How Kansas Football’s London Game vs Arizona State Could Dictate the Season

Kansas has a pair of crucial matchups in the first three weeks of the season, but its game in London could be the biggest of the year.

Oct 5, 2024; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Kansas Jayhawks quarterback Cole Ballard (15) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The Union Jack Classic at London's historic Wembley Stadium will be massive for the Kansas football program's brand. Viewers from across the Atlantic will get to see the Jayhawks in action as college sports continues to expand overseas.

Although it should be a fun experience for the coaches and players, it will also serve as a turning point in the 2026 campaign. Losing to the Sun Devils on Sept. 19 could potentially derail Kansas' season.

Lance Leipold's group kicks off the year with a tune-up game against Long Island on Sept. 4. That leads into the second rendition of the renewed Border Showdown, this time in Lawrence after the Jayhawks fell 42-31 in Columbia a year ago.

Coming off a physical rivalry game that Kansas is already expected to lose, the team will then spend an entire day traveling to England. That doesn't even account for the practices they'll have to take on the first grass field they play on all season.

Everyone remembers when Kansas State's season fell apart last year after the Farmageddon matchup in Dublin. The Wildcats appeared poised for a successful 2025 campaign, but they crumbled in just one week.

They coincidentally lost current Kansas running back Dylan Edwards for most of the season after he muffed a punt in the first quarter and got injured. They also squandered several opportunities to start the year with a victory. That game is widely considered the downfall of last year's KSU squad, as they were never able to recover from the heartbreaker.

If KU loses consecutive games to Mizzou and ASU, dropping to 1-2, it would be a disastrous start. The Jayhawks need to win at least one of those games to realistically have a shot at returning to a bowl for the first time in three years.

The silver lining is that the London contest is followed by a much-needed bye week, a luxury K-State didn't have after last year's overseas matchup. However, it still takes more than a few days to fully recover from jet lag and the other effects of such a long trip.

Most fans would agree that the three games that mean the most this season are the Border War, London game, and Sunflower Showdown. If the Jayhawks are going to have a bounce-back year in 2026, it starts with those three.

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