Iowa State and Kansas State will open the 2025 season with a Week 0 matchup in Ireland. The Big 12 rivals finished their regular-season schedule against each other in 2024, but their annual game won’t have to wait nearly as long next year.
The matchup brings college football overseas once again. It also reignites a rivalry with a unique nickname.
The game between the Big 12 rivals is known as “Farmageddon.” It’s not quite as well-known as many other rivalries around college football, but it’s gained traction over the past decade.
What is ‘Farmageddon?’
Iowa State and Kansas State have played each other for more than a century. The idea of the game being a rivalry didn’t come into focus until about 2009.
That’s when the two teams played the first of two neutral-site games against each other in Kansas City.
According to The Athletic, the “Farmageddon” name started on a Kansas State fan website in 2009.
“Many fans considered the term cringeworthy and cliche,” The Athletic reported. But the name became more of an affectionate term as years passed.
Realignment has shuffled programs in and out of the Big 12 since then. Iowa State and Kansas State have remained.
Both programs have been fairly successful in most years over the past decade. That’s only strengthened the rivalry.
The game was played in a prime late November slot in seven of 10 years between 2015 and 2024.
Kansas and Iowa don’t share a border. But the two campuses are only a few hundred miles apart, making it easy for fans to take road trips to the annual game.
That won’t be the case in 2025. A plane is needed to cross the Atlantic Ocean and see Avery Johnson and Rocco Becht face off, but the rivalry remains a quiet gem in college football.
Why is ‘Farmageddon’ being played in Ireland?
The matchup between Iowa State and Kansas State in Dublin continues a growing tradition. College football games in Ireland have become more common in recent years.
Boston College and Army brought college football to Ireland for the first time in 1988. Games were sporadic until 2022, when the Aer Lingus Classic became an annual event.
Kansas State and Iowa State don’t have close ties to Ireland. But Aviva Stadium has hosted programs such as Nebraska, Northwestern and Georgia Tech since 2022.
That variety will continue with these two Big 12 rivals.
History of Kansas State-Iowa State rivalry
Iowa State leads Kansas State with a 54-50-4 all-time record against the Wildcats.
The teams have met 108 times. The first game was played in 1917.
Kansas State is 17-8 against Iowa State since 2000. But momentum has shifted in recent years with the Cyclones winning five of their last eight meetings.
