Kansas Football’s Loss to Missouri Makes the Kansas State Game That Much Bigger

Heading into the 2025 season, the Kansas Jayhawks had two marquee games on their schedule: Missouri and Kansas State.

The Missouri game was the biggest game on the schedule for obvious reasons. It was the first football matchup in 14 years between two bitter rivals with a history of hatred that dates back to the late 1800s. It had also been on the schedule since May 2020 when previous KU Athletics Director Jeff Long announced the renewed series.

There was a ton of build up to that game, but it unfortunately did not go KU’s way as the Jayhawks fell to the Tigers 31-42 in Columbia.

That loss now puts a greater emphasis on the game against Kansas State next month, which – as of now – is the biggest game remaining on the Jayhawks’ schedule.  

Although the KU vs. K-State rivalry doesn’t carry the same weight as KU’s rivalry with Missouri, the two schools do share a lot of history. The problem for the Jayhawks is that history has been very one-sided for the past 30 years.

Since 1995, KU has beaten KSU just four times. All four wins came during the Mark Mangino era with wins in 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008. That means the Jayhawks have not beaten the Wildcats since 2009, resulting in an ugly 16-game losing streak as of this year.

Simply put: That has to change.

For perhaps the first time in the last 16 years, the Jayhawks should truly have a decisive homefield advantage with the matchup being the first between the two schools in the new and improved David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Over the course of this losing streak, the stadium has often been an even mix of purple and blue, but that likely won’t be the case this year. KU fans have showed up big so far this season with a sellout in the home opener against Fresno State and a crowd of 39,129 for the game against Wagner on Friday night during Memorial Day weekend (official capacity is 41,525).

With KU looking like an improved team from a season ago and having the chance to rack up a few wins against lesser Big 12 opponents leading up to the KSU game thanks to a favorable upcoming schedule, excitement and attendance should both be high among KU fans. There is also a good chance that a win against KSU could make the Jayhawks bowl eligible, which would only add to the hype and importance of that game.

It would be hard to call the 2025 season a true success if the Jayhawks end up losing to both Missouri and Kansas State. It would still be a good season if the Jayhawks become bowl eligible and even more so if they win a bowl game. 

But with a long overdue win against KSU that ends the losing streak and helps the Jayhawks reach the postseason, it could end up being a great one.