It was opening weekend in the Big 12 Conference as the league kicked off the 2025 season on Saturday with two games. In the first matchup, we saw Iowa State take down Kansas State 24-21 in Ireland, while Kansas dominated Fresno State 31-7.
Here is the good, bad, and ugly from Week 0 in the Big 12.
THE GOOD
Campbell’s Gamble Pays Off
Winning doesn’t always have to look pretty because at the end of the day, the win is all that matters. On Saturday in Ireland, Iowa State didn’t play its best but managed to find a way to walk out victorious.
The Cyclones went for it three times on fourth down and converted every single time. With a little over two minutes left in the game, on Kansas State’s 16-yard line, Iowa State faced a fourth and one while they were up by three.
Instead of kicking it and going up by six, Matt Campbell decided to try and end the game right there. He trusted his veteran quarterback, Rocco Becht, who found running back Chris Hansen for a 15-yard gain. From there, Iowa State was able to run the clock out and leave Dublin with a big-time win. I absolutely loved that aggressiveness from Matt Campbell, and it paid off.
Kansas
Normally, I would credit the offense or the defense here, but I thought the entire Kansas team deserved some credit on Saturday night. New year, new stadium, and the Jayhawks came to play a dominant Fresno State.
Quarterback Jalon Daniels looked like the guy we saw a few years ago, and he put on a show, going 18/20 with three touchdown passes. Meanwhile, the offense as a whole ran for over 200 yards before letting off the gas pedal in the fourth quarter.
And how about that defense? It’s full of new faces, and after giving up a touchdown on their first drive, they completely shut down the Bulldogs’ offense. The defense forced three turnovers and flew to the football.
At the end of the day, I know Fresno State isn’t a very good football team, but Kansas went out there and took care of business on both sides of the ball. It was a fantastic way to usher in their brand-new stadium and start the year off right.
The Bad
Kansas State
It’s hard for me to point out just one area to throw the blame on, so I am just going to rant a bit here. On one hand, while quarterback Avery Johnson was not bad by any means, he did once again get outplayed by Iowa State’s Rocco Becht.
The offense struggled at times and never could quite get the ground game going. I was also surprised that Kansas State didn’t utilize the athleticism of Avery Johnson a bit more in this game. Especially on a day when the field conditions weren’t the greatest. While they were able to hit some big passing plays later in the game, I felt like they were extremely inconsistent in the first three quarters.
Meanwhile, the defense started to break a bit in the second half. After playing some great football in the first half, their secondary got beaten several times. I thought the defensive front was solid, but it just wasn’t enough to cover up the mistakes in the back end.
One other thing I wanted to point out was fourth down. Kansas State went for it four times on fourth down and only converted once. Sometimes gambling like that pays off, and sometimes it bites you in the rear end. Well, on Saturday, it certainly was the latter of the two in Ireland.
Even though they lost the game, it doesn’t mean Kansas State’s season is over by any means. Sure, they are now 0-1 in the conference standings, but there is a ton of football to be played still. The Wildcats didn’t play their best game, but that doesn’t mean they can’t figure things out by the time the next conference games come around. I still have a lot of faith in this football team to turn it around quickly.
The Ugly
The Fight
I normally wouldn’t touch something like this, but it’s not often you see the parent of a football player fight someone outside of the stadium. But to see a father and son go at it? I don’t think I have ever seen that before.
That is exactly what happened after Kansas State’s loss to Iowa State in Ireland. After the game, it appears that quarterback Avery Johnson’s father and older brother were throwing hands right outside the stadium.
Nobody appears to know what exactly caused the fight between the two, but that doesn’t really matter at this point. All I know is that this was extremely embarrassing, and I honestly feel bad for Avery Johnson. It was embarrassing all around, and it certainly was a terrible look.
Keep Farmaggedon Alive
What we witnessed this entire week was two passionate fan bases who traveled over 4,000 miles and spent thousands of dollars to watch their teams play. I don’t think some people realize just how big a rivalry Kansas State/Iowa State is, but the entire country got a glimpse of that on Saturday.
While we will get another game next season in Ames, as of now, there are no future meetings planned between the two schools. It’s not often that Brett Yormark and the Big 12 make mistakes, but not making this game a protected rivalry is absolutely sickening.
I am not sure how someone can sit there and think “Yeah, this century-plus-old rivalry game shouldn’t be protected” is a good idea. Everyone wants to talk about what’s good for the Big 12 and what’s best for college football, but you know what is good for both? Keeping your rivalry games intact. In a conference that doesn’t have a ton of natural rivalries left, you would think somebody would keep this thing alive for years to come.
