The Kansas Jayhawks take the field prior to kickoff against West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Of all the close losses that the Kansas football team endured during its 2024 season, perhaps none stuck in the Jayhawks’ craw more than their 29-27 defeat at Kansas State on Oct. 26, 2024.

It was the closest Sunflower Showdown by margin since 1993 and the Jayhawks’ best chance in recent years of snapping their ignominious losing streak in the rivalry. Instead, a series of pivotal mistakes throughout the game concluded with a late fumble by quarterback Jalon Daniels and another ill-fated two-minute drill, and K-State claimed the Governor’s Cup for a 16th straight year.

KU fell short of the postseason, and the Jayhawks played the final minutes of their loss to K-State repeatedly on the video board in their indoor practice facility during winter workouts.

Now it’s time for a rematch, with the Wildcats coming to town at 11 a.m. Saturday, and those fateful plays have been playing again at the Anderson Family Football Complex.

“It’s something that you see every single day, that you wake up and you’re pissed about it,” Daniels said. “Because at the end of the day, the last five minutes were — there was a mistake that I made that was very detrimental to the game. Two fumbles in those last five minutes, and that’s something that hurts me every single time that I watch it.

“I try not to think about or harp on the past too much because at the end of the day it’s about being able to stay where your feet are, and I think that we’ve been doing a great job of taking care of the ball this season.”

Indeed, KU is on quite a bit of a different trajectory from last year, when that Sunflower Showdown loss dropped it to 2-6. Even after a resounding defeat at Texas Tech on Oct. 11, the Jayhawks are 4-3 and they have Daniels and his improved decision-making to thank, as he’s completed 69.9% of his passes for 18 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

This year, it was Kansas State that started the season stunningly slow. After losing to Iowa State in Ireland, the Wildcats barely slipped by FCS North Dakota before suffering a shock home loss at the hands of Army. They then lost 23-17 at Arizona ahead of their first bye week.

Since then, KSU has begun to round into form and look a bit more like one of Chris Klieman’s typical teams. The Wildcats beat UCF, lost by a point after a bungled fourth quarter at Baylor and then beat TCU 41-28 on Oct. 11. The Horned Frogs outgained KSU, but the Wildcats controlled the time of possession and scored a pair of defensive touchdowns.

Zebrowski praised K-State’s front, which is led by familiar players like linebackers Des Purnell (37 tackles, two interceptions) and Austin Romaine (49 tackles). The Wildcats did lose top pass rusher Tobi Osunsanmi to a season-ending injury.

“I always believe watching them, and I still do, that they play just hard,” KU offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski said. “They’re physical, they play hard, they come downhill, they do a good job creating turnovers.”

KU coach Lance Leipold said K-State has “as much speed and explosiveness as any team in the Big 12” when quarterback Avery Johnson, running back Dylan Edwards and receiver Jayce Brown are all on the field. But that trio has rarely appeared at the same time this season because Edwards has been in and out of the lineup due to injury, and he was ruled out as part of Wednesday’s initial availability report.

In any case, Johnson has had an efficient season with 1,561 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and two picks, plus 238 yards and three scores on the ground as the Wildcats begin to make increased use of his rushing ability.

“He’s getting a lot better at reading the defenses and making quick decisions,” KU defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald said. “Honestly, he’s one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation. I mean, I know we got one here, but he’s one of them.”

Brown has 417 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and Johnson has also made effective use of Purdue transfer wideout Jaron Tibbs and tight end Garrett Oakley. In Edwards’ place, Joe Jackson rushed for 110 yards in the win over TCU.

“When you watch parts of their game, you could see why they were a conference favorite early in the season and still have a chance,” Leipold said. “And I know they’ll be confident enough after their last few weeks here that they can finish strong down the stretch.”

The game comes at a pivotal moment for both programs and could have a lot to say about whether either team makes a bowl game this year — not to mention the broader implications of the ongoing streak on how KU and KSU are perceived in the region. This is the first time KU enters the matchup as a favorite since 2009.

“You have a routine of trying to do your job and you should be playing at your fullest each and every snap no matter who you’re playing against, but I do hope that there’s an extra sense of urgency and attention to detail, and some things that hopefully (are) more purposeful and intentional as we go through a game like this,” Leipold said. “Obviously we’ve knocked on the door on this a few times, but we’ve got to be able to play well, play well for 60 minutes on Saturday.”

Kansas Jayhawks (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (3-4, 2-2 Big 12)

• David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, 11 a.m.

• Broadcast: TNT/truTV/HBO Max

• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KKSW FM 105.9 / KMXN FM 92.9)

• Betting line: KU -3.5; over/under 56

• Series history: KU leads 65-52-5 according to KU; KU leads 64-53-5 according to K-State

Keep an eye out

1. Standing tall: The Jayhawks’ offensive line allowed a catastrophic and uncharacteristic nine sacks last time out against Texas Tech, with tackles Calvin Clements and Enrique Cruz Jr. struggling in particular against Tech’s high-level defensive ends. Zebrowski said, however, that he places the blame for a sack on himself and on the quarterback before the offensive lineman. Zebrowski didn’t expect the showing to do significant damage to the linemen’s confidence and said that “just like anything, it’s a couple moments here we got to fix.” KU did catch a break with KSU’s loss of Osunsanmi, and the Wildcats’ pass rush ranks near the middle of the Big 12.

2. Options open: The option game that played such a key role in KU’s offensive success in previous years, with Matt Lubick (now the co-offensive coordinator) to thank, has faded to the background this year. Leipold and Zebrowski said this week that it’s primarily a result of what opposing defenses are throwing at the Jayhawks schematically, and they both cited a shaky execution of the option against Cincinnati that resulted in a bad pitch by Daniels as one key deterrent. That’s resulted in fewer opportunities for Daniels on designed runs, even though he’s scrambled effectively. Will KSU show anything that prompts KU to return to these fundamental concepts?

3. Double byes: On a related note, both teams have had plenty of time to prepare for this matchup. Neither has played since Oct. 11, providing each the opportunity for a full two weeks of preparation for its rival. That could lead to some unusual wrinkles on both sides.

Spotlight on…

Daniel Hishaw Jr.: The sixth-year senior running back, KU’s starter entering the year, has seen his fair share of Sunflower Showdowns. He effectively missed the first three games of league play this year, as he fought through an injury to be available against WVU, only to leave after two carries and sit out the Cincinnati and UCF games. Hishaw returned against Texas Tech and, by all accounts, exceeded expectations by carrying the ball eight times for 53 yards to serve as KU’s leading rusher. The Jayhawks have run the ball effectively against K-State in recent years with Devin Neal and will now need Hishaw and Leshon Williams (or Harry Stewart III if Williams can’t go on Saturday) to pick up the slack.

Inside the numbers

188.3: The average number of rushing yards KU is allowing per game, which is worst in the Big 12.

21: Number of consecutive field goals made by KU kicker Laith Marjan, including a career-long 55-yarder against Texas Tech.

11: Oakley’s school record receiving-touchdowns total, the most ever for a KSU tight end.

Prediction

Kansas State wins 27-24. Setting aside the on-field talent of the respective rosters, recent history makes it unbelievably difficult to pick KU to win this game, especially having witnessed the inventive ways the Jayhawks have found to lose it each of the past two years. The Wildcats’ results of late give the impression that they’re rounding into form, while the Jayhawks’ — as good as Texas Tech and Cincinnati may prove to be by the end of this year — do not. Throw in the high proportion of Kansans in big roles for KSU and the intangibles seem to be on the Wildcats’ side entering this matchup.