawks wanted to talk Kansas State. The players feel thusly, as quoted by Benton Smith (KUSports.com):

We’ve got a lot of momentum on our side. I feel like if we just execute our game plan for both sides of the ball like we did this week, then we can get the win.

In other news, delusion runs in the water in Lawrence. It’s worth noting here that Kansas State is also coming off a win, and has reason to feel like momentum favors the Wildcats, as does recent history. Kansas State’s dominance of its in-state rival under Snyder is so thorough that it produces stats like this:

Basketball

The men’s basketball team is 3-0 and showed off some offensive firepower in Sunday’s win over Hampton. Relative to last season, the Wildcats are experienced, deep, and versatile. Indeed, the team had four double-digit scorers in each of their three victories, for the first time since 2011-12. — Corbin McGuire, KStateSports Extra

The reward for this hot 3-0 start is a grueling stretch where the Wildcats will play four games in seven days, including a game against Maryland (3-0) at the Barclays Center Classic. To offset all the work, they won’t have to go to class this week, thanks to the Thanksgiving break. — Kellis Robinett, Wichita Eagle

The women too are 3-0 and facing challenges of increasing intensity. Kansas State will travel to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam, playing three games in as many days against North Carolina State, LSU, and UTEP. This should be a good test for the team’s conditioning, and the defensive awareness that helped the Wildcats put Lamar away should be a big help.

Miscellany

This Top 25 is not like that other Top 25, except that Kansas State doesn’t figure in this one either. -— Chuck Culpepper, Washington Post