Kansas walked into Friday night’s Border Showdown with plenty of noise behind it, but it walked out with the same old result: another frustrating loss to Missouri, this one 38-21.
The Jayhawks had spent the lead-up to the game making waves on social media, and for a half they looked ready to match the talk. The score was tied 14-14 at the break, and Kansas had done enough to keep the rivalry game balanced.
But the second half turned fast. Missouri pulled away 24-7 over the final two quarters, and the Jayhawks never recovered.
Lance Leipold pointed to a defense that was asked to survive too many stressful moments.
“…And I think our coverage still needs to continue to work on having some things corrected, but it all ties together with pressures and things like that. I thought we played extremely hard. I think our defensive ends continue to play really good football for us, but there were probably some times where I think we got a little tired and wore down,” quoted head coach Lance Leipold following the loss.
“But I still think defensively overall, they gave us a chance to win tonight, and we put their backs to the wall too many times.”
That was the heart of the night for Kansas: the defense did enough to hang around, but the offense couldn’t seize the moment. Missouri’s passing game found room all over the field, with Ole Miss transfer Austin Simmons piling up 252 yards and three touchdowns against KU’s secondary. The Jayhawks had trouble on throws to the boundary and on routes working through the middle, and those breakdowns kept turning into bigger problems.
The real collapse came right after halftime. Kansas opened the third quarter by forcing a quick three-and-out, only to have Isaiah Marshall fumble on the next possession.
Missouri needed just five plays to turn that mistake into a touchdown. Then Marshall threw an interception on the following drive, and the Tigers answered with a touchdown two plays later.
Marshall’s first big night as the starter came with plenty of rough edges. He finished with a 43.3% completion rate, two touchdowns and two interceptions, and too many of his throws were off target, either sailing over receivers or coming up short. It’s still early, and he’s only in his second game as a starter, but the learning curve was obvious in a game that punished every miscue.
Kansas also couldn’t get its ground game going. Dylan Edwards and Yasin Willis were supposed to give the offense a dynamic one-two punch, but instead they were bottled up for just 57 combined yards as the run game stalled both inside and outside.
The contrast with last year was hard to miss. In the 42-31 loss, Kansas’ offense was the part keeping things alive. This time, the defense was doing enough to keep KU within reach, and the offense kept tripping over itself.
In Other News...
Kansas Defense Has A Familiar Problem Fans Are Tired Of
Kansas looked settled on defense for a half against Missouri, and for a while it seemed the Jayhawks might be in position to keep the Border War tight into the fourth quarter. Trey Lathan was active from the middle of the field with nine tackles, and Leroy Harris III gave the unit a lift with a blocked field goal and a forced fumble, the kind of plays that usually travel well even when the offense is still searching for rhythm.
The problem, as Kansas fans know too well, was what happened after halftime. Missouri found answers quickly, the Jayhawks lost control of the game and the Tigers rolled to a 38-21 win, piling up points behind Austin Simmons passing and Jamal Roberts running while Kansas defense faded from the standard it had set earlier. It was a familiar pattern for a group that can flash in stretches but still leaves too much of the game hanging once opponents make their adjustments. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Left Missouri With An Offensive Problem It Must Fix Fast
Kansas came out of the Border War with more questions than answers in the run game, and that is not the sort of problem a staff can ignore for long. The Jayhawks never found much traction against Missouri, leaning on a ground attack that stalled out too often and left the offense without the balance it needed to stay on schedule.
Isaiah Marshall led Kansas with 23 rushing yards, while Dylan Edwards added 39 on six carries, but the bigger issue was collective rather than individual. Missouris rushing success set the tone on the other side, giving the Tigers a physical edge Kansas will need to address quickly if it wants its offense to look more complete in the weeks ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Has Lance Leipold Already Taken Kansas As Far As He Can
Lance Leipold has done enough at Kansas to change the tone around the program. Since arriving in 2021, he has delivered the kind of milestones that once felt distant in Lawrence, from ending losing streaks to helping put the Jayhawks on a path that included a new stadium and real national relevance. For a while, that was the story every Kansas fan wanted to hear: a steady coach, a resurgent program and evidence that the investment was finally starting to matter.
But the longer Leipold has been in charge, the harder it has become to ignore the ceiling questions. Kansas has not been able to stack up bowl seasons the way its resources and contract support would suggest, and the losses have often arrived in the kind of moments that define whether a rebuild becomes something bigger. The criticism now is not about whether Leipold stabilized the program, but whether the job has reached the point where the next leap requires more than the foundation he already built. [Read more 🡒]