Game Week: Farmageddon

The 2022 edition of Farmageddon is here, No. 20 Kansas State gets ready to head to Ames on Saturday for a meeting with the Iowa State Cyclones.

Both teams in this matchup have encountered odd ups and downs through the first five weeks of their seasons. For K-State, the disappointment of a home loss against Tulane was followed by a 2-0 start in Big 12 play. On the other side, Iowa State finally got over the hump and beat rival Iowa, in Iowa City, for the first time since 2014. But, Iowa State now sits at 3-2, and 0-2 in Big 12 play, after a home loss to Baylor and a road loss to Kansas.

K-State: The Wildcats got off to a hot start against Texas Tech as Adrian Martinez picked up where he left off, but the offense came to a halt after the first quarter. K-State saw their 13-0 lead evaporate, eventually being locked in a tie game at 20. From that point, the Wildcats scored 17 unanswered and had a comfortable 37-28 victory as Saturday ended.

Martinez raced for 171 yards and three rushing touchdowns, while also throwing for one on 12/19 passing. Martinez became the third Power Five quarterback in the last 15 seasons to total 300+ yards rushing and 7 rushing touchdowns in a two-game stretch, joining Cam Newton and Lamar Jackson. Martinez is tied for second nationally in rushing touchdowns this season at nine, one touchdown behind Michigan running back Blake Corum.

Deuce Vaughn was as good as usual for the Wildcats, even with an injury scare in the middle of the game. Vaughn added 170 yards to what Martinez did on the ground. Vaughn is third in the country in rushing yards this season at 638. As a team, the Wildcats are averaging the most rushing yards in the country amongst Power Five teams. Amongst all FBS teams, they are fourth, trailing Air Force, Army and UCF.

K-State's defense played at a high level despite allowing 28 points. Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Khalid Duke both came away with three sacks each and the Wildcat defense forced four turnovers in the game. Turnovers forced is another category the Wildcats are at the tops in nationally, sitting tied for fourth in interceptions at nine and tied for 17th in total turnovers forced this season at 11.

Iowa State: Matt Campbell's visit to Lawrence will be one to forget, Iowa State spotted Kansas 14 points in the first half, but didn't let the Jayhawks score again. The result was still a 14-11 loss after Iowa State kicker Jace Gilbert missed three field goals in the game, including a kick to possibly force overtime in the final minute of the game.

Iowa State had fourth and less than a yard to try and pick up at the end of the game but instead opted for the 37-yard field goal that Gilbert missed.

Iowa State's rushing attack was non-existent in the game, only gaining 16 total yards on the ground against a Jayhawk defense that was giving up close to 138 yards per contest on the ground.

Quarterback Hunter Dekkers completed 30 passes on 48 attempts for 287 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His lethal wide-out Xavier Hutchinson hauled in 13 grabs for just over 100 yards but was kept out of the endzone.

Iowa State's defense continued its strong start to the season despite the loss. Iowa State entered last weekend 22nd in the country in defensive points per drive at 1.50. Against the Jayhawks, they allowed 14 points on 213 total yards with one touchdown coming on a short field (19 yards) following an interception thrown by Dekkers.

Farmageddon currently favors the Cyclones, who are 52-49-4 against the Wildcats. Dating back to 1994, Iowa State has only beaten K-State six times, with three of those wins coming in the last four years.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 PM at Jack Trice Stadium and ESPNU will have the TV coverage.