By Keaton Hargett | FrontPorchSports.com
Farmageddon is one of the most underrated rivalries in college football. Iowa State and Kansas State hate each other in the best possible way, and that game has always had an identity—cold weather, tough football, bragging rights that last a whole year. It’s unique. It’s ours. And the Big 12 is out here acting like it’s just another matchup.
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Now back to Farmageddon.
Farmageddon Isn’t a Throwaway Game
Number one: Farmageddon should never have been shipped off to Ireland to start the season. That game belongs in the snow, in Ames or Manhattan, not on some random neutral field for tourists. You don’t take a rivalry that’s built on grit and strip away the elements that make it great.
Number two: After losing Texas and Oklahoma, the Big 12 needs rivalries more than ever. Bedlam? Dead. Texas–Texas A&M? SEC now. Oklahoma–Nebraska? Gone. Kansas–Mizzou? Long gone. These are the games that gave the sport its edge. What’s left for the Big 12 are rivalries like Farmageddon. That should make it a priority to protect—not an afterthought.
The Rivalry Week Reality
I get why the Big 12 doesn’t stick its rivalries at the end of the year like the SEC or Big Ten. They don’t want to compete with Michigan–Ohio State or Bama–Auburn. That’s smart. Why go head-to-head with the two biggest draws in the sport? Fine. But that doesn’t mean you don’t protect the damn game. Rivalry Week placement isn’t the problem. Pretending Farmageddon isn’t essential—that’s the problem.
Credit to Yormark—But This Is a Miss
Look, I’m not anti–Brett Yormark, actually quite the opposite. The guy has been unbelievable for this conference. He basically saved the Big 12, put the Pac‑12 in a coffin by getting the media deal first, and he’s one of the most forward‑thinking commissioners we’ve seen. The league is thriving because of him. But even the great ones miss—and this is a miss.
Bottom Line
The Big 12 has been on a hell of a run under Yormark. But if you really want fans locked in, you don’t screw around with rivalries that actually matter. Farmageddon should be protected, locked in, and promoted as one of the cornerstones of this new‑look Big 12.
Because when it’s late November and snow is falling sideways in Ames or Manhattan, nobody cares about media deals or TV windows. They care about beating the other guy. That’s Farmageddon.