It has become the new normal for teams to play overseas every season for much longer than you think. Just this season, fans were able to see Kansas State and Iowa State square off in Dublin, which was a nail-biting 24-21 win for the Cyclones, which has since seen the Wildcats take a dramatic step backwards with a current 1-3 record.
This morning, Scott Hamilton of the Post and Courier revealed another potential overseas matchup, this one, hitting much closer to home for Kansas fans.
London calling — college football headed to Wembley Stadiumhttps://t.co/e5mzMuEkwt pic.twitter.com/xzM7kj20lL
— Scott Hamilton (@ScottHamiltonPC) September 18, 2025
That's right, Kansas is supposedly set to face Arizona State on September 19th, 2026, in what will be launched as the “Union Jack Classic.”
Initial thoughts
Wow, you probably wouldn’t have believed it if this were said to you just a few years ago. The selection of both Kansas and Arizona State is interesting; perhaps the belief that both those teams will be consistently good over the coming months provides surefire viewership.
This is a big get for the Jayhawks, as the football brand continues to be built over the coming months and years. Landing a game of this magnitude, which will bring eyes from all over the world onto the Jayhawks, will only help.
Matchup history
To say this is a narrow history between the two sides is possibly an understatement. Just once have the Sun Devils and the Jayhawks faced off; that was last season’s 35-31 Kansas loss. That was the heartbreaking game, which saw Sam Leavitt’s pass to Jordyn Tyson cap off a game-winning drive with just 16 seconds left on the clock. That win was one of 11 for an Arizona State team that pushed itself to the College Football Playoff before barely falling to Texas in the second round. Meanwhile, for Kansas, that was the fifth loss on a string for the Jayhawks before they were able to muster a strong end-of-season stretch until ultimately falling to Baylor in a 45-17 loss.