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Farmageddon is here, and despite the teams’ mediocre 11-10 combined record, the stakes make this a game well worth watching.
The Game
The Kansas State Wildcats (5-6, 3-5 Big 12) travel to Ames to play the 25th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones (6-4, 5-3 Big 12). K-State is playing for bowl eligibility and to even the all-time series with the Cyclones. Iowa State is playing to secure a better bowl bid and to end its long losing streak to the Wildcats.
Previously
Last week, K-State’s defense thoroughly handled Texas Tech, limiting the Red Raiders to under 200 yards in a 21-6 victory in Manhattan. Meanwhile, Iowa State lost a 24-10 game at Texas.
In the series, Iowa State holds a 49-48-4 edge. K-State has done a lot to narrow that gap since Bill Snyder arrived in Manhattan, with the Wildcats going 24-5 in that time, including winning the past 10 meetings. Those 10 games have been awfully close, with K-State only winning by more than a touchdown once, in 2013. A year ago, the Wildcats won by a single point, 20-19.
Having been played every single year since 1917, Farmageddon is FBS football’s longest never-interrupted rivalry. (It is the eighth-longest active series, but all of the longer series, including K-State/KU, have taken at least one year off.)
Kickoff
Farmageddon kicks off at 6 p.m. at Jack Trice Stadium (capacity 61,500) in Ames, Iowa.
Odds
Oddsmakers have Iowa State listed as 12- to 12.5-point favorites, with an over/under of 40.5-41. Together, that suggests a roughly 26-14 victory for Iowa State.
Video
Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play) and Eric Wood (analyst) will call the game for the national TV broadcast on FS1.
Audio
Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sidelines) will call the game on the K-State Sports Network, carried on 39 terrestrial radio stations, as well as Sirius Channel 108, XM Channel 384, and the TuneIn app.
My Prediction
Iowa State builds to a 10-point lead by halftime, as Wildcat miscues scuttle promising drives and a blown coverage gives the Cyclones an easy touchdown. But there’s still some magic in that windbreaker, and the Wildcats come out on fire to start the third quarter, then hang on down the stretch to win, 23-20.