Kansas Hosts Kansas State in 121st Edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown

Via Kansas Athletics

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawks (7-3, 4-3 Big 12) will host the No. 23 Kansas State Wildcats (7-3, 5-2 Big 12) for the 121st edition of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday, November 18 inside David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. The game will serve as Kansas’ home finale and Senior Night.

The game will air on FS1 with Alex Faust (Play-by-Play) and Petros Papadakis (Analyst) on the call. Game action can also be heard across the Jayhawk Radio Network with Brian Hanni (Play-by-Play), David Lawrence (Analyst) and Brandon McAnderson (Sideline) calling the action.

The matchup between the Jayhawks and the Wildcats will be the 121st in the series history, in what is the ninth longest played rivalry game in FBS football and now the longest in KU program history – surpassing Kansas vs. Missouri’s 120 games played from 1891 to 2011. The series has been played every year since 1911, making it the fourth-longest active series in FBS and the second-longest in-state rivalry.

Kansas enters the Dillons Sunflower Showdown with a 7-3 overall record, marking Kansas’ first winning season since 2008. Kansas’ seven wins in its first 10 games are the most in a season since 2007, when Kansas started 10-0.

Kansas is coming off a 16-13 defeat at the hands of Texas Tech on Nov. 11, in which running back Devin Neal rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown. Texas Tech won the game with two seconds remaining on a 30-yard field goal by Gino Garcia. The loss was Kansas’ first at home this season, as the Jayhawks enter Saturday’s contest winning nine of its last 12 home games including a 5-1 record at home this season.

Kansas State is coming off a bounce-back win over Baylor on Nov. 11, as the Wildcats outscored the Bears 59-25 to move to 6-0 at home this season. In a series that dates to 1902, Kansas leads the all-time series at 65-50-5, including a 37-22-2 record in games played in Lawrence.

Kansas Athletics announced Friday that KU will host Kansas State in front of a sold-out crowd at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, the fourth sellout of the season and seventh under head coach Lance Leipold. Fans still looking to attend are encouraged to visit SeatGeek, the official secondary partner of Kansas Athletics.

Kansas will finish off its regular season schedule by traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday, November 25. The meeting between the Jayhawks and Bearcats will be the third in the series history and the first as members of the Big 12 Conference. The two teams last played in 1997 in Cincinnati, which the Bearcats won, 34-7. Kansas won the inaugural matchup in 1995 in Lawrence, 23-18.

Derek Nester
Derek Nesterhttp://www.sunflowerstateradio.com
Derek Nester was born and raised in Blue Rapids and graduated from Valley Heights High School in 2000. He attended Cowley College in Arkansas City and Johnson County Community College in Overland Park studying Journalism & Media Communications. In 2002 Derek joined Taylor Communications, Inc. in Salina, Kansas working in digital media for 550 AM KFRM and 100.9 FM KCLY. Following that stop, he joined Dierking Communications, Inc. stations KNDY AM & FM as a board operator and fill-in sports play-by-play announcer. Starting in 2005 Derek joined the Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network as a Studio Coordinator at 101 The Fox in Kansas City, a role he would serve for 15 years culminating in the Super Bowl LIV Championship game broadcast. In 2020 he moved to Audacy, formerly known as Entercom Communications, Inc. and 106.5 The Wolf and 610 Sports Radio, the new flagship stations of the Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network, the largest radio network in the NFL. Through all of this, Derek continues to serve as the Digital Media Director for Sunflower State Radio, the digital and social media operations of Dierking Communications, Inc. and the 6 radio stations it owns and operates across Kansas.

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