When Arizona scheduled Kansas State in 2016 — three head coaches and a different conference ago — for a home-and-home series in '24 and '25, the matchup was expected to pit a Pac-12 team versus a Big 12 opponent during the nonconference schedule.
Once Arizona, along with Colorado, Arizona State and Utah, departed from the Pac-12 to join the Big 12, "it was probably too late" to pivot the nonconference game in Manhattan on Friday, Sept. 13 to an official Big 12 contest, said Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman on Tuesday at Big 12 Media Days in Las Vegas.
Following a bye week after the Kansas State contest, the UA officially opens up conference play against preseason Big 12 favorite Utah on Sept. 28.
Despite the Arizona-Kansas State game not counting as a Big 12 game, Klieman said, "I'm glad we're playing Arizona."
"They got tremendous talent," said Klieman, who is entering his fifth season at KSU. "They're really difficult to scheme, they're physical kids on defense, and I know the quarterback and wide receiver are really good players. ... They had a tremendous year last year and got after Oklahoma in (the Alamo Bowl)."
Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman fields questions from assembled media on Day 1 of Big 12 football Media Days Tuesday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Added Klieman: "They're a terrific football program, and it's a great early-season game for the Big 12 to get on national TV on a Friday night. So that excites us, and I know it excites Arizona."
In the all-time series, Arizona and Kansas State have faced each other seven times, with the last game played in 1978, a 31-0 victory for the UA in Tucson. Arizona is 5-1-1 all-time against Kansas State. Arizona's only loss to KSU was a 42-27 setback in 1969. This year will mark Arizona's first-ever football game in Manhattan, Kansas.
After a 9-4 season in 2023 that ended with a win over North Carolina State in the Pop Tarts Bowl, Kansas State was voted second in the preseason media poll and received 19 first-place votes; Utah earned 20 first-place votes and enters the inaugural season in the Big 12 as conference favorites. Arizona was voted fifth in the Big 12 media poll.
"It's going to be a great game," Klieman said. "It's going to be a great showcase for the Big 12 in early September."
