A desperate Sunflower Showdown on deck as Kansas and Kansas State fight to save their seasons

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — There is always a bit of animosity when Kansas and Kansas State meet in one of the oldest rivalries in college football.

This year, there is also a sense of desperation.

The Jayhawks had high hopes of getting back to a bowl game after back-to-back losing seasons, even after losing quarterback Jalon Daniels and a bevy of players from last season. But a tough loss to Arizona State in London, coupled with losses to highly-ranked foes Missouri and Utah, have left coach Lance Leipold’s team staring at a 2-4 start should it lose Saturday in Manhattan.

Kansas State, meanwhile, thought it could be a dark-horse contender for the Big 12 title in Collin Klein’s first season in charge. The Wildcats brought back veteran quarterback Avery Johnson and plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, and were gifted one of the easiest Big 12 schedules. But a third straight loss on Saturday would leave them 3-3 midway through the season.

Wrap it all up and there’s a little more riding on the annual Sunflower Showdown than usual.

“We talked about it this morning,” Klein said before speaking with reporters Monday, “and I had every guy — player and staff — from the state of Kansas stand up, and there’s a lot of them in the room. There’s been a lot of them in this room for a very, very long time.

“The pride they take in this game and the rivalry is real, and that’s something we’ve embraced for a long time. But we understand, like I said before, it’s going to come down to doing what it takes to win and play winning football to win the game.”

It will be the 116th consecutive time that Kansas and Kansas State meet in football, the third-longest active streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and the 124 total meetings make it the ninth-most played rivalry overall.

Lately, it has been decidedly one-sided.

Kansas State has won the last 17 games against the Jayhawks, and 30 of 35 dating to 1991 — the early years of Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder’s first tenure in Manhattan. And while there have been close shaves over the years, including a 29-27 win for the Wildcats a couple of years ago, most have been of the 42-17 variety that they handed Kansas last season.

“I’ve said, ‘It can’t be much of a rivalry unless we hold our end of the bargain up,’ and we haven’t done that yet,” Leipold said. “We’re well aware of that and we’ve got to find a way to get it done on Saturday. I know it’s important to our fanbase, and it should be.

“We’re going to need a great week of preparation to have a chance to go into their home and find a way to win the game.”

Whomever wins the morning kickoff could use it as the kickoff to a successful second half of the season.

The Jayhawks follow with four straight games against unranked Big 12 teams: Baylor, TCU, UCF and West Virginia. Win even three of those four, along with a win over the Wildcats, and Kansas would be guaranteed a bowl game.

Kansas State has only one ranked team the rest of the way — Oklahoma State — and could still play its way into the conversation for the Big 12 championship game. Sure, a close loss at Cincinnati and a lopsided home loss to Houston have put the Wildcats on their back heel, but beating the Jayhawks could give them the confidence and momentum to conceivably run the table.

“I believe in what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, and our process is good, and our people are good,” Klein said. “When we get over that hump on the tipping point on some of these things, I believe it’s going to be sooner than later, and that’s how we’re approaching it.

“Nothing that’s been done in the past has any bearing on this week and in this game,” he added. “The score is 0-0 right now, and we’ve got to earn it every single day this week on the practice field to leave the game Saturday how we want. That’s where we’re at.”

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