COLUMBIA, Mo. – It lived up to the hype. It lived up to the grandeur. It lived up to the history of the 120 contests before it. In the 121st matchup of the Border War rivalry between Missouri and Kansas, it was the Tigers that came out on top. Overcoming an early deficit to the Jayhawks, Eliah Drinkwitz’s squad weathered the storm to rout its rivals 42-31. 

First Quarter

14 years separated Saturday’s contest and the last time Missouri and Kansas had stood toe to toe on a football field. Yet the energy hadn’t seemed to dampen over the generations, as the noise in Memorial Stadium erupted as the Tigers kicked off to the Jayhawks to open up the game.

After forcing a three and out on Kansas’ opening drive, the Missouri squad struck first. On a quick, five-play drive, Ahmad Hardy punctuated the Tiger’s opening possession with a long 32-yard gain up the middle for a rushing touchdown. After blocking true freshman Robert Meyer’s extra point though, Kansas reminded the Missouri faithful that it hadn’t come to Columbia to roll over. 

Firing on all cylinders, Jalon Daniels and the Kansas defense rattled off 21 unanswered points as the Tigers’s offensive success slowed to a halt. Down 15, and after suffering his first turnover as Missouri’s starting quarterback, Beau Pribula knew he had what it took to turn the game around.

“Yes, {I} turned the ball over in the first quarter. It was tough,” said Pribula. “But after it happened I can’t do anything about it now. I’ll learn from that, but moving forward I can’t let it affect the rest of the game.”

Unshaken by the deficit, Pribula put Missouri in range to score with connections to Kevin Coleman Jr. and Xavier Loyd to close the quarter.

Second Quarter

Picking up where they left off, the Tigers scored on a short, three-yard pass left from Pribula to Coleman Jr., opening up what would be a rebound second quarter for Missouri. 

Down by 8, the aptly named “Death Row Defense” of Missouri knew a stop was needed in order to give the home team a leg up on its border rivals. Zion Young provided one better. On the first play of Kansas’ opening drive of the quarter, and with clear space to Daniels, the senior defensive end forced the Jayhawk’s quarterback to fumble. Bouncing into the Kansas endzone, the football was recovered by offensive lineman Kobe Baynes, resulting in a safety for the Tigers.

Despite the defensive success, Missouri was unable to find the endzone again in the half. All was not lost though, as Meyer made good on the starting opportunity he was granted following all-star kicker Blake Craig’s season ending ACL injury. Making his 20 and 25-yard field goals, Meyer tied up the score at 21 entering halftime.

Third Quarter

Coming out of the half, it seemed as if both teams still had the fervor needed to win the game outright. After its ten-play drive to open the second half came up empty, Missouri gave Kansas room to operate. Aided by a 15-yard face mask penalty, Jalon Daniels and the opposing offense seemed poised to find the endzone until third and six at the Missouri 12-yard line, when Daniels’ was ruled out of bounds on an attempted scramble on the right edge of the field. Thus the Jayhawks were relegated to a field goal for their efforts.

Saved by the Kansas quarterback’s blunder, Missouri was only down by three as its offense took the field once more. Working with six different offensive playmakers during Missouri’s following drive, Pribula’s confidence in the team around him shined through the intense environment.

“To spread it around to multiple guys is really big,” said Pribula. “Its all the work that we put in this summer. There’s a lot of trust with all of the tight ends, all of the receivers, runningbacks, because they work extremely hard and we have a really good connection. I have a lot of belief in them.”

That confidence resulted in yet another passing touchdown for Pribula, as he threaded an 11-yard pass to Brett Norfleet through multiple defenders. Left with only 24 seconds left to play, Kansas managed two plays before the final quarter began.

Fourth Quarter

Still anyone’s game, Missouri and Kansas entered the last quarter cautious. After both team’s opening drives came up empty, it was the Jayhawks who quieted the noise on their following possession. Orchestrating a four-minute drive punctuated by big plays, Jalon Daniels connected with tight end DeShawn Hanika to take the lead once more.

With only 8:45 left to play, Missouri needed its offense to get the job done once more. To the delight of the Missouri fanbase, it did exactly that. Leading a clinical drive of his own, Pribula found Norfleet on fourth and one at the Kansas 27-yard line, this time wide open on the left side of the field. The tight end had no trouble as he found the endzone again, and thus it was Missouri advantage with 4:14 left in the game.

Still though, Kansas had time to operate, but just when it seemed Daniels had found his rhythm in the back-and-forth battle, a deep incomplete pass on third and seven forced the Jayhawks to punt, going three-and-out. 

Time now on its side, Missouri could have elected to slow the game down, punishing Kansas for its mistakes as it chewed away at the clock. However, it seemed Jamal Roberts was unsatisfied with his performance on the ground, as in three plays he recorded 75 yards rushing and Missouri’s final touchdown of the day.

Roberts’ final bow seemed to deflate any chance at a comeback for the Jayhawks. In its last offensive drive of the game, Kansas tried to force a quick touchdown to keep its hopes at victory alive, but under pressure Daniels’ last opportunity with the ball resulted in an interception, as he was picked off by senior safety Daylan Carnell.

As Missouri’s offense ran out the clock, Memorial Stadium roared its approval one last time. Missouri had taken down its Kansas, its most hated of rivals, 42-31.

Final Thoughts

Though it had played from behind for much of the matchup, Missouri never wavered when it came time to answer the call. In what was a historically high pressure situation, Drinkwitz’s pride in his squad was evident in his press conference post-game.

“What an undertaking,” said Drinkwitz. “To go up six, we let our emotions get the better of us a couple of times. To be down, to find a way to battle back and tie the game up, to take the lead, get down in the fourth quarter, and to have 14 unanswered to put the game away. I’m extremely proud of those guys.” 

Now with its heated rivalry matchup in rearview, Missouri will have to shift its focus to the season ahead. Around the Southeastern Conference teams numerous teams have stumbled through two games, opening the door for the Tigers who were seemingly overlooked prior to the start of the year. Still it’s one game at a time, and Missouri has plenty left to work through if it hopes to make its way to Georgia come December.

Missouri (2-0) hosts Louisiana (1-1) on Saturday, Sept. 13.