Kansas State’s run of control in the Sunflower Showdown has stretched so long that Collin Klein was still a redshirt freshman when the streak began. Now the Wildcats’ head coach, Klein still reaches back even farther for perspective: the KU win in 2008 that stuck with him and never really left.
That 2008 game, a 52-21 loss for K-State, is the one Klein said he remembers most vividly. He was part of it, and that made it personal.
“I was there the year before that, too,” Klein said this week. “I think the pain of that one and living it firsthand personally was real.”
Kansas had owned the rivalry for a brief but painful stretch under Mark Mangino, winning three straight from 2006 through 2008 by an average margin of 18.7 points. For K-State, that era remains a sharp reminder of how quickly the tone of this matchup can turn.
Then came 2009, when the Wildcats flipped it back with a 17-10 win at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. That game launched the current K-State streak, one that is still alive today and has long since become the backdrop for younger fans who can barely remember KU having the upper hand.
Klein does.
“We were building,” Klein said of that 2009 team. “Looking back to that and how hard those guys worked and how hard our staff worked at that time, that was part of getting momentum program-wide flipped and moving forward to some of the things that were going to come the next couple years. So I do remember that day.”
That 2009 K-State team won six games, including two over FCS opponents, and fell short of bowl eligibility. But it still beat Kansas to claim the Governor’s Cup, and that result became a springboard for what followed in Klein’s career.
In his final three seasons, the Wildcats beat KU by scores of 59-7, 59-21 and 56-16. K-State also won the Big 12 championship in 2012, with Klein finishing as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
So when this rivalry game comes back around, Klein knows exactly what it can mean.
That’s why the memory of 2008 still matters to him.
“Nothing that’s been done in the past has any bearing on this week and this game,” Klein said. “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 are at.”
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Collin Kleins Latest Offer Push Shows Kansas States Recruiting Urgency
Kansas States recruiting push has been busy lately, with Collin Klein continuing to fan out offers as the Wildcats try to keep momentum going on the trail. One of the latest to hear from the program was Tucson defensive lineman Lincoln Maggard, part of a broader run of scholarship offers aimed at high school prospects across multiple classes and positions. For a staff still building out its board, the activity is a reminder that Kansas State is not waiting around to make its presence felt.
The pace also underscores how wide the competition has become, with several of the same recruits drawing attention from other programs as well. For the Wildcats, these early moves matter because they help establish relationships and keep Kansas State in the conversation before visits, evaluations and commitments start narrowing the field. Kleins latest wave of offers suggests the staff is moving with a clear sense of urgency, even if the full picture on this group is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Collin Klein Sends Kansas State A Clear Rivalry Warning
Kansas States grip on the Sunflower Showdown has lasted so long that it is easy to forget how it started. The Wildcats have beaten Kansas 17 straight times since 2008, and Collin Klein still pointed back to that year as the reminder that rivalry games can flip fast when a team gets comfortable.
Both programs head into the next matchup carrying losing streaks, which only adds a little more tension to a series Kansas State has controlled for more than a decade. For Klein, the message is less about the past dominance and more about staying sharp, because in a rivalry like this, history can disappear quickly if a team lets its guard down. [Read more 🡒]
K-States First Scrimmage Revealed One Encouraging Sign And One Concern
Kansas State got an early look at itself in a closed scrimmage against Tulsa on a neutral court, and the first read was a mixed one. Senior transfer Brandon Rechsteiner and freshman Jaylen Alexander drew praise from head coach Casey Alexander for the way they performed, giving the Wildcats a couple of encouraging notes as the preseason starts to take shape.
The scrimmage also surfaced some issues the staff will want cleaned up before exhibition play begins, most notably on the defensive communication side. Add in the need to manage a few injuries, and the next stretch becomes important for a roster trying to settle in before upcoming tuneups against Missouri and Nebraska. [Read more 🡒]