Missouri week has Lawrence buzzing, and Kansas is getting set for the second Border Showdown since the Tigers left for the SEC. The Jayhawks will try to flip the result from last year’s loss in Columbia, with this year’s matchup landing at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Because the game is on Friday night, KU’s coaches met with the media today to talk through the matchup. One of the most notable voices came from associate head coach and offensive play caller Andy Kotelnicki, who is in his second stint with the Jayhawks but missed last year’s rivalry game while he was at Penn State. This week will be his first real taste of the Border War, and he had a memorable way of explaining why it matters.
"It's different in the sense that this is rooted in American history," Kotelnicki said. "Like, there is a historical American [context].
It's a little deeper than, 'Oh, hey, we really don't like Michigan,' you know what I'm saying? It's generations of wrongs that we had to correct as a country that are represented in this game."
Kotelnicki’s point tracks with the reality of this rivalry. The hostility between Kansas and Missouri isn’t just the usual college-football spice; it reaches back to a violent political conflict more than 150 years ago.
On the field, Kansas is staring at a serious test. Missouri enters the game ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll, is expected to be one of the SEC’s stronger teams this season, and opened Week 1 with a 54-14 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Tigers are also listed as a one-touchdown favorite over KU.
For Kansas, this could be the biggest game on the schedule, and maybe the biggest one in the nonconference slate. Kotelnicki made clear that a win would mean more than simple bragging rights, and he’ll be central to the effort as the offensive play-caller guiding the Jayhawks and quarterback Isaiah Marshall.
In Other News...
Kansas O-Line Has Something To Prove Before Missouri
Kansas spent its opener sorting out a rebuilt offensive line, and the early returns were encouraging. After losing three starters from 2025, the Jayhawks rolled past LIU 51-6 behind 613 total yards and strong work on third and fourth downs, a sign the front was doing its part in keeping the offense on schedule. Head coach Lance Leipold liked what he saw from the group as Kansas opened the year, but there is still a clear next step for a line trying to settle in quickly.
The next test comes into sharper focus with Missouri, a program that presents a much tougher style matchup than LIU did. The Tigers have a strong rushing offense and were already in action against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, so Kansas knows the challenge is about more than just pass protection or clean pockets. For a line with something to prove, this is the kind of game that can show whether the opener was a promising start or just the first step toward real steadiness. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Faces Two Lingering Questions Heading Into Its First Real Test
Kansas got little in the way of a real stress test in its first stretch, which is why the next game looms as a far better measuring stick for what this team actually is. The early schedule against lower-tier opponents told the Jayhawks only so much, leaving the usual September optimism intact while still keeping a few big-picture questions unresolved heading into a matchup that should reveal more.
The secondary is one of those spots, since the early pass defense work has not yet shown how the back end will hold up when it is challenged more consistently. The offensive line is another, with the unit still working toward a fuller answer after limited time together in camp, and those two areas figure to draw plenty of attention once Kansas finally faces an opponent capable of pushing both lines of the equation. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas Heads Into Missouri With Two Big Injury Questions
Kansas spent part of its Week 1 victory over Long Island with one eye already on what comes next, and Lance Leipolds latest injury update gave the Jayhawks a little more to sort through before heading into the rivalry game at Missouri. The coach met with the media after the opener and addressed the status of wide receiver Cam Pickett and linebacker Bam Crouch, two players whose availability could shape how Kansas handles a far tougher test on the road.
Pickett has been working back in practice as he recovers, while Crouch was absent from practice because of an upper-body injury, leaving neither player definitively cleared for Saturday. For a Kansas team entering a critical matchup with Missouri, the uncertainty matters, especially with the Tigers also navigating their own injury issues and every depth chart decision carrying a little more weight than usual. [Read more 🡒]