Missouri walked into Lawrence and left with the Border War again, beating Kansas 38-21 on Friday night at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium behind a big night from Austin Simmons and a steady hammering on the ground from Jamal Roberts.
Simmons finished 19 of 28 for 292 yards and three touchdowns, while Roberts piled up 125 yards on 28 carries and scored once. Missouri also got explosive production from its receivers, with Donovan Olugbode hauling in six catches for 121 yards and a touchdown and Cayden Lee catching six passes for 120 yards and a score. Lee, like Simmons, once played at Ole Miss.
Kansas had its moments, but the Tigers turned the game with a surge to start the second half and then kept adding on. KU quarterback Isaiah Marshall went 13 of 30 for 168 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.
He ran 20 times for 23 yards. Missouri outgained Kansas 463 yards to 255.
The first Border War game in Lawrence in 21 years started out tight, with both teams putting up 14 points in the first half. Kansas even briefly grabbed control thanks to a pair of blocked field goals, but Missouri answered every time and carried a 14-14 tie into the locker room before Lee caught a 27-yard touchdown from Simmons with 30 seconds left in the half.
That late strike mattered. Missouri came out of the break and immediately capitalized on Kansas mistakes.
Marshall fumbled after a hit by Robert Woodyard, who recovered at the KU 34. Moments later, Simmons hit Lee again, this time from 8 yards out, to put Missouri ahead 21-14 with 11:40 left in the third quarter.
Kansas then handed the Tigers another short field. On the next possession, Marshall threw a first-down pass that landed in Woodyard’s hands at the KU 40, and Woodyard returned it to the 10. Xai’Shaun Edwards finished that drive from there, pushing Missouri’s lead to 28-14 with 10:52 left in the third.
The Jayhawks did respond once more. Marshall found Nahzae Cox for a 10-yard touchdown with 2:07 left in the third, trimming the margin to 28-21. But Missouri answered with a 31-yard field goal by Craig to make it 31-21 at 11:46, and the Tigers added one more touchdown with 2:02 left to seal the final margin.
Kansas’ first points came in dramatic fashion after a blocked kick. With 7:29 left in the first half and the game still scoreless, junior Leroy Harris III blocked a 27-yard attempt by Blake Craig. The deflection bounced to KU sophomore Austin Alexander, who raced 88 yards down the sideline for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Missouri answered right away. On the next possession, Roberts took a handoff from Simmons and burst 64 yards for a touchdown to tie it 7-7 with 5:22 left before halftime.
Kansas got back in front late in the half after Marshall converted a fourth-down scramble to keep a drive alive. On first-and-10 from the 20, he found Nik McMillan in the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 1:48 left. Missouri then tied it again on Lee’s 27-yard touchdown catch with 30 seconds remaining in the half.
There were also a few notable moments beyond the scoreboard.
KU backup quarterback Cole Ballard left for the locker room with 3:46 left in the third quarter after taking a hard hit that appeared to be to the shoulder. On that play, Missouri’s Langden Kitchen was flagged for roughing the passer, a penalty that helped Kansas move toward a touchdown that cut the deficit to 21-14 late in the third.
Another eye-catching sequence came when Marshall completed a 16-yard pass to Carson Bruhn in the third quarter after appearing to be forced out of bounds. He released the throw while in the air, and after review it was ruled a completion.
Kansas also showed plenty of aggression on fourth down. The Jayhawks converted on fourth-and-1 from their own 35 in the first quarter, with Marshall scrambling for 2 yards. They later converted another fourth-and-1 from the KU 46 before halftime when Marshall kept it for 10 yards, and they picked up one more fourth-and-1 conversion at the KU 43 in the second half.
The night began with some pregame pageantry. Former KU receiver Kerry Meier raised the U.S. flag on a pole just past the southeast end zone. Former KU running back Devin Neal had done the same before Kansas’ win over Long Island, but he is now an NFL free agent after being cut by the New Orleans Saints.
Kansas also showed a Border War video on the south end zone screen before kickoff. The short clip has been making the rounds on social media, and former KU defensive lineman Gilbert Brown provided the voiceover for the piece titled “heroes and villains.”
For Kansas, the loss was the fifth straight in the all-time series against Missouri.
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Isaiah Marshall Just Sparked A Tough Kansas Offense Debate
Isaiah Marshalls first real test against high-level competition brought the kind of uneven performance that can quickly sharpen a quarterback conversation in Lawrence. The Kansas freshman threw two touchdowns, but Missouris defense helped turn the afternoon into a 38-21 Tigers win, with the border rival getting extra mileage from two blocked field goals and a few timely defensive stands that kept the Jayhawks from settling in.
The part Kansas will keep circling back to is how the offense unraveled after halftime, because the margin for error disappeared almost immediately. Missouri linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. was at the center of some of the biggest momentum swings, and with Austin Simmons carving up the Jayhawks for 292 yards and three scores while Jamal Roberts added a big rushing day, Kansas was left staring at a familiar question about how much pressure Marshall should carry right now. [Read more 🡒]
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Kansas Let One Border War Bright Spot Get Buried By Bigger Problems
Kansas had a chance to make the Border War feel more competitive for stretches, and one of the biggest reasons it stayed within reach was a jolt from the special teams. On a day when the offense and defense both had too many rough edges in a 38-21 home loss to Missouri, the Jayhawks still managed to manufacture one of the game's cleanest bright spots with a blocked field goal turning into points the other way.
Even so, the good moments kept getting swallowed up by bigger problems, especially the mistakes that piled up on offense and left Kansas chasing the game. The evaluation from the loss points to issues across the board - turnovers, inconsistency, uneven execution and coaching decisions that never quite steadied things - and that left the Jayhawks with more frustration than momentum after a rivalry game they wanted to own at home. [Read more 🡒]