With the Bye Week, it is not too Early to Talk About the Sunflower Showdown Rivalry

Same games just mean more, and this game should be a great one in one of the most underrated college football rivalries, as Kansas State will take on Kansas after the bye week for both teams.

Matt Wells talks with Avery Johnson. Mandatory Credit: K-State Athletics | K-State Athletics

The name itself comes from a nickname for both the state flower, the Sunflower State, and the state of Kansas. In football, these two in-state schools play for the Governor's Cup every year. The football series between the Wildcats and the Jayhawks is the fourth-longest running series in NCAA college football, having begun in 1902 and continued annually since 1911.

1. Prolonged History between Kansas State and Kansas

The origins of the rivalry between the Wildcats and Jayhawks. You must first go back to when these two schools were established. The University of Kansas was established in 1865 and began classes in 1866. Kansas State University was established in 1863 as the Kansas State Agricultural College, and in September of 1863, it became the second public institution of higher learning to admit men and women equally in this country. K-State was one of the first land-grant institutions in the United States to operate, and the first public university in the state of Kansas.

2. Overall All-Time Series Record and Game Trophy

The Governor's Cup is given to the winner of the yearly football game between these two in-state rivals from the state of Kansas. After the initial "Governor's Trophy" in 1902 and the Peace Pact Trophy" in the 1940s, it is the third trophy given out in this rivalry since 1969. Going into this game, the Kansas Jayhawks are in the lead all-time for this series. Going into this game, KU leads this series all-time with a record 64–53–5.

KANSAS STATE WINS THE SUNFLOWER SHOWDOWN 🌻🏆 pic.twitter.com/oWAhjrX2yp

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 27, 2024

The rivalry has been distinguished by two significant periods of dominance. The Jayhawks dominated this rivalry early on in this series. From the first several decades of the series to the early 90s, Kansas won a vast amount of games up til the 1993 season. K-State has controlled the series since 1993. The Wildcats have the longest winning streak by either team in the series' history, with 16 straight victories going back to 2009. From 1993 to 2003, K-State won 11 straight games over the Jayhawks as well.

3. The lead up to the game for both teams.

🚨 KICK TIME ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨

🗓️ OCT 25 | 🆚 KU
⏰ 11 AM CT | 📺 TNT/HBO Max
📍 David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium pic.twitter.com/qqWgP0Xvi1

— K-State Football (@KStateFB) October 13, 2025

Both Kansas State and Kansas are separated by approximately 84 miles. Fans of both schools look forward to the rivalry as it is not a full blown hatred type of rivalry like Alabama-Auburn, Texas-Texas A&M, or Michigan State-Michigan among the fans. The rivalry expands to all sports where the Wildcats and Jayhawks compete in but we are going to focus on the football rivalry between the two schools.

Legendary Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder was the face of this rivalry since the 90s as he won 23 games from 1989-2018 but now Chris Klieman is undefeated against the Jayhawks with a 6-0 record and looks to carry the torch in this rivalry as K-State has been very successful of late in the Sunflower Showdown rivalry. Kansas head coach Lance Leipold is 0-4 in this rivalry ,but he is looking to get his first win for the Jayhawks against the Wildcats since Kansas last won in this series going back to 2008.

With both teams being on a bye week this week leading up to their game with one another, it gives fans of both schools more time to appreciate this rivalry as the build up to the game continues to grow.

Remaining Schedule
October 25 @Kansas
November 1 Texas Tech
November 8 Open Date
November 15 @Oklahoma State
November 22 @Utah
November 29 Colorado