Missouri walked into Lawrence for the first time in 20 years and walked out with another Border War win, outlasting Kansas 38-21 on Saturday in the 122nd meeting of the StorageMart Border Showdown at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
The No. 23 Tigers didn’t just win - they pulled away.
Austin Simmons lit up the first half, Missouri leaned on its defense for a pair of huge third-quarter takeaways, and the Tigers finished the job with a late touchdown pass to Brett Norfleet. The victory pushed Missouri to 2-0 and extended its regular-season winning streak against nonconference opponents to 15 straight games.
It also kept Missouri’s grip on the rivalry tight. The Tigers have now won five in a row against Kansas and six of the last seven, matching the longest streak in the series’ long history. Missouri now leads the series 59-54-9, and this was its first win in Lawrence since 2001, when Gary Pinkel was in his first year as MU head coach.
Simmons was sharp from start to finish, completing 19 of 29 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns. Missouri piled up 469 total yards, while Kansas was held to 255.
The game turned in the third quarter, when linebacker Robert Woodyard took control. With the score tied 14-14 and Kansas opening the second half with the ball, Woodyard forced and recovered a fumble by Isaiah Marshall at the KU 35. Five plays later, Simmons found Donovan Olugbode for an 8-yard touchdown and Missouri’s first lead at 21-14.
Then Woodyard struck again. On Kansas’ very next snap, he intercepted Marshall over the middle and returned it 28 yards to the KU 12. Xai’Shaun Edwards finished that drive with a 10-yard touchdown run, and Missouri had stretched the margin to 28-14 just 28 seconds after its previous score.
Woodyard finished with six tackles, as did Nicholas Rodriguez and Santana Banner.
Missouri’s offense had to work through an uneven opening stretch. There were dropped passes, two blocked field goals and penalties that kept some early drives from fully breaking open. But the Tigers found their rhythm in time to seize control before halftime.
Jamal Roberts helped spark that turnaround with a 64-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, shaking off an early fumble and bursting untouched off the right side for the longest run of his college career. Later, with the clock winding down in the half, Simmons led a crisp 2-minute drill and hit Cayden Lee for a 27-yard touchdown to tie it at 14-14 with 30 seconds left.
Lee and Olugbode were both major targets for Simmons. Lee caught six passes for 120 yards, while Olugbode had six receptions for 121 yards.
After halftime, Missouri kept the pressure on. The Tigers scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter and never gave the momentum back. In the fourth, Blake Craig added a 32-yard field goal after a 61-yard drive stalled at the KU 12, making it 31-21 with 11:46 to play.
Missouri later took over on downs at the Kansas 14, and Simmons closed it out with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Norfleet on fourth down.
Roberts led the ground game with 125 yards on 28 carries, and Missouri’s offense kept the ball moving all afternoon against its Big 12 opponent.
The Tigers return home for their final nonconference game of the season against Troy on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. That game will include a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Memorial Stadium and a tribute to Missouri’s 1960 national championship team.
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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 🡒]