Sunflower Showdown!

Today at 11 AM, Bill Snyder Family Stadium will play host to the 110th episode of the Sunflower Showdown, one of college football’s longest-running continuous rivalries. (This is actually the 118th meeting of the two schools). The game will air on FS1 and can be seen on associated streaming services. These details and more are in Jon Morse’s How To Watch post.

Kansas State is now ranked #19 in the country thanks to a 3-0 start in conference play. Kansas is coming off a disastrous loss to West Virginia and is currently 0-4. Nobody expects the Jayhawks to pull the upset today, but they could maybe cover the 20-point spread?

The Wildcats have won the last 11 games in this series and 24 of the last 29. In other words, it’s not much of a rivalry these days. Obviously, it matters to the fans, to the in-state players on both rosters, and it has an impact on recruiting. But is Farmageddon now the bigger rivalry?

Interestingly, at least one Kansas State player edged very close to trash talk this week. Asked about the game, Wyatt Hubert said “[w]hen they play us, that’s their Super Bowl.” While I appreciate his enthusiasm, I think he got it backwards. Kansas remains indifferent to the game and to the rivalry in general, while Kansas State gives this game more importance than it deserves, given team trajectories. But that’s fine by me, as long as the Wildcats keep winning.

A number of current Wildcats, including Hubert, Jahron McPherson, Harry Trotter, and Briley Moore, actually grew up rooting for the Jayhawks, adding an interesting dimension to the game. Then, there’s Ekow Boye-Doe, Keenan Garber, and Jax Dineen, who all grew up in Lawrence but ended up at Kansas State. For Dineen, the game is even a family affair, since his brother Jay is a linebacker at Kansas.

ICYMI, there’s pre-game content at BotC too, including:

— Derek Moeller Smith’s retrospective on the Sunflower Showdown and preview of this year’s contest.

— The latest episode of Bring on the PodCats, with Luke Thompson and TB chatting with former Wildcat and regular PodCats guest Nick Leckey.

Let’s do this, #EMAW family! Beat those Chickenhawks!