Governor's Cup (Kansas)
Encyclopedia
| Teams | Kansas State Wildcats Kansas State Wildcats football The Kansas State Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate football program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference... Kansas Jayhawks Kansas Jayhawks football The Kansas Jayhawks football program is the intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference.... |
| Originated | 1969 |
| Series | K-State leads 23-19-1 or 22-20-1 (disputed) |
| Current Holder | Kansas State |
The Governor's Cup is a trophy awarded to the victor of the annual college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
game between the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
and Kansas State University
Kansas State Wildcats football
The Kansas State Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate football program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference...
, as part of the "Sunflower Showdown
Sunflower Showdown
The Sunflower Showdown is the series of athletic contests between Kansas State University and the University of Kansas, most notably football and men's basketball. The name is derived from the official nickname for the state of Kansas: the Sunflower State....
." It has been awarded every year since 1969
1969 in sports
1969 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup:** Men's overall champion: Karl Schranz, Austria** Women's overall champion: Gertrud Gabl, Austria-American football:...
.
Kansas State University leads the Cup series, with a 23-19-1 advantage. (Kansas forfeited a 1980 victory.) The most recent game, played on October 22, 2011, was won by Kansas State University by a score of 59-21.
The two teams had a very long history prior to the inauguration of the Governor's Cup: they began play in 1902
1902 in sports
1902 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:College championship* College football national championship – Michigan Wolverines and Yale Bulldogs Events...
and have faced each other every season since 1911
1911 in sports
1911 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:College championship* College football national championship – Penn State Nittany Lions and Princeton Tigers -Association football:England...
, making this the third-longest uninterrupted series in college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
history. The University of Kansas built a large advantage in the series by 1923, and still leads the overall series, although the two schools disagree on the record. Neither KU nor the Big 12 acknowledge the forfeit and say KU leads the series 65-39-5, while Kansas State reports the record as 64-40-5.
The Cup is actually the third trophy associated with the rivalry. In 1902, in the very first match-up, a "Governor's Trophy" was given to the winning team. Then, beginning in the 1940 football season, the winner of the KU-KSU contest received the "Peace Pact Trophy", which was miniature bronze goalposts. The Peace Pact Trophy was intended to keep the winning team's student body from tearing down the loser's goalposts. However, as years went by, both of these prior trophies were apparently forgotten.
1969: The first game
Kansas State won the first contest in the Governor's Cup series 26-22 on October 11, 1969, in Lawrence, KansasLawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
. The game was a classic in the series, contested by two high-quality teams. The University of Kansas was coming off an appearance in the Orange Bowl the previous season, while Kansas State in 1969 was an offensive juggernaut led by quarterback Lynn Dickey
Lynn Dickey
Clifford Lynn Dickey is a retired National Football League quarterback, who played for the Houston Oilers and the Green Bay Packers in the 1970s and 1980s.-High school:...
and running back Mack Herron
Mack Herron
Mack W. Herron is a former professional American football running back who played in the National Football League from 1973 to 1976, most notably for the New England Patriots...
. The game was not decided until the final play, when two K-State defenders jarred the ball loose from a KU receiver in the end zone. Following the game, Kansas State fans tore down the goalposts in KU's stadium (an act with a long history in the rivalry, and that K-State fans would repeat in 1994).
1980: The forfeit
On November 1, 1980, Kansas defeated Kansas State, 20-18, in Manhattan, KansasManhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...
, to take a commanding 9-3 lead in the first dozen years the Governor's Cup was awarded. However, it was later determined that Kerwin Bell, a running back for Kansas in that game, had been academically ineligible at the time. The Big Eight Conference
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...
later ordered Kansas to forfeit three conference wins and one tie from the 1980 season, including their victory in the 1980 Governor's Cup game. As a result, the two schools now dispute the overall record in both the Sunflower Showdown and more recent Governor's Cup series, with each school claiming the 1980 game as a victory.
1987: The Toilet Bowl
The one tie in the Governor's Cup series, which occurred on November 7, 1987, in Manhattan is the most infamous game in the history of the series. The game, which was termed "The Toilet Bowl" and "The Futility Bowl" by national commentators during the week leading up to it, featured a KU team with a 1-7 record and 0-8 K-State. The contest lived down to expectations and resulted in a 17-17 tie, which was secured when Kansas blocked a field goal at the end of the game. Following the tie, both teams went on to lose their last two games of the season.1995: Two ranked teams
The only match-up in history of the two teams while they were both ranked occurred on October 28, 1995, in Manhattan. The University of Kansas came into the game 7-0 and ranked #6 in the AP PollAP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
, while Kansas State University was 5-1 and ranked #14. Both teams would finish the season ranked in the top ten, but this day belonged to Kansas State. KSU started strong and maintained the advantage throughout for a decisive 41-7 victory.
2004: The streak buster
An 11-year Kansas State winning streak was broken when KU won a back-and-forth 31-28 thriller in Lawrence on October 9, 2004. This game represents an instance of the pupil besting his mentor, as Mark ManginoMark Mangino
Mark Thomas Mangino is an American football coach. He was most recently the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks college football team from 2002 to 2009. In 2007, Mangino received several National Coach of the Year honors after leading the Jayhawks to their first 12-win season in school history...
, head coach of the Jayhawks and former Wildcat assistant, defeated KSU top man Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder
Bill Snyder is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to...
in his final visit to Memorial Stadium before Snyder retired (returned to coaching in 2009).
2007: Kansas wins in Manhattan
The Jayhawks entered the game 4-0 following their non-conference slate. Kansas State came in with a 3-1 record, but was favored in the contest, fresh off a 41-21 on-the-road upset of the Texas Longhorns and with a ranking of 24th in the AP PollAP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
. The University of Kansas overcame several mistakes through the course of the first half, tying the contest 14-14 at halftime. Following a strong second-half performance by KU, the visitors from Lawrence posted a 30-24 victory. The game marked the Jayhawks' first win in Manhattan since 1989, but was also their third win in the last four games between the teams.
2009: Return of Bill Snyder
This was the first game to take place between University of Kansas and Kansas State since Bill Snyder returned to coaching the previous spring. The game marked the Wildcats' first win against KU since 2005, and coach Snyder was able to extended his personal record against the Jayhawks to nine straight home games won.The Wildcats entered the game 5-4 (3-2 Big 12) following a 30-42 loss to Oklahoma the previous week. Kansas came in with a 5-3 (1-3 Big 12) record, after a 21-42 loss to the Texas Tech Red Raiders
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...
. Kansas State was the first to put points on the board with a field goal in the first quarter. This was followed with both the Jayhawks and Wildcats gaining touchdowns by halftime. The Kansas offense continued to struggle in the second half, making only a field goal after a Wildcat touchdown early in the half.
This win maintained the Wildcats' place at the top of the Big 12 North with only two games left in the regular season.