After a rough opening stretch Friday night in Lawrence, Missouri settled in and showed why it had the better all-around team in the Border War. The Tigers finished strong, pulling away with 24 second-half points in a 38-21 win over kansas. It was Mizzou’s fifth straight victory in the rivalry, and the Tigers moved to 2-0 on the season.
The night belonged first and foremost to Austin Simmons. Missouri’s quarterback put together another clean, efficient performance, going 19-for-29 for 292 yards and three touchdowns. Through two games as a Tiger, Simmons is now 36-for-48 for 544 yards and seven scores without an interception.
That kind of production has come with more than just box-score shine. Simmons earned a 90-plus grade from PFF for the second straight week, and Eli Drinkwitz and his staff may have found their star at quarterback. The next test, as the source notes, is whether he can keep doing it against tougher competition.
On defense, Robert Woodyard Jr. made the kind of impact Missouri was hoping for when it brought him in. The Auburn linebacker transfer finished with four total tackles, an interception and a forced fumble, and he was one of the most noticeable newcomers on the field against the Jayhawks.
Cayden Lee also delivered in a major way. Targeted nine times, he caught six passes for 120 yards and a touchdown, giving Missouri a huge lift right before halftime. His scoring grab came with 30 seconds left in the first half and tied the game at 14, a play that helped the Tigers carry momentum into the break.
Across two games, Lee has 10 catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns. He and Olugbode are starting to separate as the top two wideouts in what looks like a much-improved passing attack.
In Other News...
Missouris Kansas Win Hid An Early Concern Fans Cant Ignore
Missouri opened the 2026 season with a little more balance in the offense than it showed a year ago, mixing the run and pass more evenly through the first two games. On paper, that looked like a step toward a more versatile attack, the kind that can keep defenses honest and give the Tigers a steadier weekly floor as the schedule stiffens.
The issue is what happened when the Tigers tried to lean on the ground game against Kansas. The rushing attack never found the kind of consistent success rate that usually signals a functional run game, and the early numbers suggest this is more than just a one-off blemish. Missouri won the game, but the film and the production both leave a familiar question hanging over the offense: can the Tigers generate enough on the ground when opponents force them to earn it? [Read more 🡒]
Missouris Border War Win Showed Why Tigers Fans Should Be Excited
Missouris 38-21 win over Kansas in the 2026 Border War did more than keep the Tigers unbeaten at 2-0. It offered an early look at a team with real balance, as Austin Simmons handled his first road start with poise and efficiency, throwing for 292 yards and three touchdowns without an interception while Missouris passing game kept finding answers.
The spread-out production was the part Tigers fans will like most, with Donovan Olugbode and Cayden Lee both topping 120 receiving yards and reaching the end zone. Missouri also had a disruptive night on defense, where Robert Woodyard Jr. forced a fumble and added an interception, another sign this group can win in more than one way as the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Just Earned The Ranking Fans Have Been Waiting For
Missouris start to the season got a meaningful bump in the rankings after its 38-21 win over Kansas, with the Tigers climbing from No. 23 to No. 20 in the Week 2 AP Top 25 and moving up to No. 22 in the LBM Coaches Poll. It is the kind of early-season recognition Missouri has been chasing, and it reflects the value of opening with a win that carried enough weight to sway both major polls.
For Tigers fans, the bigger significance is the return to familiar territory. Missouri is back in the top 20 for the first time since Week 11 of 2025, a reminder that the program is once again being viewed through a more ambitious lens. The rankings will keep shifting, of course, but this is the sort of step that signals Missouri has earned a little more attention, and maybe a little more scrutiny, than it had a week ago. [Read more 🡒]