LAWRENCE — Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman tried to downplay talk of the Wildcats' lengthy streak over the rival Jayhawks , but he knew how aware his players were heading into the game.
This year, more than any other, was supposed to be Kansas ', to finally snap a losing streak that dates back to 2008. The Wildcats had a slow start to the year, while the Jayhawks appeared to be on the rise.
A defining victory would result in a field-storming, Kansas State heard, which only motivated the Wildcats more.
"It kind of pissed off a lot of our older Kansas kids," Klieman said. "If we played our best football, we were a better football team, and I really believed that, and I got the kids to really believe that. That was a complete performance."
The only storming performed by Kansas fans was on their way out of David Booth Memorial Stadium, as Kansas State put the finishing touches on a 42-17 win over the Jayhawks on Saturday, Oct. 25, to extend their Sunflower Showdown winning streak to 17.
Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson ran in his second rushing touchdown with 4:17 left, and proceeded to wave goodbye as those wearing KU blue turned their backs and walked out of the renovated stadium.
Johnson finished the game 11-for-17 with 231 yards and two touchdowns through the air, to go along with 17 yards and two scores on the ground. He led K-State's most complete performance of the year, lifting the Wildcats to 4-4, within striking distance of bowl eligibility and keeping that slight chance of a Big 12 championship run alive.
"It's always whenever we're playing KU that it's going to be their year," Johnson said. "We never got too caught up in that. Our record hasn't been what it's been in the past leading up to the game, but as far as the team we are, we're still the most talented team, and we went out and played like it today."
In the players' minds, there was never a doubt that the Wildcats were the most talented team. Standout linebacker Des Purnell made that clear earlier in the week when he made the declaration earlier in the week, adding that the Wildcats would come out and "dominate."
He wasn't wrong, and he backed it up himself. He led the Wildcats with nine total tackles, while Daniel Cobbs picked KU quarterback Jalon Daniels off. The Jayhawks' QB had cleaned up his turnover problems in previous weeks, but put the ball in danger frequently. He entered the game as one of the most efficient passers in the country and with the second-highest completion percentage in the Big 12 before completing less than 50% of his passes against the Wildcats.
On the other side, Johnson was on target, completing four passes to Jayce Brown for 160 yards and a touchdown to go along with a perfect 27-yard touchdown pass to Jaron Tibbs.
"We just had the mentality today that we wanted to go out there and attack something; be the hunter instead of the hunted," Purnell said. "They had a great team. I feel like we went out there and we dominated."
Klieman says Sunflower Showdown week is the worst for him. He knows everybody expects him not to be the guy who screws up the streak. He felt the same way in the past when North Dakota State played South Dakota State. At some point, he knows, the Jayhawks are going to win.
Kansas State's winning streak over Kansas entered Saturday at 6,202 days and will live to be 6,203 on Sunday. Another 300 or so will be added when the two meet in Manhattan a year from now.
"It means a lot to those kids," Klieman said. "It's why K-State football, in my opinion, has been as dominant in this series, because it just means so much to those kids."
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_ , contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football continues to dominate Kansas rivalry
