Missouri didn’t need long after halftime to turn the Border War into a runaway.
Tied 14-14 at the break, the No. 23 Tigers seized control with a pair of back-to-back turnovers from Robert Woodyard Jr., and Austin Simmons made Kansas pay both times. Missouri rolled from there and beat the Jayhawks 38-21 on Friday night, extending its Border War winning streak to five straight.
Jamal Roberts delivered the kind of burst that can flip a rivalry game in a heartbeat, rushing for 125 yards and a touchdown. Donovan Olugbode and Cayden Lee each caught scoring passes, and Missouri (2-0) won in Lawrence for the first time since Oct. 29, 2005.
The second-half swing came fast and hard. Woodyard pounced on Isaiah Marshall’s fumble to set up a go-ahead touchdown pass from Simmons to Olugbode. Then, on Kansas’ very next offensive snap, Woodyard dropped into coverage and intercepted Marshall, giving Missouri another short field that ended with Xai'Shaun Edwards scoring on the ground.
Kansas had opened the night with energy and even with some momentum. The Jayhawks (1-1) jumped on Missouri’s mistakes early, benefiting from four false start penalties in the first half, blown blocking assignments and two blocked field-goal attempts. On the second block, Austin Alexander scooped up the ball and raced 88 yards for the game’s first points.
Missouri answered right back. Roberts bounced to the right side and sprinted 64 yards for a touchdown, the longest run of his career. It topped the 63-yard score he had in last year’s 42-31 win over Kansas.
The teams traded touchdowns late in the first half, and the 122nd Border War went to intermission tied. But the Tigers’ defense took over after the break, and Missouri kept stacking plays until Kansas could no longer keep pace. After Marshall hit Nahzae Cox to pull the Jayhawks within 28-21 late in the third quarter, Blake Craig’s field goal gave Missouri a little more breathing room.
Marshall finished with 168 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also carried 20 times but gained only 23 yards.
“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 blasted Kansas for leaning into the rivalry’s historical meaning.
“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."
Missouri kept throwing until the final seconds, even taking a shot at the end zone 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.”
The game also took an unusual turn when referee Jason Autrey left on a cart after limping to the Missouri sideline in the first half. Center judge Ron Turner handled the rest of the game.
Simmons said the Tigers never lost their edge, even when the game was still hanging in the balance.
“Energy never changed, honestly. The mentality always stayed the same,” Simmons said. “We were just trying to win at all costs.”
Missouri now heads back to Columbia for a matchup with Troy next Saturday. Three of the Tigers’ next four games are at home.
Kansas, meanwhile, has to get on a plane for London, where it opens Big 12 play against Arizona State next weekend.
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Robert Woodyard Just Flipped Mizzous Biggest Game Of The Night
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For a matchup that always carries extra edge, Woodyards sequence was exactly the kind of jolt Missouri needed to separate itself in a game that had been dead even at the break. With Kansas already on the wrong side of that momentum swing, the Tigers now have to carry the same defensive energy forward into next weeks meeting with Troy. [Read more 🡒]
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The buildup to Missouris latest meeting with Kansas was already tense, but a pregame video from the Jayhawks added another layer to the rivalry when it referenced the series Civil War roots. Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz pushed back hard on that choice, calling it inappropriate and especially out of place on 9/11, when the tone around the game carried extra weight beyond the usual border bragging rights.
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Missouri Finally Delivered The Border War Road Win Fans Craved
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The Tigers still had to work for it before taking control in the second half, but the payoff was obvious for a program and fan base that had waited a long time for this road result. Beating Kansas on its field does more than add a line to the record book, and Missouri now has a fresh reminder of what it looks like when the rivalry swings its way. [Read more 🡒]