LAWRENCE, Kan. - For a half, Missouri and Kansas traded punches in a Border War that looked tight enough to go either way. Then Robert Woodyard Jr. flipped it in a hurry.
Woodyard forced and recovered a fumble, then picked off Isaiah Marshall on the Jayhawks’ next snap after the break, and No. 23 Missouri cashed in both takeaways with touchdowns to surge past Kansas 38-21 on Friday night.
The Tigers turned a tied game into a runaway and extended their Border War winning streak to five, doing it in their first trip across the state line since Oct. 29, 2005.
Jamal Roberts gave Missouri another explosive night on the ground, running for 125 yards and a touchdown. Donovan Olugbode and Cayden Lee each caught scoring passes as the Tigers improved to 2-0.
“The things that we gave them were undisciplined penalties, special teams were not good tonight in any form or facet, but we overcame it,” Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz said, “and that's what you have to do on the road.”
Drinkwitz also pushed back hard on the way Kansas framed the rivalry, which traces back to armed conflict along the state line before the Civil War.
“I'm just glad the whole right-versus-wrong crap got settled on the football field,” Drinkwitz said. “I get there's a past to it but why are we stirring that bullcrap up?
It's 9/11. We need more unity.
I was embarrassed for them. That's why I tried to embarrass them."
Kansas had its moments early and even opened the scoring on a wild special-teams swing. Missouri’s own mistakes piled up in the first half - four false starts, blown blocking assignments and two blocked field-goal attempts - and on the second block, Austin Alexander scooped up the ball and raced 88 yards for the first points of the night.
Missouri answered immediately. Roberts bounced to the right side and ripped off a 64-yard touchdown run, the longest of his career and longer than the 63-yarder he broke loose for with 1:49 left to seal last year’s 42-31 win over Kansas.
The first half kept swinging back and forth, and the 122nd Border War reached halftime tied 14-14.
The real break came early in the third quarter. With the game still even at 14, Woodyard jumped on Marshall’s fumble, and Simmons quickly hit Olugbode for the go-ahead touchdown. On Kansas’ next offensive play, Woodyard dropped into coverage and intercepted Marshall, setting up Xai'Shaun Edwards’ touchdown run.
Marshall finished with 168 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Kansas (1-1). He also carried 20 times but was held to 23 yards on the ground.
The Jayhawks have not beaten Missouri since Nov. 29, 2008.
Kansas briefly cut the margin to 28-21 late in the third quarter when Marshall connected with Nahzae Cox, but Blake Craig’s field goal pushed Missouri back in control.
“There was a lot of juice in the stadium,” Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold said. “Just some things happened - a couple of things you just can't do if you play ranked teams and want to beat them.”
Missouri added one more late push, throwing toward the end zone in the final seconds before running out the clock.
“There was a lot of juice in the stadium,” Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold said. “Just some things happened - a couple of things you just can't do if you play ranked teams and want to beat them.”
Most of the night unfolded without referee Jason Autrey, who limped to the Missouri sideline in the first half before leaving on a cart. Center judge Ron Turner, who also lines up behind the quarterback, took over the rest of the way.
For Missouri, the win showed a team that can absorb a mess of self-inflicted problems and still finish strong on the road, an area that has been difficult under Drinkwitz. Three of the Tigers’ next four games are in Columbia.
Kansas heads to London next week to open Big 12 play against Arizona State, while Missouri returns home to face Troy next Saturday.
In Other News...
Kasen Carpenter Gives Kansas Real Hope Ahead Of Missouri Test
Kansas enters the Border Showdown with a lot to like up front, and Kasen Carpenter has quickly become part of the reason why. The former Oklahoma State lineman, who also spent time at Tulsa before landing in Lawrence, was one of three transfers on an offensive line that helped fuel a dominant season-opening win. For a team trying to build early-season momentum, the immediate comfort provided by a veteran center has been a welcome development.
Lance Leipold has already pointed to the offensive line as a key area to watch, and for good reason. Missouri will provide a very different kind of challenge than what Kansas saw in Week 1, and the Jayhawks know the meeting will tell them a lot more about where this front really stands. Carpenters rise has given Kansas real hope, but the next test is the one that will show how far that hope can travel. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Fans Should Notice What Just Changed In The Border Showdown
The Border Showdown already had plenty of attention around it, and the betting market has only sharpened that edge. Missouri opened as the bigger favorite, but the number has tightened at FanDuel Sportsbook after both teams handled FCS opponents in their season openers, with the Tigers carrying a national ranking and Kansas trying to sort through an early test that now looks a little more manageable on paper.
Part of the shift appears tied to Kansas backfield situation, with running back Ahmad Hardy unavailable because of an offseason injury. For a rivalry game that rarely needs extra juice, the changing line suggests there is real respect for what Kansas can bring into Columbia even before the full picture is clear, and it leaves one of the more interesting questions in this matchup still hanging over the week. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Leans Into Border War Tension With Provocative Missouri Message
The Border War is back on the schedule, and Kansas is making sure the old rivalry arrives with the kind of edge that has always made it matter. With No. 23 Missouri coming to face the Jayhawks, Kansas football rolled out a Civil War-themed hype video to stir up interest around a series whose name carries more than just football baggage.
The matchup has long been tied to the states deep historical conflicts, from the Kansas-Nebraska Act to Bleeding Kansas and the Lawrence Massacre, and the program clearly wanted to lean into that weight. The timing adds another layer to a game that already needs little selling, even if Kansas is leaving some of the full message to the imagination for now. [Read more 🡒]