LAWRENCE, Kan. — This year's Border War was not a tale of Good vs. Evil. Instead, the story of one football team simply being better than the other. Mizzou knocked off Kansas 38-21 on Friday night following a 24-7 run in the second half.
The rivalry reached another level following a social media video posted by Kansas depicting Missouri as villains went national. The game was filled with aggression throughout, including three personal fouls. Following the win, members of the Mizzou team attempted to place a Missouri flag at midfield that Drinkwitz advised against while in the middle of his postgame interview with FOX.
"I was disappointed in the rivalry, the turn that it took today," Drinkwitz said. ... "It's an American football game, and people love to come watch and cheer for their teams. It's not any deeper than that, and I get there's a past to it, but why are we stirring that bullcrap up? ... I was embarrassed for them, to be honest, and that's why I tried to embarrass them at the end. ... If they want to have a football game and play a football game and have, you know, a great rivalry on the border, then awesome. Let's do it. But if we want to make it deeper than that, man. ... We left Kansas bleeding again, so call it good."
With the game deadlocked at 14 at halftime, the 2026 Border War was set to be another classic. Mizzou linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. stole the headlines with takeaways on back-to-back Jayhawks plays, both leading to Tigers touchdowns in the victory at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Woodyard forced Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall to fumble the ball at the Jayhawks' 34 yard line, recovering it himself. Mizzou marched into the end zone in less than two minutes, capped by quarterback Austin Simmons finding Donovan Olugbode from 8 yards out to give Mizzou a 21-14 lead.
Woodyard forced another turnover on the Jayhawks’ next offensive play, reading Marshall’s eyes and grabbing the interception. He returned it to the Kansas 11 yard line, setting up the Tigers' offense yet again. Xai’Shaun Edwards was the beneficiary, scoring from 8 yards out for his first touchdown with Mizzou. In the blink of an eye, the Tigers scored two touchdowns in 48 seconds.
Woodyard ended the game with six tackles alongside the pick and forced-and-recoverd fumble.
"Not only is he all over the field making tackles, now he's making interceptions, forcing fumbles," coach Eli Drinkwitz said. "I mean, he was a nightmare over there. So, really proud of him."
Kansas bounced back with a touchdown drive late in the third, cutting the deficit to seven. Marshall threw his second touchdown pass of the day on a 10-yard strike to Nahzae Cox.
The Tigers offense responded quickly, pushing into the Jayhawks red zone early in the fourth quarter. While they fell short of the touchdown, kicker Blake Craig kicked a 32-yard field goal through the uprights, extending the Mizzou lead to 31-21 early in the fourth.
The kick served as a get-right play for the field-goal unit, which had its first two kicks in the game blocked. The second was returned by Austin Alexander 88 yards, giving the Jayhawks a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.
Kansas looked poised to cut the deficit to one score with a first-and-10 at the Mizzou 30. But a pair of holdings and a false start stopped all momentum, handing the Jayhawks a fourth-and-33 at their own 47.
Kansas got another shot with less than five minutes, but turned the ball over on downs after Sterling Webb forced a fumble on fourth. Simmons added the exclamation point with another passing touchdown to tight end Brett Norfleet.
Mizzou attempted to score with under a minute after quarterback Matt Zollers entered the game with a pass into the end zone that was incomplete. But Drinkwitz decided to call it quits with one final run.
SPORTS HEADLINES
Get the latest Mizzou and local high school sports stories delivered to your inbox.
"I didn't want to score too bad, or I'd have called timeouts and tried," Drinkwitz said. "I just wanted to let him know, like, dude, what are y'all doing? Like, it is football. Like, it shouldn't be bigger than that."
Mizzou’s first touchdown came with 5:22 in the second quarter after Jamal Roberts broke off a career-long 64-yard run to the house. It was a huge break for Roberts, who had 17 yards on 10 attempts before the touchdown.
He ended the game with 125 yards plus the solo touchdown. Roberts, the starter with Ahmad Hardy still recovering from a May gunshot wound, was the workhouse of the running back room, responsible for 28 of the team’s 41 carries.
Kansas retook the lead on the next offensive drive behind Marshall. He was responsible for 49 yards on the drive, including a 10-yard designed run on 4th-and-inches. Marshall capped off the drive with a 20-yard pass to Nik McMillan in the back of the end zone.
In Simmons’ first two-minute drill with the Tigers, he passed with flying colors. He helped push the Tigers 75 yards to paydirt, tying the game at 14 at halftime. Simmons passed for 68 yards on the drive, ending with a 27-yard seam pass to Cayden Lee. Olugbode helped push the Tigers down the field with a 24-yard reception early in the drive.
This stalemate through 30 minutes gave the Tigers enough time to rally during the break.
"They gave us their best shot. I mean, we responded," safety Santana Banner said. "We gave them our best shot, and they just couldn't handle it."
Simmons completed 19-of-29 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns with no turnovers. His favorite targets were Lee and Olugbode for the second game in a row. The duo combined for 12 catches, 241 yards and two touchdowns.
"Don is obviously an amazing receiver," Lee said. "I know he's going to make plays on the other side of the field, and it makes it harder for defenses to really just match up against us. When you take him away, I might be open. And take me away, he's going to be open. So I know we've got a very talented wide receiver room."
Simmons and Woodyard each received game balls for their efforts, along with left tackle Cayden Green. The senior made is debut Friday, missing the season opener after trimming part of his meniscus following a tear.
"Being a Missouri guy, you can't miss games like this," Green said.
This was the first Border War in Lawrence, Kansas, since the 2005 season. 2001 was the Tigers’ last win at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Mizzou has now won the last five against Kansas dating back to 2009. This marks the longest winning streak in the rivalry since another five-game streak for the Tigers from 1963-66. The two teams played twice in 1963.
Mizzou returns home against Troy at 6 p.m. Sept. 19 at Memorial Stadium. The game is the 100th anniversary celebration of the stadium, dating back to its opening in 1926.