Football
Kansas State beat Kansas 42-17, appropriately the 17th straight victory for the Wildcats in the long-running but not always compelling soap opera that is the Sunflower Showdown.
K-State’s current streak
is by far the longest in the whole series, and the previous streak of 10 games also belonged to the Wildcats. To put this in perspective, the average high school senior in the United States has never witnessed a Kansas win in their entire life. There are players on both teams who were mere toddlers the last time the Wildcats lost this game. Add to that KU’s long streak of futility in Lawrence, where they have not beaten K-State since 2004 and we might begin to understand the depths of KU fan despair at this point, and especially in view of KU providing the Wildcats with plenty to fuel DISRESPEKT before the game.
The first several minutes of the game were just a comedy of errors from both sides. It immediately brought to mind that quote from Pappy Waldorf after K-State beat KU in 1934: “This was the only game eight fumbles couldn’t lose.” Fortunately for the Wildcats, it was mostly just KU shooting itself repeatedly in the foot this time, and Kansas State executed well enough on offense and defense and overcame bad weather to dominate its arch rival.
This many weeks into the 2025 season, it’s now clear that Kansas State is not nearly as bad as the Army and Arizona games suggested but probably not also quite as good as the dominant wins over TCU and Kansas would indicate. The truth is somewhere in the middle, but rounding into decent form as the season progresses is not a bad thing at all.
There’s a part of all our brains where we are rational and possibly empathetic towards KU fans. Someday, we will scratch the itch to explore that, but in the immortal words of Aragorn at the Black Gate, it is not this day.
Today, we celebrate owning this rivalry for a generation, bragging rights for another year, sending Dr. Tracz off into retirement with a win, and getting one step closer to a winning record for the 2025 season.
Basketball
The Kansas State men’s basketball team took to the floor for the first time this season in an exhibition game against Missouri in Columbia. It was a contest that never really felt in the Wildcats’ grasp and Kansas State lost 100-91.
Frankly, it wasn’t even that close. But if there’s a silver lining here, this is at least a K-State squad that can score a lot of points.
The women’s team will begin their season with an exhibition against Tarleton State on October 27. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM and the game can be seen on ESPN+. This is the first ever meeting between the programs.
Golf
The men’s golf team wrapped up the short fall campaign at the Steelwood Collegiate in Alabama. Play was suspended after 36 holes because of continuous rain, with the Wildcats at 8-over par 584 and tied for 10th place in the 14-team event. Senior Alex Lindstrom was low Wildcat for the tournament and finished in 23rd place. The tournament result was disappointing for the team, but it has been a good fall overall.
The golf team will take a break for its off-season and return for the spring in February.
Soccer
On Thursday, Kansas State soccer (7-5-4, 2-4-3 Big 12) played to a scoreless draw against Houston on the road. That means the Wildcats have not lost in their last three road games, winning once and drawing twice over that stretch, more or less unprecedented in the program’s short history. So far this season, K-State has drawn four matches, including three in the Big 12, both school records.
Against Houston, the Wildcats struggled to score despite having more shots on goal than the Cougars. The highlight for the team was goalie Maddie Sibbing posting her ninth shutout for the season.
As of this writing, K-State is down 0-1 to Texas Tech in Lubbock in the last Big 12 road match of the season for the Cats.
Volleyball
The football team was not the only Sunflower Showdown victor this weekend. The VolleyCats beat #14 Kansas in five sets (14-25, 25-17, 18-25, 25-23, 15-18) at Allen Field House for their first win over the Jayhawks since 2020 and their first win over a ranked team since 2023. In the process, K-Stated handed KU its first loss in October this season and its only loss so far in 2025 to an unranked team. The VolleyCats also limited KU to a hitting percentage of just .137, its lowest in Big 12 play so far.
Three Wildcats, Anya Clinton, Shaylee Myers, and Ava LeGrand, all had double-doubles in this match, with Clinton leading the team with 16 kills and 14 digs. Myers added 15 kills and 16 digs, while LeGrand tallied her eighth double-double of the season with 15 digs ad 33 assists.
The team is back in action on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City for a match against Utah.
