For the first time since 2015, Arizona has started off the season 3-0. After the 23-17 win over Kansas State, they have shown that this is a team to not take lightly.
Kansas
Grading Arizona football’s performance in win over Kansas State
The bye week comes at a perfect time, it gives the Wildcats a chance to rest and plenty of time to prepare for a very tough Iowa State team.
Here are the grades for the offense, defense, special teams, and coaching:
On the first drive, Arizona was able to get inside Kansas State territory but settled for a field goal. To start the second drive, Ismail Mahdi ripped off a 60 yard run.
A couple plays later, Noah Fifita ran it into the endzone to start the scoring for Arizona.
Luke Wysong would have a 27 yard catch and run on the third drive of the game, putting the offense into the redzone. The drive would stall out after that, forcing another field goal attempt.
On a solid march down the field, Fifita would find the endzone on the ground for the second time from one yard out.
In the first half, the offense would finish with 257 total yards. The second half would start off with a three and out.
After a 34-yard run by Mahdi, Javin Whatley would throw an interception on a trick play to end the drive quickly.
After Mahdi continued his strong night with a 15 yard run, more holding penalties would kill the drive, and the offense settled for another field goal.
Starting the fourth quarter, the offense would not do anything and punted.
On third and 15, Mahdi would take a dump down pass from Fifita and turn it into a 27 yard gain. Even with the conversion, the drive would stall and yet again it would settle for a field goal.
The bright side to that drive was that it took seven minutes and 30 seconds off the game clock.
With 412 total yards on the night, the offense definitely showed that it can move down the field in different ways. Now it needs to improve on finishing those drives in the end zone.
Arizona’s defense started off hot, forcing a three and out. However, after a special teams blunder, it was right back onto the field for Danny Gonzales’ crew.
It ended up holding Kansas State to a field goal after Treydan Stukes and Deshawn McKnight got to Avery Johnson for a third down sack.
Despite Kansas State getting into Arizona territory, the defense would force a fourth down attempt and would end up getting the stop.
On the fourth Kansas State drive of the game, the defense would force its second three and out of the game.
Continuing the first half dominance, the defense would force another punt by Kansas State. In the first half, the defense would only allow 44 total yards of offense.
The second half would not be the most ideal start for the defense. Kansas State would score on the first play, and it would be the first touchdown Arizona’s defense had let up on the season.
Off another special teams blunder, Arizona would have to defend a short field. Kansas State would score and tie the game.
Just when it would seem that Kansas State could take control of the game, Arizona’s defense came up with a three and out to stop the bleeding that started quickly in the second half.
Late in the third quarter, when Kansas State went for it on fourth down at the Arizona 40 yard line, Jay’vion Cole came up with a huge pass breakup to force the turnover on downs.
Forcing Kansas State to punt for the fourth time, the fourth quarter would start off strong for the defense. Then, for the third time, Gonzales’ crew would stop Kansas State on fourth down to seal the victory.
Overall, the defense held Kansas State to 193 total yards of offense. They had a near perfect game, outside of the long touchdown run. The other touchdown was set up by a mistake on special teams.
Genesis Smith led the team in tackles for the game with eight and also had three crucial pass breakups.
After marching down the field on the opening drive, the offense could not find the endzone, which brought out Michael Salgado-Medina. He would miss from 47 yards out.
When the defense forced a three and out, Kansas State would end up punting. Unfortunately, Jeremiah Patterson would get bumped by a Kansas State and in doing so it would touch Patterson.
This resulted in what would be called a fumble and Kansas State would recover.
In the second quarter, Salgado-Medina would be called upon again and redeemed himself from 31 yards out.
Right before halftime, Arizona would end up punting but Kansas State would muff the punt and Dalton Johnson would recover for UA.
On his third field goal attempt of the night, Salgado-Medina would miss from 62 yards out to end the first half.
The night for Salgado-Medina started to get worse as the first punt of the second half would be dropped and blocked, setting Kansas State up at the UA 13 yard line.
Late in the third, Salgado-Medina would hit from 31 yards again. He would also hit again from 41 yards late in the fourth quarter.
