K-State Q&A: Is Farmageddon a bigger football rivalry than the Sunflower Showdown?
It’s a shame the Sunflower Showdown is one of the nation’s most predictable rivalries. Fans on both sides have so much passion for K-State football and for KU men’s basketball that it would feel almost electric to see each school compete more regularly in both sports. The hype leading up to games, at least around these parts, would be off the charts.
Alas, there isn’t much intrigue involved when the Wildcats play the Jayhawks in either of the major sports. K-State has won 11 straight and 24 of the past 29 on the football field. KU has won 60 of the past 66 on the basketball court.
Yawn.
The only time this rivalry feels heated is when something bizarre happens outside of the games, like Silvio De Sousa picking up a stool, Brannen Greene displaying poor sportsmanship, K-State fans storming the court at Bramlage Coliseum or the Wildcats band incorporating the Jayhawk into one of their marching performances.
Things feel so dull leading into Saturday’s football game at Bill Snyder Family Stadium that I’m beginning to wonder if the Sunflower Showdown currently ranks at the top of K-State’s football rivalry list.
Great minds must think alike, because I was asked that very question this week. So let’s dive into the mailbag right now. Thanks, as always, for your participation.
This is a great question, and a topic I have been thinking a lot about lately.
For K-State football players, I think they definitely rank the Sunflower Showdown as their most important rivalry game. With so many in-state players on the roster, beating KU like a drum every year is a sacred ritual. It’s the one time all season they give media anything close to trash talk leading up to a game.
Wyatt Hubert said earlier this week that KU always treats the Sunflower Showdown like its Super Bowl. In actuality, I think it’s closer to the other way around. With 23 in-state players on the K-State two-deep, the Wildcats never overlook this game. Not only are they the better team, this game means more to them. That’s a big reason why they never lose it.
It’s a different story for some fans, though. I get the feeling that this is the game K-State supporters least want to lose. But no one circles KU on the schedule and says, “Boy, I sure hope we win that game.”
Losing to KU would cause a bigger fan meltdown than any other opponent, even Arkansas State. K-State Twitter would be lit ablaze. But winning the game won’t send anyone into a frenzy.
For that reason, I think Iowa State is currently the bigger football rivalry for fans.
The Cyclones and Wildcats enter each season with similar expectations and compete with each other much more regularly for recruits. Do they hate each other? No. Iowa State has the Hawkeyes and K-State has the Jayhawks for that. But they make up for it with a strange level of respect that neither side will admit is there.
Iowa State fans complain about the officiating every time they lose a close game to K-State.
K-State fans shake their fists every time a member of the national media compliments Matt Campbell. And they really don’t like it when the Camping World Bowl passes them over for Iowa State.
They are also on similar footing in terms of talent. They go head to head for recruits, too. There are plenty of K-State fans that wish Wichita product Breece Hall had chosen to play in Manhattan instead of Ames. Is there a single recruit on KU’s roster that K-State fans curse for slipping through the cracks?
Online banter also seems more energized between Iowa State and K-State. They bicker back and forth all year and then it culminates with a bragging rights game called Farmageddon.
Their rivalry even has a better name.
Much like Oklahoma and Nebraska once had an intense rivalry that wasn’t based on geography, K-State and Iowa State has become a nice little grudge match. Perhaps K-State vs. Nebraska in the late 90s and early 2000s is a better comparison, though neither of these teams have reached that level yet.
Now, K-State has also owned Farmageddon in recent years by winning 11 of the past 12. But most of those games have been very close, with the Wildcats finding some bizarre paths to victory.
K-State fans want to beat Iowa State, especially now that both teams are on top of the conference standings.
The Sunflower Showdown will always be the biggest rivalry around here for obvious reasons. But Farmageddon is the much better football series right now.
Bold prediction: I don’t think that happens this season.
We may see a few games where a K-State receiver leads the team in receptions or receiving yards, but not both. Briley Moore (tight end) and Deuce Vaughn (running back) are the team’s best playmakers, and I doubt the Wildcats are going to stop feeding them the ball simply for the sake of getting receivers more involved.
