Jimmy Coffman – Tuesday, August 25th, 2026
The Sunflower Showdown may be weeks away, but the biggest rivalry in Kansas is already gaining buzz around the state.
As the 2026 college football season is on the horizon, there is a feeling of anticipation in college towns all around the nation. For some, that excitement is for their favorite team to hit the field, no matter who they’re playing. For Kansans, that excitement is all about one specific match up to decide who owns the state, even if the match up is still weeks away.
In football, the Sunflower Showdown has been a one-sided contest for the better part of the last two decades, with K-State winning 17 straight showdowns since 2008. But the 2026 season has brought a lot of changes to both rosters in key positions; from head coach, to coordinators, quarterbacks, running backs and more, both programs in the state have a chance to dictate how this rivalry will look for the rest of the decade. But for now, how will this season’s Sunflower Showdown look?
Home Field Advantage
Kansas State automatically gets a leg up by hosting the game in Bill Snyder Family Stadium, a stadium that KU has only won twice in since 1989. However, the last Sunflower Showdown in Manhattan was the closest game between the two teams since 1993, when K-State won 10-9 to start a decade-long win streak. If it weren’t for a crucial 4th down tackle from VJ Payne, KU’s offense could’ve ended that streak back in 2024. But VJ Payne and Jalon Daniels are out of the picture in 2026, and the fresh faces this season may change the frame of the game.
New Additions
In the new world of college athletics, roster changes have become a year-over-year occurrence for every program. With that being said, the changes for both sides of the state have been pretty dramatic, with key skill players departing and new leaders taking the helm.
Kansas
For KU, the biggest offensive improvements come at coordinator and running back. Former Penn State OC Andy Kotelnicki is back in Lawrence after a two-year stint in Happy Valley in which the Nittany Lions averaged 33.1 points per game in 2024 and 30.1 in 2025. Kotelnicki will be an associate head coach while taking a co-coordinator position, sharing with Co-OC Matt Lubick. Kotelnicki’s offense is something that the Jayhawks have struggled to replicate since his departure, with the Hawks offense scoring five fewer points per game on average since the 2023 season.
Coach Kotelnicki will have some new weapons to play with this season as Kansas welcomes K-State transfer Dylan Edwards, a dynamic and quick back who had flashes of brilliance in the 2023 and 2024 seasons before dealing with injuries in 2025. Along with Edwards, KU’s receiver group welcomes Nik McMillan from Buffalo, who was just 19 yards shy of a 1000 yard season for the Bulls.
The biggest question for the Jayhawks sits with the most important position on the field: quarterback. Isaiah Marshall, Chase Jenkins and Cole Ballard are all in contention for the starting job with no clear sign of anyone running away with it yet.
Ballard has had the most experience in Kotelnicki’s offense, almost defeating K-State as a freshman in 2023. Jenkins has the most starting experience but barely threw for over 1000 yards last season with Rice. Marshall has had a buzz around him since his commitment, but he has yet to see real field action outside of three plays against Wagner. The KU QB battle will be interesting to watch come week one, but for now it is most definitely a concern until proven otherwise.
Kansas State
For Kansas State, the biggest changes come at head coach, offensive line and defensive line. The most obvious addition for the Cats is former Texas A&M OC Collin Klein, a fan favorite K-State legend for his work on the field as a QB and on the sideline as an OC. Klein takes over for former HC Chris Klieman, who hired Klein as a QBs coach following Bill Snyder’s retirement and eventually made him the OC for the 2022 Big 12 Championship season.
Klein brings a lot to the table for the offense, most importantly his relationship with senior quarterback Avery Johnson. Klein was the leader of the Johnson recruiting trail and was a big reason he stayed in the state of Kansas. Klein and Johnson are very similar types of quarterbacks; dual threats with great field vision and speed who can still run the offense well in passing situations.
The last time that Avery Johnson’s rushing ability was at its peak was the famous five-touchdown game against Texas Tech in 2023, which was one of the only times Johnson ran plays under Klein. In 2025, there was a stagnant feeling in the offense, as if something was holding Avery’s dual threat nature back. Not having both sides of Johnson’s game is a huge hindrance to K-State’s offense, but that’s exactly why having Collin Klein is so important for the offense.
Along with Klein comes an all-new offensive line. With Klein’s announcement of George Fitzpatrick and John Pastore being out for the entire 2026 season, the beef will have some brand-new ingredients to protect Avery Johnson.
Gus Hawkins and Dylan Villarouel are the only returning pieces for the Cats O-Line that have a solid chance of starting. But the left side of the line is all new, with Tyler Johnson and Tanner Morley taking the LG and LT spots and Delvin Morris taking center. All three transfers will be juniors, bringing some experience to a rather inexperienced position group on the depth chart.
Along with the O-Line comes some pretty big changes on the D-Line as well, the biggest of which being Sophomore DE Wendell Gregory from Oklahoma State. Gregory earned All-Big 12 third team honors as a freshman and has the highest NIL valuation out of anyone on the team, with a two million dollar value according to On3. Gregory is joined by Cincinnati transfer Kamari Burns and Kentucky transfer Austin Ramsey, both of whom have had little in-game experience in their first two years. The trio will be joined by Travis Bates and Jordan Allen, two veteran members of the defense who had impressive campaigns in 2025.
The Bottom Line
Though both teams have time to work out the kinks before October 17th, the 2026 Sunflower Showdown will still have plenty of questions to be answered on the field at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. As it sits today, I think Kansas State has a very strong chance to extend their win streak over KU to 18 years in a row, but it comes down to how Klein will scheme this offense and use some of the experienced talent he has. Joe Jackson and Avery Johnson showed a lot of good signs at the end of the 2025 season, with Jackson even setting a new single-game rushing record against Utah, going for 293 yards and 3 touchdowns. On top of that, the defensive line will need to gel pretty quickly as the new coaches and transfers get ingrained in the new system in Manhattan.
For KU, it’s hard to say how the offense will fair when there is still a question mark at quarterback. The defense has a lot of returning starters, but that same defense was ranked 95th in rushing defense and 57th in passing defense. There wasn’t a real splash addition to the defense either, which leaves me with concerns on either side of the ball.
As it stands, Kansas State will have the home field advantage, better experienced players and an easier schedule to get into a rhythm faster, so give me the Cats. But even if there is still so much to uncover and learn about these two squads, it’s never too early to talk about the Sunflower Showdown.