Kansas State at Kansas: Open Game Thread

Good morning Wildcat fans, it’s time for the 119th Sunflower Showdown!

For quite a long time now, this has been a great week for Kansas State and Wildcats fans. When Bill Snyder arrived in Manhattan in 1989, K-State flipped the script on the long-running rivalry, that had previously favored the Kansas Jayhawks. In these past 32 years, the Wildcats are 25-7, and are currently owners of the longest win streak in the series, which currently sits at 12 games. So on top of extending the streak to 13 wins, KU’s decade-plus of futility (that rivals any of K-State’s worst runs) gives the Wildcats something else fun to play for today. Should the Wildcats win in Lawrence today, they’ll have as many Big 12 wins in Lawrence (6) as KU has since Turner Gill took over in L-town.

That said, the Jayhawks under first-year coach Lance Liepold aren’t exactly the laughing stock they were under Les Miles the past couple years. Sure, KU still isn’t very good, but at this point it’s just a lack of talent that is holding KU back. In many ways, it’s actually very similar to the situation Bill Snyder walked into in Manhattan in 1989, and it’s going to be a slow build for Liepold as it was for Snyder. These Jayhawks actually play decent football, execute well enough, and don’t do stupid things to hurt themselves (like continuing to punt to Phillip Brooks, LOL). It should be another blowout win for K-State, but only because the Wildcats are just that more more talented (seriously).

So expect a better game today than the laugher last year. At least, it won’t look lopsided on the coaching side, and just maybe the Jayhawks might put up enough of a fight to put a scare into the Wildcats (though it would be hard for K-State to sleep-walk as much as OU did a few weeks ago).

Oh, and a win today secures bowl eligibility. So that’s cool.

We’ve got lunchtime football today, with an 11:00am CT kickoff from the toilet bowl in Lawrence David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium being aired on FS1 with Adam Alexander (play-by-play) and Devin Gardner (analyst) on the call. The game should also be available streaming via FoxSports.com, if you already have the correct TV subscription.

If for some reason you don’t get FS1, or can’t access the stream, the game can be heard across the 39-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst), and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. The game will also be on Sirius Channel 98, XM Channel 200, and available on the The Varsity Network app. Live stats are available at k-statesports.com, and Twitter updates (@KStateFB) will also be a part of the coverage.

Go Cats!