With an opportunity to put the game away, Salgado-Medina was called on for the sixth time of the night. His 46 yard attempt would be no good, and he finished the night going three for six on field goal attempts.
Safe to say that the special teams unit will need to improve in a lot of ways.
Brent Brennan could not have thought of a better start to this season. His players have bought into what he’s doing and it is showing on the field.
The ability to respond when things don’t go as planned is a big point of emphasis and it showed against Kansas State.
“We responded in all three phases there, and that’s what good teams do,” said Brennan.
There is now a belief and confidence in what they are trying to execute. It shows when Brennan sticks with a guy like Salgado-Medina, despite having a rough night. His trust in his player never wavered.
Gonzales has shown that this defense can be similar to the “Desert Swarm” of the retro days. Add this along with Seth Doege’s exciting and balanced offensive scheme, and this is now a team that can go toe to toe with any Big 12 opponent.
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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Another round of storms is forecasted to hit Kansas Sunday night.
Right now, severe thunderstorm watches are in place for several counties.
Some parts of our viewing area have already seen the effects of these storms. Reports that have come in are listed below, as well as a live blog that will be updated as more storm reports are released.
- 2.5″ hail – 7 miles southwest of Wauneta, Nebraska
- 3″ hail – 12 miles north-northwest of Max, Dundy County, Nebraska
- 2.25″ hail – 10 miles north of Max, Dundy County, Nebraska
- 3.2″ hail – 12 miles north of Max, Dundy County, Nebraska
- 3″ hail – 12 miles north-northwest of Max, Dundy County, Nebraska
- 1″ hail – Stratton, Hitchcock County, Nebraska
- 1.5″ hail – 3 miles west of Stratton, Hitchcock County, Nebraska
- Tornado – A potential weak Tornadic Debris Signature may have been observed – 13 miles north of Brewster, Thomas County, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas City Symphony and Michelle Cann Perform Uplifting Concert Featuring a Variety of American Styles and Voices. – KC STUDIO
A rich variety of American musical composers and works graced the stage of Helzberg Hall Sat., June 20, as the Kansas City Symphony performed its season ending program. It was no surprise that an American-themed concert was planned a mere two weeks before the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. What was more surprising, yet very welcome, was the nature and diversity of the musical voices included on the program.
Guest conductor Peter Oundjian opened the evening with the music of Joan Tower, a Grammy Award winning contemporary composer whose music we don’t hear often enough in Kansas City. Her Suite from Concerto for Orchestra is a distillation of music from the larger Concerto for Orchestra and was commissioned by Oundjian and his Yale Philharmonia in 2025. It is a dramatic and technically challenging work with a complex harmonic language, at times tonal but with free use of dissonance.
The music was also intense and unrelenting in its pace and excitement. Oundjian had total control over the score, effectively cueing and expressively anticipating the powerful rhythmic content. Just when you thought the music couldn’t get any faster, louder and more intense, it did, driving to its exciting conclusion. The ensemble delivered a very convincing performance.
Florence Price is a 20th-century African American composer who earned significant regional attention during her lifetime but was not universally known. Her music is receiving much more attention in the 21st century since many unknown scores were discovered in the attic of her summer house in 2009. Scholars and performers are just now coming to grips with her work: the first scholarly biography was published in 2020 and a collection of scholarly essays on all aspects of her music was just released in March of this year.
Soloist Michelle Cann has been an active proponent of Price’s music for the past ten years. In a conversation a few days before the concert, I asked her what attracted her to the composer. She answered “Her musical language has such an amazing mix of styles that fit so well together. Also, there is something visceral and powerful in her music.”
Cann, in her Kansas City debut, compellingly demonstrated the power of Price’s music in a performance of the Concerto in One Movement for Piano and Orchestra. While the title says it is in a single movement, there were three sections that seemed like independent movements. From the outset Cann employed a warm legato tone. Technically adroit, she exhibited the chordal and dreamy passages, travelling up and down the keyboard. Oundjian maintained a good balance between orchestra and soloist. There were a few intonation problems in the upper strings near the end of the first section.
