ESPN Highlights Kansas State in Four of Big 12’s Five Biggest Games for 2025

Kansas State isn’t just on the radar heading into 2025; they are the radar.

In ESPN’s latest Big 12 preview, Bill Connelly listed the five biggest games of conference play this fall, and the Wildcats are featured in four of them. That’s not just respect, that’s recognition of a program sitting squarely at the heart of this league.

It starts early. K-State opens the season in Ireland against Iowa State, giving us an overseas kickoff that feels like a bowl game out of the gate. That matchup sets the tone not just for the Wildcats, but for a Big 12 race that’s going to be wide open.

Later in the year, TCU comes to Manhattan in a battle that always brings fireworks. The Horned Frogs and Wildcats have developed a quietly fierce rivalry, and this one could carry Big 12 title implications again.

The only game on Connelly’s list without Kansas State? Texas Tech vs. Arizona State. It’s a solid pick—Tech looks dangerous and Arizona State’s still got something to prove—but then it’s right back to Manhattan for K-State vs. Tech on November 1. Two physical teams, late in the season, with everything on the line.

The finale? A November 22 showdown in Utah. That’s a brutal trip and a fascinating test against a Utes team that’s better than last year’s 5-7 record suggests. Connelly even joked that it might feel like a Kansas State blog by the time he was done listing games.

It’s rare to see one team pop up this often in a national preview, but Kansas State has earned it. They’re going to be a central figure in the Big 12 race from Week 0 to Thanksgiving weekend.