Kansas Football Gets Unfavorable Start Time for Sunflower Showdown vs. Kansas State

The game time for this year’s Sunflower Showdown between Kansas football and their in-state rivals Kansas State was announced on Monday as the two teams will kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 25, inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

The game will be streamed live on TNT with a simulcast on truTV and HBO Max, according to a KU Athletics news release.

The Jayhawks enter this year’s Sunflower Showdown in what is a must-win game as KU hopes to end the ongoing losing streak to the Wildcats that now dates back 16 years.

The last victory against KSU came in 2008 under former head coach Mark Mangino when the Jayhawks thumped the Wildcats by a score of 52-21 in Lawrence. It was the third consecutive win over KSU under Mangino and the fourth in five seasons.

Prior to that, KSU held a 10-year winning streak against the Jayhawks from 1993 to 2003 under College Football Hall of Fame head coach Bill Snyder.

Needless to say, Jayhawk fans are anxious for the series to stop being so one-sided, but the early start time against the Wildcats next weekend does them no favors.

Crowds are typically less fired up for early kickoffs than they are for afternoon and evening starts, and attendance can sometimes be lower too. Despite KU having the home game this year, that (potentially) decreased atmosphere may provide a slight boost to KSU’s chances of winning this game.

The good news for KU is the crowd should be mostly crimson and blue this year as the Wildcats are suffering a down year with a 3-4 record overall (2-2 in Big 12 play). In years past, the stands have been a 70-30, 60-40, or an even split between KU and KSU, but with the Wildcats playing poorly and their preseason expectations of winning the Big 12 and reaching the College Football Playoff all but evaporated, it could produce an even more KU-friendly crowd.

This Sunflower Showdown is also the first inside KU’s new and improved stadium and the first home game for KU in a month, which should hopefully draw plenty of Jayhawk fans eager to see their team and eager to see this losing streak finally come to an end.

This will be the 123rd meeting between the two schools with KU owning the all-time series record 65-52-5. The Jayhawks also lead the Wildcats in games played in Lawrence with a 37-23-2 record.