The second section was slow and lyrical. Cann played the music, which sounded like a spiritual, with a heartfelt sensuous tone. She was joined by oboist Kristina Fulton in a lovely duet throughout the movement. The exciting finale was based on an African American Juba dance, featuring strong syncopations and a rollicking sound. It is clear that Price’s music represents an important part of America’s musical legacy and deserves much more attention, and, of course, many more performances and recordings.
As a performer, Cann has it all: passion, expression, technique, sensitivity and extraordinary musicality. She demonstrated it next in George Gershwin’s audience favorite, the Rhapsody in Blue. Cann and the orchestra played with alternating bluesy fervor with free rhythm and technical precision, and the audience responded with an excited ovation. As an encore, she wowed the audience with a set of high-powered jazzy improvisations on Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C-sharp Minor by African American pianist Hazel Scott.
The concert ended with Dvořák’s classic Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, “From the New World.” At the beginning of the concert, Oundjian assured the audience that this, too, is an American work, “since it was written on East 17th Street in Manhattan.” Conducting without a score, Oundjian elicited a dramatic reading of the composition in response to his impassioned direction. The opening movement featured a rich romantic sound, although occasional attention to detail seemed lacking, with some issues in synchronization, balance and transitions in tempo. The occasional slips were forgiven in the exquisite second movement. Matthew Lengas played the famous soulful English horn theme with supple grace and beauty.
This work is quite a showcase for an orchestra. All sections are featured throughout the composition; many soloists are highlighted and there are regular contrasts in mood and tempo. The performers responded persuasively, especially in the explosive finale.
There is one more performance of this program on Sun., June 21at 2 p.m. at the Kauffman Center. The Kansas City Symphony will also present a European Tour Send-Off Concert on Friday, August 21 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets and more information about these events and the 2026-27 season can be found at www.kcsymphony.org.
This concert was reviewed on Saturday, June 20, 2026.
Kansas
Salvador Perez attended the Ecaudor-Curaçao match at Arrowhead. So did other royals — from the Netherlands
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Royals captain Salvador Perez, along with teammates Starling Marte and Carter Jensen, attended Saturday evening’s World Cup match at Arrowhead Stadium.
So did some other royals!
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands began Saturday by cheering the Dutch past Sweden in Houston.
The monarchs ended the day by watching Curacao make some history against Ecuador in Kansas City.
The small island nation of Curacao is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and that makes King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima the heads of state. So, after a quick flight north Saturday, the royal couple dutifully swapped out their bright orange scarves of Het Oranje Legioen they wore to their earlier match with bright blue ones for The Blue Wave.
Curacao, the smallest World Cup team in population and size, made its tournament debut last Sunday in a 7-1 loss to Germany. But it bounced back from that defeat to earn a 0-0 draw with La Tri and earn its first-ever point in the tournament.
“It is an extra-special World Cup because we have both the Netherlands and Curacao,” Willem-Alexander told RTL-TV. “So we have twice as many teams to cheer for. A great opportunity to cheer on both the Blues and the Oranges. All in all, it will be a special World Cup for me with two teams, and I naturally hope they go extremely far.”
The Netherlands moved one step closer to the World Cup knockout round after a 5-1 win over Sweden.
Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece to help coach Ronald Koeman’s team bounce back from a disappointing draw in its opener and move atop Group F. The Netherlands concludes group play against Tunisia on Thursday in Kansas City.
Curacao is still alive, too, after Eloy Room made 15 saves — one off the World Cup record — to earn a draw with Ecuador. It concludes Group E play on Thursday against the Ivory Coast in Philadelphia at the same time Ecuador is playing Germany in New York.
It is quite rare for sitting monarchs to come through the area. Queen Ann of Romania attended the dedication of the Liberty Memorial, which is where Kansas City is holding its World Cup FanFest, in the 1920s, while King Gustav XVI of Sweden made a stop in the small Kansas town of Lindsborg when he was passing through the Midwest in the 1970s.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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