November 1, 2008. It was a cool fall day on Mount Oread. The Kansas Jayhawks, led by junior quarterback Todd Reesing and head coach Mark Mangino, took the field for the 106th meeting of the Sunflower Showdown. It was a dominant performance from the Jayhawks on all fronts. Jake Sharp rushed for 181 yards and four touchdowns, while Reesing threw for 162 yards and a touchdown pass. Darryl Stuckey and Russell Brorsen’s three interceptions, along with James Holt’s two sacks, fortified the defensive performance, contributing to the Jayhawks’ 52–21 rout of the Wildcats. This was the first time since 1990 that Kansas had achieved a three-game win streak over Kansas State. This was also the last time the Jayhawks would win for 16 seasons.
Sixteen. It's the age which a teenager can legally drive without supervision in the United States. It's the amount of candles on a birthday cake in the cult classic John Hughes film. It's the amount of ounces to a pound. And, most presently, it is a number representative of the agony and pain of Jayhawk football fans around the country. 16 years of genuine, heartbreaking, uninspiring at times football. The hiring of Lance Leipold in 2021 marked the rise of a new era in Lawrence. A different outlook and a winning mentality. The road win over Texas in Austin, the first season going back to a bowl game since 2008 during the 2022 season, and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl win in 2023 were all major steps in the right direction for the Jayhawks. The last marker, in my opinion, of the end to the pain and agony of Jayhawks fans will be breaking this current losing streak to Kansas State.
16 years later, and the two teams are set to meet for the 123rd time in the rivalry's history. It is the fifth-oldest, continuous rivalry in college football. The historic rivalry is led by the Jayhawks; however, the Wildcats have dominated since 1993. They have won 28 of the last 32 meetings between the two programs, including the current 16-year streak. There have been a few close games during the losing streak. 2024, 2018, and 2009 in Manhattan, and 2023 and 2017 in Lawrence. However, for the most part, it's been a long, grueling 16 years of the rivalry for Jayhawk nation. Blowouts and late-game slip-ups, missed interceptions and bad fumbles have shaped the last 16 years of the rivalry. All of that is in the rear-view mirror for Jalon Daniels and the Jayhawks this weekend.
16 years later, and the level of importance for this game is higher than it's ever been. Last season was set to be the best in the program's history. The Jayhawks had their eyes set on the conference championship and beyond. I'm not going to replay the events of last season. We all watched it, and we all want to forget about it. There's something different about the feel of this game. I was in Lawrence for the 2023 game. You could taste the electricity in the air that morning of the game. Fans were tailgating since the early hours of the morning, and everyone knew that this could be the game to do it. Last season on the road, the same feeling existed. Neither result were positive, but they inched the Jayhawks closer to victory.
This year, there is no room for anything less than a win. It's Jalon Daniel's last season in crimson and blue, and he's playing his best football of his college career. It's the first season in the newly imagined David Booth Memorial Stadium, a packed Booth. Fans will converge on the Hill to watch the game this weekend. An 11 AM nationally televised affair on TNT. Could it be a nighttime game, which would add to the theatrics? Sure. But this is as good as it gets for two unranked rivals.
It's a must-win, can't lose, put it all on the line game for Kansas. It's a legacy-defining game for Jalon, Lance, Daniel Hishaw, Bryce Foster, Dean Miller, Tommy Dunn Jr., DJ Withers, and all of the other guys who have been with Lance and the program from the ground floor. It's a game that must be won for the players who paved the way in Lawrence during the last sixteen years. The last time the sportsbooks had Kansas favored in this matchup was 2008. There is no game in the last 16 seasons between these two that has had this much weight and importance. A win, and Kansas is one win closer to bowling for the third time in four seasons, something that hasn't happened in Lawrence in a very long time. A win, and all the years of 'We Own This State' sentiment go into the trash. A win for Kansas this weekend cements Daniels' and Leipold's place in the Jayhawks' history books. It's simple for the Jayhawks this weekend: just win.
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