Sunflower Showdown: Why Dylan Edwards is Key to a Kansas Win vs K-State

Kansas football will head on the road this week for their biggest remaining game of the season when they travel to Manhattan, Kansas, for the annual Sunflower Showdown versus Kansas State.

The Jayhawks have not beaten the Wildcats since Nov. 1, 2008, when former head coach Mark Mangino and quarterback Todd Reesing were running the show in Lawrence. KU beat KSU at home that day by a final score of 52-21.

Nearly two decades later, and KU now faces K-State with huge implications for both teams this season – even more so for a Kansas team that will all but certainly be facing a third straight losing season should they come up short.

If the Jayhawks hope to pull off the upset, they’ll need the best version of running back Dylan Edwards that they’ve had all season as he makes the return to Manhattan to face his old team.

On the season, Edwards has 59 carries for 318 yards and three touchdowns. He also has 13 catches for 127 yards and one touchdown through the air.

Why Edwards’ performance is key

KU will need Edwards at his best to maximize the potential of the offense, which appeared to take some strides in the Jayhawks’ loss to Utah on Saturday.

Quarterback Isaiah Marshall is looking more comfortable in the offense, but KU can’t be expected to throw the ball all the time like they were forced to do against the Utes (37 passing plays for 333 yards vs. 27 running plays for 58 yards).

The K-State defense will be able to sit back and defend the pass if that’s the case as the Wildcats are currently No. 3 in the country in pass defense with an average of 133.4 yards given up per game.

If Edwards can be effective, that will give the Jayhawks a more complete offensive attack and take the pressure off Marshall and the KU receivers to handle the load. It will also increase KU’s time of possession and help keep Avery Johnson and the K-State offense off the field, who could present their own set of challenges for a KU defense that got torched for 545 total yards (258 yards passing, 287 yards rushing) versus Utah.

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Luckily for Edwards and Kansas, the run defense appears to be a major weakness for the Wildcats this season as they rank No. 95 among FBS teams with an average of 158.4 rushing yards surrendered per game.

KSU gave up 233 yards rushing to Houston in their 35-16 loss on Saturday and 271 yards rushing to Cincinnati in their 31-26 loss the week before. On the season, the K-State defense has given up 792 yards rushing with an average of 4.33 yards per carry.

Currently, Edwards is averaging just 63.6 yards rushing per game. That is nowhere near good enough and it won’t be good enough to beat K-State on Saturday.

But if he can take a step forward as the rest of the offense has appeared to do these last few weeks, KU may finally be able to put an end to their long-endured losing streak to their in-state rival.

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