K-State trash-talk? Why KU Jayhawks shrugged off pre-Sunflower Showdown chatter
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KU receiver Cam Pickett downplays K-State trash talk and emphasizes focus.
- Kansas enters Sunflower Showdown as 2.5-point favorites, first time in 16 years.
- Coach Leipold’s squad aims to flip a 16-game losing streak by executing in all phases.
Kansas Jayhawks wide receiver Cam Pickett says he isn’t worried about what his football-playing counterparts at Kansas State might be saying about KU ahead of Saturday’s Sunflower Showdown.
And he didn’t convey much of a reaction when told what K-State linebacker Desmond Purnell had said recently about the Jayhawks.
“They are very explosive,” Purnell said of KU. “Really good offense, really good players, whole team, defense-wise, special teams-wise. But I feel like we’ve got better guys. I feel like we’re gonna go out there and dominate.”
Pickett didn’t have much to say in response.
“That’s how he feels about his team,” Pickett told The Star. “You know you always speak positively about your team. We feel like we have the tools we need to go out and perform and execute, so we’re just focused on that.”
Pickett’s teammates have adopted a similar mentality. No KU players have ribbed state-rival KSU this week despite having multiple opportunities to do so.
KU quarterback Jalon Daniels simply emphasized the importance of winning the game.
“At the end of the day, right now, what are we sitting at, 4-3? I’d love to be sitting at 5-3,” Daniels said. “It would be great to be able to get a win.
“You could say I’m downplaying Kansas State, but it’s the next opponent, it’s the next game I get to play and the next snap I get to play. Though it is the people who are in the same state as us, I can’t wait to go out there and play (in general).”
That’s the mentality Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold has sought to instill in his players. They are well aware that the program’s losing streak in this series is 16 games long ... and that the Jayhawks have lost close games to the Wildcats the past two seasons.
Pickett said KU’s mentality this weekend is to “flip the narrative.” Vegas seems to believe it’s possible, listing Kansas as a 2.5-point favorite over K-State.
It’s the first time in 16 years that KU has been favored for a Sunflower Showdown in football.
“At the end of the day,” Pickett said, “we want to put more points on the board, but we want to go out and ... play a full game as a team — to be able to go out and play in all phases of the game to show what we can do.”
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 6:30 AM with the headline "K-State trash-talk? Why KU Jayhawks shrugged off pre-Sunflower Showdown chatter."
