Kansas Football Opponent Preview: Get to Know the Wildcats

This year’s Sunflower Showdown carries a lot of weight for both Kansas football and Kansas State football this year as both teams need a win to get their seasons back on track.

The Jayhawks will travel to Manhattan for this year’s matchup for an 11 a.m. CT kick on Saturday inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. 11 a.m. start times have not been kind to KU these past few years as the Jayhawks have lost seven straight of them to Big 12 opponents (not including Arizona State in London) dating back to 2023.

KU will look to end that streak and the 17-year losing streak they currently face to their in-state rival.

Here’s a look at this year’s K-State football team.

Record

Kansas State enters the Sunflower Showdown with a 3-2 record on the season (0-2 in Big 12). The Wildcats own wins over Nicholls State, Washington State, and Tulane – all of which came at home. Their losses have come at Cincinnati (31-26) and at home versus No. 20 Houston (35-16).

KU is 65-53-5 all-time versus KSU dating back to their first matchup on Oct. 4, 1902, which resulted in a 16-0 win by the Jayhawks. KU is 28-29-3 in games played in Manhattan.

Lately though, it’s been a one-sided affair as K-State has won 17 straight games in the Sunflower Showdown series. The last time KU beat KSU was on Nov. 1, 2008, when Mark Mangingo was still roaming the Kansas sidelines and quarterback Todd Reesing was behind center.

Key Players

The Kansas State offense functions around how well senior quarterback Avery Johnson is playing. On the season, he’s averaging 218.4 yards passing and 66 yards rushing per game. He’s thrown for nine touchdowns and rushed for three so far this year.

One of Johnson’s favorite pass catchers is senior tight end Garrett Oakley – who was named Preseason Second Team All-Big 12 prior to the start of the season. In his four appearances this season, he’s averaging four catches and 49 yards receiving per game. However, he is listed as questionable for the game on Saturday due to injury.

On defense, the Wildcats’ main playmaker is senior linebacker Gabe Powers who leads the team in tackles (23 total, 16 solo). Junior defensive end Wendell Gregory leads the team in sacks with 2.5.

Coaching

The Wildcats are led by first-year head coach Collin Klein, who had a very successful playing career for the Wildcats from 2008 to 2012.

Prior to taking over as head coach at his alma mater, Klein was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Texas A&M for two seasons under head coach Mike Elko in 2024 and 2025. Prior to that, Klein served as quarterbacks coach at K-State from 2017 to 2023 and eventually took over as offensive coordinator in 2022.

Klein is currently 3-2 overall as head coach and 0-2 in Big 12 play.

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