“Pharmageddon” was held on a scale never seen before.
The rivalry between No. 24 Kansas State and No. 18 Iowa State is one of the longest running series in college football. The two schools have met every year since 1917, making it the 108th consecutive season and the eighth-longest uninterrupted active series in the FBS.
The Wildcats head to Ames, Iowa on Saturday and there’s a lot in store for both teams.
Kansas State still has a slim chance to advance to the Big 12 Championship Game and a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Cyclones have an even stronger advantage in the conference championship game.
K-State (8-3, 5-3 Big 12) is coming off a 41-15 victory over Cincinnati. They need a win on Saturday and a combination of other results to qualify for the league title game.
Iowa State (9-2, 6-2) needs a little help to advance to the title game. The Cyclones will need a win or loss from two of the other three teams in a four-way tie at 6-2 in league play: Arizona State, BYU, and the University of Colorado.
“We’re really excited to have the opportunity to play against Iowa State this week,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said Monday. “It’s going to be a great environment, a great atmosphere. This game has meaning.
“When I look back and look at the film, I thought our players played great in all phases. It was important to get off to a fast start.”
Kansas State fans have been lamenting back-to-back losses to Houston earlier this month and at home to Arizona State. If one of them gets the Wildcats’ way, they could be in charge of their destiny. But Klieman and his team are proud of the consistency that has seen the Cats win at least eight games in each of the past four seasons.
“It’s hard to win college football games,” Klieman said. “That’s what’s expected and you want to win every game. But it’s hard to win. The stability and success that our staff has brought here is something they’ve brought here. It says a lot about the players and the men who lead them.”
Iowa State won four of the final six games in the series, ending Kansas State’s winning streak for 10 years. Iowa State leads the series 53-50-4.
Iowa State is seeking to reach 10 wins for the first time in the program’s 133-year history. It was the fourth time they had won in nine games, but only the second time (1906) was before a bowl game. Amazingly, the last time Iowa State won a conference championship was in 1912, when the Cyclones won their second straight Missouri Valley title.
Now there is an opportunity to change that status. But head coach Matt Campbell isn’t thinking about Kansas State. In fact, he said at Tuesday’s press conference that he had not yet considered a tiebreaker.
“That’s the question you ask any smart football coach,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of wisdom about it. What I believe is that if our football team takes care of us, we put ourselves in the best position to be successful.” That means we can tell our story at the end of the season. “
–Field level media
