Kansas
No. 17 Iowa State faces Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium as Cyclones try to bounce back from first loss
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The first message that made its way through the Iowa State locker room after Texas Tech ended its perfect start to the season, scoring in the final seconds last weekend to spring the upset and spoil homecoming for the Cyclones, was that nothing had changed.
“Hey,” Cyclones linebacker Kooper Ebel recalled his team saying, “all of our dreams, all our aspirations are still right in line.”
They will be if the No. 17 Cyclones (7-1, 4-1 Big 12, No. 17 CFP) can get back on track Saturday against Kansas.
Iowa State is only a game behind unbeaten BYU in the conference and tied with Colorado, neither of which Matt Campbell’s team would play until a potential Big 12 title showdown. But the top of the standings are a jumbled mess, and another slip-up against the desperate Jayhawks (2-6, 1-4) in their matchup at Arrowhead Stadium could be a crippling blow to not only the Cyclones’ title aspirations but also their hopes of landing in the College Football Playoff.
“I would say there’s definitely a sense of urgency, like there has been all season, but even more prominent here at practice,” Ebel said. “There was a sense of urgency to row and get better. At times, we’re just inches off, and those inches really matter, and they showed up last Saturday. We’re honing in on those details — those little details.”
The Jayhawks, who had last week off, are just as in need of a win as the Cyclones. They have lost their six games by a combined 30 points, the latest the most gut-wrenching yet: a loss to rival Kansas State on a field goal in the closing minutes.
Now, the Jayhawks need to win out just to reach a third straight bowl game. They not only face the Cyclones, they also have games against No. 9 BYU and No. 21 Colorado in successive weeks.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this football team, of how they’ve stuck together, through frustration and disappointment,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “They continue to work hard and be coachable. They continue to see the margin is very small and own it, that we haven’t made the plays at the right opportunities. … But at the same time, they continue to work hard and see that winning football is not far from our grasp.”
Bye, bye, bye
The Jayhawks have won four straight when they have at least an extra week to prepare, dating to the 2022 season, and a couple of them have been notable. They beat No. 18 Oklahoma State two years ago and No. 6 Oklahoma last season.
“Obviously we’ve had decent success off of it,” Leipold said, “and hopefully it can repeat itself.”
Strange surroundings
The Jayhawks won the first meeting of the schools 11-6 on Oct. 15, 1898, and the teams have played 103 times — with six ties — over the years. But this will be the first time they play anywhere other than Ames, Iowa, or Lawrence, Kansas, instead meeting at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, while the Jayhawks renovate their campus stadium.
“It will be really cool just to be able to play in a stadium like that,” said Iowa State wide receiver Jaylin Noel, who grew up across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas, and was a standout at Park Hill High School. “I grew up going to games there and watching my favorite team there so, yeah, it’ll be pretty cool.”
Record watch
Kansas running back Devin Neal needs seven yards rushing to break June Henley’s school record of 3,841, which he set from 1993-96. The native of Lawrence, Kansas, also needs just one TD run to break Henley’s record of 41.
“We all know in this room what kind of person he is, his contributions off the field,” Leipold said. “What I’ll always remember is the guy who walks in the building every day and you know, from where he was as a freshman to where he is now as a confident young adult is probably impresses me most.”
Better starts
Iowa State’s defense has struggled on the opening possession in each of its last four games. Texas Tech, UCF and West Virginia each drove 75 yards for a touchdown while Baylor needed to go just 59 yards for a score.
“Sometimes I think a little bit of it is we know who we are, our base defense, and some people scheme us up pretty well early in the game and we have to make some adjustments,” Campbell said. “What’s most impressive is when maybe it hasn’t gone well right away is our kids’ ability to hang in there, reverse the tide and give ourselves a best chance.”
Kansas
No. 16 Colorado heads to Kansas searching for crucial win for Big 12 title game aspirations
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No. 16 Colorado heads to Arrowhead Stadium to face Kansas on Saturday knowing full well where it stands in the Big 12 picture.
Beat the Jayhawks and conference bottom-dweller Oklahoma State and the Buffaloes will be playing for the title. Lose to Kansas and everything changes: They would need Arizona State and Iowa State to lose at least one more game, or BYU to lose its last two, and that would take their College Football Playoff aspirations out of their own hands.
Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders doesn’t sound as if there is any extra pressure on this weekend.
“Look at me, man. Do I look like I subscribe to pressure or do I look like I apply it?” Sanders asked. “We apply pressure.”
In the new-look and jumbled Big 12, the Buffaloes (8-2, 6-1) are tied in the standings with the Cougars, but they are just a game ahead of Arizona State and Iowa State — and curiously enough, did not play any of the three. And while the Jayhawks (4-6, 3-4) are well off the pace, by virtue of a dizzying stretch of last-second losses, they might be playing the best of anyone.
Kansas knocked off then-No. 17 Iowa State before dealing then-No. 6 BYU its first loss on the road last weekend. The back-to-back wins over ranked teams are a first in school history, and the Jayhawks would love to make it three straight on Saturday.
