MANHATTAN — The "panic button" has been pressed; the alarms have sounded. However you want to say it, the feeling around the 2025 Kansas State football program is not good.
K-State is 1-3 to start the season, entering an open week on a two-game losing streak with losses to Army and Arizona. Once thought to possibly be a Big 12 contender, the Wildcats are in the midst of a nightmare scenario through their first four weeks.
Unless the Wildcats find a way to wake up, the horrors of this season may continue.
The worst-case scenario could include Kansas snapping its 16-game losing streak against the Wildcats and the possibility of missing a bowl game for the first time since 2020. The Wildcats are trending toward both low points.
A quick glance at the schedule and you'd probably circle the Wildcats as a favorite for three more games this season: Sept. 27 against UCF, Nov. 15 at Oklahoma State and Nov. 29 at home against Colorado.
UCF, which KSU plays after the off week, is in its first season of Scott Frost's second stint, who is in the midst of a rebuilding year. A home game after a week off might be what the Wildcats need to refocus. UCF started the season by struggling to beat Jacksonville State and then blowing out FCS North Carolina A&T last week.
After that? A difficult four-game stretch all against teams that received votes in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll, capped off by a home game against No. 17 Texas Tech. The trip to Baylor , a home game against TCU and a trip to Kansas before then don't look too favorable.
The Wildcats will take a trip to Oklahoma State when it appears Mike Gundy could be on his way out, before traveling to Utah, which could win the league. K-State concludes the season with Deion Sanders' rebuilding Colorado team in Manhattan.
Five more wins in this remaining schedule is hard to see right now.
It has to be now or never for Lance Leipold to lead the Jayhawks to a win over the Wildcats, right?
Leipold helped make the Jayhawks a respectable program, leading them to a pair of bowl games after the dumpster fire that was Les Miles' tenure, which ended with his firing. Still, although he's come close, he hasn't been able to beat the Wildcats.
With the way Kansas has looked to start the season, the Jayhawks look destined to beat the Wildcats for the first time since 2008. The Mark Mangino-led Jayhawks won the game 52-21 behind Jake Sharp's 181 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Josh Freeman threw three picks for K-State in the game.
So far this season, Jalon Daniels has looked great (and healthy) behind center, and KU was a threat to beat a solid Missouri team until late. By showcasing the game at its newly renovated stadium, everything is coming together for this to be the year KU claims the state.
With the way Kansas is investing in football, this could just be the beginning of the Jayhawks finding more success in the rivalry.
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: Could Wildcats lose to Kansas, miss bowl game?
