If you had to choose which Kansas football game would go down as the most-viewed game of the season. No, you wouldn’t choose a fierce Border Showdown against an SEC opponent in No. 25 Missouri, or Kansas’ most consistent rival, the Kansas State Wildcats; instead, you would probably look towards a week three matchup against the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Kansas’ overseas trip to the historic Wembley Stadium as part of the Union Jack Classic has been a long-anticipated game, but it seems like there is no true consensus on whether or not this is even a long-term positive for the Jayhawks. What it does guarantee is that Kansas will have to finish the season on a nine-game stretch, but that is a different issue for a different article.
Heading into this historic matchup, the Jayhawks will be one week removed from a Border Showdown against Mizzou, and the Sun Devils will have just played the No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies, a daunting game for both sides.
The Jayhawks nearly derailed the recent Big 12 addition in 2024
While Kansas was attempting to string together a third straight bowl (they eventually fell short), they came head-on with the Sun Devils who were 3-1 and just off a loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Through a 35-31 thriller, the Jayhawks came up 16 seconds short of a win that would have helped reset their season, while also derailing Arizona State’s hopes of making the College Football Playoff.
But since the end of the 2024 campaign, both squad have mildly disappointed. As we know, the Jayhawks ended the 2025 season just plays short of another bowl for Lance Leipold, and the Sun Devils could not carry on their 2024 momentum and instead finished the season with an 8-5 mark.
Arizona State is a reshaped but still dangerous team
Head coach Kenny Dillingham took to the NCAA Transfer Portal hard and finished with what is considered as the nation’s 22nd-ranked class. ASU raked in three 4-star prospects from the portal, including Cutter Boley and wideouts Omarion Miller and Reed Harris. Giving what is still a relatively young Kansas cornerback room some immediate headaches.
Boley is a transfer from Kentucky, where last season he was given the keys to the program, and results were mixed. The now-junior finished with 2,160 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on a 65.8% completion rate, Boley also added 2 scores on the ground. According to ESPN’s QBR, Boley finished with a 63.2, 56th-best in the nation.
Of note, former Jayhawk safety Lyrik Rawls made the move across the Big 12 and is now projected to be the Sun Devils’ starting strong safety.
There are several enticing factors about this matchup. For one, its interesting that both squads are going into this week three matchup having already played strong power-conference games. The other interesting factor of course is that this is a game that will take place in a completely different country, in a stadium that will feel a long way away from David Booth, where the game would have taken place under regular circumstances.
While Arizona State will likely be the favorite heading into this matchup there is truly no telling the impact of playing at Wembley well past kickoff.
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