Both Kansas State and Arizona were projected to finish in the top five of the Big 12 in the preseason media poll. K-State was projected to finish second in the conference, and after joining the Big 12 this past summer, Arizona was projected to finish five in their new conference.
Now in Week 3, both teams are set to go head-to-head, but this game won't count towards Big 12 standings even though they now share a conference. So why is this game considered a non-conference game?
Why is Arizona vs. Kansas State a non-conference game?
Both Kansas State and Arizona agreed to play a home-and-home series against each other when Arizona was still a part of the Pac-12. Because of that previously agreed-upon agreement before Arizona agreed to make the move to the Big 12, this game will not count toward conference standings and will be each team's last non-conference game.
Since Arizona made the announcement to move to the Big 12 in August of 2023, there was not enough time to get different opponents on the schedule as most non-conference opponents are set years in advance.
This is the same thing that happened in Week 2 between Utah and Baylor. Even though the Utes beat the Bears, that game doesn't count toward the Big 12 standings.
This game is still a very important matchup for both teams. Arizona's quarterback-wide receiver duo of Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan will be a lot for K-State's secondary to handle, especially after struggling against Tulane's quarterback Darian Mensah.
However, the Arizona defense hasn't looked all that great either, so this might be a great week to put together a full offensive game instead of starting out slow and finishing the game hot. These are two teams that are evenly matched and it will show a lot for each team in the Big 12.
A loss at this point of the season makes the rest of the season even harder for Kansas State, so this game, even though it doesn't count toward Big 12 standings, is a very important game.