But I will say this: If it’s going to happen, it very well could happen this weekend against KU. Chris Klieman has said he wants to throw more passes to Malik Knowles. This might be a good example of the squeaky wheel getting the grease against an overmatched opponent.
Overall, though, I just don’t have much confidence in K-State’s receivers. Chabastin Taylor is a fine player. The rest of the bunch have done virtually nothing all year.
I referred to them as bums in this space last week, and that’s not going to change until they prove they aren’t.
Receiver and linebacker will be the two most important positions for recruiting purposes during the offseason.
K-State badly needs to find some fresh talent at receiver with Joshua Youngblood in the transfer portal. Even if Wykeen Gill, Malik Knowles and Chabastin Taylor return next season, does that lineup excite anyone?
The Wildcats also need an infusion of young talent at linebacker. They are old at that position right now with Justin Hughes, Elijah Sullivan and Cody Fletcher all seniors. But only Daniel Green seems poised to replace them in the starting lineup. Transfers have left this position low on depth. That will need to be addressed.
Well, they could try and clone Collin Klein.
Otherwise, I guess they need to recruit better offensive linemen. I haven’t viewed any of K-State’s recent quarterbacks as fragile. Jesse Ertz was incredibly unlucky and the previous coaching staff ran Jake Waters and Alex Delton far too often. But Thompson avoided serious injury for most of his career. If not for a Texas Tech linebacker leveling him with an illegal and late hit he would still be playing right now.
Deuce Vaughn (517 all-purpose yards) has a nice advantage over Will Howard (314 passing yards) at the moment, so I’m going to go with the freshman running back.
This week is a good opportunity for Vaughn to pad his rushing numbers. That gives him an even bigger advantage in this competition.
But most of Howard’s biggest passing plays go to Vaughn, so it might end up being close.
The better question might be, which player first hits 1,000 yards from this point on. That will be really close. I might actually lean toward Howard in that one, especially if he can figure out a way to get K-State’s receivers more involved.
I would like to take a moment to defend candy corn before I do any kind of comparisons on here.
The slander I hear against candy corn every October is completely unwarranted. It’s a tasty Halloween treat, and I’m not ashamed to say my family has mowed through three bags of the stuff already this month.
Before you send an angry tweet my way telling me how much you hate candy corn, try mixing them up in a bowl with peanuts. It’s delicious!
Candy corn ranks near the top of my Halloween candy rankings. It’s way better than some of the stuff people hand out each year in our neighborhood. If you want to put any candy on trial, it should be Tootsie Roll or Kit Kat. Part of me dies a little bit every time I see my kids reach for one of those when anything else is available.
Yuck!
The best candy to hand out is a mixed bag of Snickers, Twix and Milky Way. They are kind of like the three Big 12 teams with undefeated conference records (Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Kansas State).
But I also like Peanut M&M’s, Mr. Goodbar, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and candy corn. I suppose they are similar to Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor and West Virginia.
Then there’s candy like Kit Kat, Tootsie Roll and Swedish Fish. Serve those to Kansas, Texas Tech and TCU.
It’s going to be a tight race for tackles between Elijah Sullivan and Justin Hughes. They currently lead the team 27 and 26, respectively. Given that they are good friends and former high school teammates, it would be appropriate for them to tie. But I will give a slight edge to Sullivan, just because he looked so good last time out against TCU.
Wyatt Hubert remains the favorite to lead the team in sacks, but I don’t think that is a slam dunk. Boom Massie has also played well this season.
Give me Jahron McPherson for interceptions. K-State would be undefeated right now if not for the injury that knocked him out of the Arkansas State game.
The safe bet is Chabastin Taylor, but part of me wants to say Keyon Mozee. Both Klieman and offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham talked the freshman running back up this week. He already has one long catch on his resume, and I think we will see more of him starting this weekend against KU.
This story was originally published October 23, 2020 at 5:00 AM.