“They have not given up, regardless of what their record may state,” Sanders said. “The last two weeks, they’ve knocked some people off their feet. It’s going to be a tremendous task for us. (Lance Leipold) is going to have those guys ready to play. We’re going to be in an environment that’s not conducive to us being successful in Kansas City.”
Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas, which is playing its home finale Saturday, has been playing Big 12 games at Arrowhead Stadium while their on-campus stadium is renovated. Sanders played there once with the Falcons, returning kickoffs in a 14-3 loss on Sept. 1, 1991. He also played at neighboring Kauffman Stadium, home of the Royals, going 3 for 13 in three games with the Yankees in 1990.
“I’m not as young as I once were,” Sanders said, “but I look forward to going there.”
Senior day
Kansas will be sending off 30 seniors in its home finale Saturday, many of whom were instrumental in taking the program from a winless laughingstock in 2020 to bowl games each of the past two seasons. Leipold is wary about focusing too much on the emotional sendoff when there is still a game to be played, and two wins needed to reach a third straight bowl game.
“It becomes an emotional drain, especially right before kickoff sometimes, so hopefully that’ll be a small positive of not being in Lawrence,” Leipold said. “I don’t want to take anything away from the guys, but if we can balance those things with what the day is, hopefully we can make a special day.”
Award watch
Sanders interrupted a question this week after being reminded of how he said earlier this season that his son and quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, and two-way Heisman hopeful Travis Hunter would be top picks in the upcoming NFL draft.
“A lot of people didn’t believe me, huh? Remember I said Travis and Shedeur have the opportunity (at) one and two?” he said. “Everybody just pulled out a double-barrel shotgun and shot at me when I said that, right? Now it’s all coming to light.”
Sanders has thrown 27 touchdown passes, one away from Sefo Liufau’s school record. Hunter is coming off a game in which the cornerback and wide receiver played 132 snaps — he has 74 catches for 911 yards and nine TDs, along with three picks.
Fast friends
Sanders and Leipold might at first seem like the most unlikely of buddies, given one was a Hall of Fame player and two-sport star while the other fought his way through the coaching ranks, beginning at Division III school Wisconsin-Whitewater. Yet when the Buffaloes joined the Big 12, Leipold reached out to Sanders and they became fast friends.
“I love him to life. He’s a friend,” Sanders said. “For these guys to, on their own account, reach out to me, to show me love and respect is tremendous.”
Kansas
New high-rise apartment building coming to north side of downtown Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Kansas City’s skyline is getting bigger. Starting next year, construction of a new high-rise apartment building will begin on the north side of downtown.
The 25-story, 385-foot-tall tower will be built at 800 Grand Avenue, where a parking garage currently sits. The developer, BR Companies, is excited to break ground in the KC market.
“You have to have the right environment for investment,” said Ryan Sullivan, BR Companies’ Chief Development Officer. “If you think about Kansas City and you’re playing bingo, you yell out ‘Bingo!’ pretty quickly.”
The tower is expected to have more than 300 units, as well as 24,000 square feet of retail space and parking. Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2025.
“The city has a vision to make Grand ‘grand,’” Sullivan said. “It’s a civil project they’ve been envisioning for a while now.”
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BR Companies is based out of Los Angeles. They say friendly local government, a strong local sports scene, and CPKC Stadium made Kansas City a market they wanted to build in. City Manager Brian Platt helped BR Companies make the announcement at the annual “State of Downtown” address Wednesday, Nov. 20.
“We’re welcoming everybody here to Kansas City,” Platt said. “It’s the coolest city in the country by far. We’re on the map in a lot of ways for a lot of different reasons. That energy, that vibe, is bringing people here. They want to move here, they want to live here, they want to be part of the action.”
This week, Kansas City is in the national sports limelight with CPKC Stadium hosting the NWSL Championship.
“It’s a massive, massive help and asset,” said Sullivan. “From our perspective, more is more. The more people that are participating in the market cement the reasons why people want to live here, work here, and spend time here.”
“The stadium is a national example of how downtown urban sports arenas, and other types of arenas, can drive new development,” said Platt. “The success of the stadium is leading to I think $1 billion of new development that’s coming afterwards, which is unprecedented in Kansas City.”
BR Companies said it is still the “schematic design phase” of the new apartment building, but the company expects to break ground in the third quarter of 2025.
Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.
Kansas
19 Kansas City-area Minit Marts sold; gas to be rebranded to Phillips 66
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nineteen greater Kansas City-area Minit Marts have been sold to a new company, Block & Company, Inc. Realtors announced Wednesday.
The Minit Marts were acquired by Tarko, Missouri-based Tarkio Real Estate LLC.
As part of the sale, the properties will transition from Minit Marts into independent liquor and corner stores depending on the location.
All gas pumps will be rebranded to Phillips 66.
A map of the locations is below.
In June 2023, Casey’s General Store announced it had purchased 26 Minit Mart locations in the Kansas City area.
The moves come as the Buc-ee’s, a massive convenience store, is moving forward with plans for a facility at 110th Street and Interstate 70 in Kansas City, Kansas.
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