Kansas had enough going early Friday night to make Missouri sweat. Then the third quarter arrived, and the game turned fast.
The Jayhawks entered halftime tied with No. 23 Missouri after a first half that featured strong run defense, two blocked field goals and one return for a touchdown.
But Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall coughed up the ball on the first two plays of the third quarter - a fumble and an interception, both forced by linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. - and the Tigers pounced. In less than a minute, Missouri had turned the game and never gave it back, rolling to a 38-21 win at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Marshall’s first shot against high-level competition came with the usual bumps, but Kansas had survived those early mistakes and kept itself in position. That changed immediately after halftime. Missouri turned the two takeaways into two touchdowns in 58 seconds, and the Jayhawks’ chance at a rivalry upset evaporated.
Austin Simmons did most of the damage for Missouri, throwing for 292 yards and three touchdowns. A lot of that production came on quick throws to Cayden Lee and Donovan Olugbode, with Lee and Olugbode repeatedly finding space before Kansas could close. Running back Jamal Roberts added 125 yards and a touchdown, though Kansas did manage to limit him for much of the night.
Marshall was not without bright spots. He threw two touchdowns, but he finished 13-for-30 for 168 yards and also carried 20 times for 23 yards.
Kansas never found much of a run game outside of him. Lance Leipold’s losing streak in rivalry games also continued, as he dropped to 0-7 in those games during his tenure, leaving Missouri with bragging rights in the Border War until at least 2031.
The first half gave Kansas real hope. After two early punts, Marshall connected with an uncovered Nik McMillan for 32 yards, though the drive stalled across midfield.
Missouri then started at its own 2-yard line and even lost a yard on a false start, but on third-and-8 from the 4, KU left Olugbode completely alone on a curl route and he turned it into a 65-yard catch-and-run. Kansas still held firm, pushed the Tigers back twice and got Corey Gordon through to block Blake Craig’s 44-yard field goal attempt.
Kansas answered with some scrappy offense of its own. Marshall twisted his way forward for a fourth-and-1 conversion deep in his own end, Keaton Kubecka won a 21-yard jump ball on third-and-9, and then Kubecka later lost a 50/50 throw that Jahlil Florence intercepted. Missouri’s next chance flipped again when Leroy Harris III forced a fumble that Taylor Davis recovered, but Kansas couldn’t cash it in after a mishandled snap and Martin Connington’s long field goal try clanged off the left upright.
Missouri looked ready to make a move on its next trip, with Simmons hitting Cayden Lee for 17 and 21 yards. Kansas seemed to get off the field on third down, but Quincy Davis was flagged for a block below waist on a quarterback scramble.
Even then, the Tigers couldn’t finish with points because Harris got through for another block, and Austin Alexander picked up the ball and raced 88 yards for the game’s first score. It was his second straight year with a touchdown against Missouri.
KU briefly steadied itself after that. The Jayhawks called a timeout early in Missouri’s next possession, but Roberts broke free for a 64-yard touchdown on a delayed handoff anyway.
Kansas then put together one of its best drives of the night: Marshall got the offense within a yard of a first down near midfield on a scramble, converted the fourth down, Edwards ripped off 24 yards on a direct snap, and Marshall finished it off with a touchdown pass to McMillan before halftime. Simmons answered with a sharp two-minute drill and threw a touchdown to Lee with 30 seconds left in the half, leaving the game tied at 14.
Everything changed after the break. Missouri went three-and-out, but Kansas immediately gave it back when Marshall fumbled on the first play.
Simmons hit Olugbode for an 8-yard touchdown, and then Woodyard picked off Marshall on a throw intended for Carson Bruhn up the seam. That set up another Missouri score and pushed the Tigers ahead 28-14.
Kansas did find one more response. Marshall’s spinning attempt to throw the ball away somehow drifted back into the field of play and landed in Bruhn’s hands for a 16-yard gain. After a fourth-down sneak, a trick play with backup Cole Ballard and a personal foul moved KU deep into Missouri territory, and Marshall lofted a touchdown to Nahzae Cox for his second passing score.
But Simmons kept rolling. A 26-yard completion to Lee ended the third quarter with Missouri in KU territory, and Craig later added a field goal.
The Jayhawks’ next chance unraveled with holding penalties that created a third-and-33, and Marshall’s short throw to Tate Nagy fell incomplete before KU punted. A strip-sack on Marshall with 3:24 left set up one final Missouri touchdown, a 13-yard pass from Simmons to Brett Norfleet, and the Tigers closed it out.
KU fell to 1-1 and will play Arizona State in London for the Union Jack Classic at 11 a.m. Central time on Saturday.
KU linebacker Bam Crouch missed the game because of a shoulder injury suffered against Long Island and was replaced by Quincy Davis.
Cam Pickett did not start at wide receiver for Kansas, with Kubecka and Nagy joining McMillan, though Pickett did appear on the opening drive.
On the trick-play throw to Marshall, Ballard took a late hit and appeared to injure his shoulder. He later returned to the bench without his uniform on and with his right arm in a sling.
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