Farmageddon? More like 'Farm O'Gedden' as No. 22 Iowa State and No. 17 Kansas State clash in Dublin
A showdown of Big 12 rivals that ultimately could shape the conference championship game come December in Dallas will take place on Saturday, more than 4,700 miles away at Aviva Stadium on Lansdowne Road in Dublin, Ireland.
Video above: See inside Dublin's Aviva Stadium, where Iowa State will play Aer Lingus College Football Classic vs. Kansas State
The annual matchup between Iowa State and Kansas State has come to be known over the years as "Farmageddon."
This year, the Aer Lingus Classic might as well be called "Farm O'gedden."
“The one thing is, as uniquely challenging as this opportunity is, the word ‘opportunity’ is right,” Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said this week. “I think for both programs, both teams, college football — the opportunity to take your program over to Ireland — what a great opportunity, especially for the families and the universities, to play in this setting. I think it's really special.”
There have been college football games played on the Emerald Isle for nearly four decades, going back to a matchup between Boston College and Army in 1988. Notre Dame has played three games in Ireland over the years, including a win over Navy two years ago, while Georgia Tech beat Florida State on a walk-off field goal just last year.
But rarely has a college football game played overseas carried such high stakes.
The No. 22 Cyclones have their sights set on a second straight Big 12 title game berth, while the No. 17 Wildcats aim to get back for the second time in four years. And given that the conference champion is guaranteed a berth in the expanded College Football Playoffs, the ability to start the season 1-0 as opposed to 0-1 carries a lot more weight than usual for them.
“It's not a one-off game and then you take a month off, or go into an offseason. It's the first game, a conference game, a valuable, important game,” Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said. “All of our attention is on this football game, without a doubt.”
This will be the first time that Iowa State has played overseas. Kansas State is headed out of the country for the first time since 1992, when the Wildcats led by then-coach Bill Snyder lost to Nebraska in the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
Yet as strange as the surroundings might be, there is a whole lot of familiarity between the two programs. They have split the past 10 matchups, though Iowa State has won the past two, and both programs bring back a plethora of talent in an era of roster upheaval that has prognosticators believing the Cyclones and Wildcats can both crash the playoff party.
Iowa State returns quarterback Rocco Becht, who threw for more than 3,500 yards with 25 touchdown passes and only nine interceptions last season. And while he no longer has standout wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, he does have a veteran offensive line and deep backfield headlined by Carson Hansen and Abu Sama III.
Kansas State likewise returns its quarterback, Avery Johnson, who emerged last season as one of the most potent run-pass threats in college football. He also has a veteran line to go with do-everything running back Dylan Edwards and perhaps the best group of tight ends in college football, led by Garrett Oakley and Will Swanson.
“I feel like we were just in spring ball talking about this game,” Becht said. “When you play Kansas State, you have to be ready, prepared, really good at the little things. I think we've done a great job in fall camp and throughout the summer to be ready.”
Rather than zipping cars and trucks up and down Interstates 35 and 70, which connect the two campuses, Iowa State and Kansas State fans have been boarding flights to Ireland all week. By all accounts, they have begun to flood the bars in Dublin, taking advantage of an overseas trip that is all fun for them and all business for their programs.
“We had some activities for them Thursday prior to our practice, a pretty nice dinner on Thursday night, and we'll see a little bit of the city,” Klieman said. "Friday night, we have a pep rally. I think that will be a really cool deal. But then, you know, we’re going to enjoy the time when we're doing those types of things but then we have to have a business attitude.
“When we get to 6 o'clock Friday night, it's pretty much like what our kids in the program know. It's time for game day.”
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