K-State Football: Sunflower Showdown is not a rivalry game

K-State football enters Saturday facing off against in-state rival Kansas (1-6). The game will be aired on FS1 at 2:00pm central time. Both teams are struggling in conference play, but KSU at least has the chance to get back to .500.

Come on now, be realistic with me for a minute because I know every person reading this has thought about it since the even more massive decline in KU football. Is KU considered a rival to anybody? Let alone its in state rival K-State?

The answer is no, a resounding no I might add. It can be difficult to see now however with some careful thinking and perspective, I think we can manage to justify why they are not a rival any longer.

K-State Football: Why KU is Not A Rival

Does it even matter?

K-State, for the better part of the 90s and beyond, has been super solid at football. Kansas, on the other hand, has been extremely good at basketball, even winning a National Championship, which is highly impressive.

Every single season for the respective sports (barring a KSU basketball miracle) the Wildcats beat KU in football while Kansas dishes payback in basketball, usually twice a year. Yet does any of it actually matter? We know these outcomes like the back of our hand.

I hear every year from Jayhawks “Just wait till basketball season.” Really? That’s what we got now? There is no disagreement or battle between anyone, no debating that one team is simply dominate over the other in their respective sports.

That’s not rivalry, that’s not Ohio State vs Michigan, Miami vs FSU, or even Texas vs OU, which has gone in the past five years a competitive 3-2 record. Since 1993, KU has only beaten K-State football four times! FOUR TIMES. The Wildcats have an eight game winning streak and go for nine this Saturday, all of this according to Winsipedia.

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It should also be noted, Ron Prince lost every single one of his games to Kansas, but we don’t really count his years there because it was a complete and total disaster. Also, Kansas does own the overall record against K-State football, but that’s because this program used to be a joke.

It’s hard to imagine for a recent fan now, but the Wildcats were downright awful. Hot garbage. It’s why Bill Snyder is so greatly looked upon as an incredible head coach.

What About The Future?

K-State football losing three straight games is a pretty low point, yet Kansas is still worse and it’s not even close. The Jayhawks are potentially the worst college football team I’ve ever seen and I’m not the only one who feels that way (ESPN agrees too!).

I’d even put a tiny bit of cash on a game between Kansas and Northwest Missouri State on the Bearcats, or a few other teams in the MIAA, and that’s Division II. Sad, I know. Do you blame me though? My point here is there are no meaningful games in sight. None, whatsoever.

With all that being said, it’s clear to me that this is no rivalry. Maybe we will see a turn around and some competitive games in the future. If I were you though, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

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