One week into the 2026 college football season, Kansas is already set to face what could be the best team it sees all year.
And, by the way, it’s the Jayhawks’ hated rival, which will be making its first trip to Lawrence since 2005.
“It’s a great deal of challenge for our team,” left guard Amir Herring said. “Really, it’s a measuring stick of where we stand as a program and where (we will) be continuing throughout the season.”
The 23rd-ranked Missouri Tigers are headed to town for the Border War, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. on Friday as the Jayhawks look to avenge their 42-31 road defeat last season in what had been the long-awaited renewal of the historic matchup.
“I think last year, getting the teams back together reignited the spark, so to speak, of this rivalry, and the intensity of it,” KU coach Lance Leipold said.
KU led that game at Faurot Field 21-6 early and still 31-27 in the fourth quarter before it was unable to make the necessary plays late to hold off the Tigers.
“We had some chances and didn’t convert when we needed to, didn’t make stops when we needed to,” Leipold said, “but I think there (were) also parts of that game that our football team came out with some confidence, too.”
This time the Jayhawks will have the benefit of their home crowd, however robust it can possibly be in a year when David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is operating at reduced capacity.
“Get there, be loud, partake in the sacrament as much you can, be obnoxious, we love it,” associate head coach Andy Kotelnicki said.
KU will need every advantage it can get against this year’s Tigers, who like KU are coming off a fairly uneventful victory against an FCS foe (in Mizzou’s case, over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 54-14). Quarterback Austin Simmons, a transfer from Ole Miss, was exceptionally sharp as he went 17-for-19 passing for 252 yards with four touchdowns, including two to sophomore wideout Donovan Olugbode.
Missouri’s headliner entering the offseason was running back Ahmad Hardy, but he was shot at a concert in May and has not yet returned to practice.
“I know they don’t have the big-time running back, but they still got another there in the stable, and they got a couple more,” KU defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald said.
Jamal Roberts ran for 143 yards and the game-sealing touchdown against KU last season, and he and Xai’Shaun Edwards will have to carry the load for the Tigers, especially with Malae Fonoti out for the season.
All of them could benefit from the potential return this week of All-American left tackle Cayden Green, who missed the season opener but seems like a candidate to play on Friday. McDonald called him a “big-time player.”
McDonald also noted that Missouri has a new offensive coordinator this year in veteran coach Chip Lindsey, most recently of Michigan (who spent a month at Kansas when Les Miles was first hired).
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers return several key defensive linemen, such as defensive ends Langden Kitchen and Darris Smith and tackles Marquis Gracial and Jalen Marshall (brother of KU safety Dillon Marshall). Safety Santana Banner is back in the secondary and joined by transfers such as safety Kensley Louidor-Faustin (Auburn) and cornerbacks Jahlil Florence (Oregon), Chris Graves Jr. (Ole Miss) and Sione Laulea (Oregon). One of the most impactful additions of all could be Robert Woodyard Jr. (Auburn), who pairs with Nicholas Rodriguez at linebacker.
Missouri also has its kicker Blake Craig back. His early-season injury encouraged the Tigers’ offense to be somewhat more daring on late downs against KU, which ultimately paid dividends. But now they have a more reliable option for field goals.
Utah, which KU will face on the road in October, ranks a few spots higher in the AP Top 25 as of now. But Missouri will challenge the Jayhawks as much as anyone.
“I think the Booth will be rocking on Friday night,” Leipold said. “It should be a great college atmosphere, should be what it’s all about.”
KANSAS JAYHAWKS (1-0) VS. NO. 23 MISSOURI TIGERS (1-0)
• David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, 7 p.m.
• Broadcast: Fox
• Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network (in Lawrence, KLWN AM 1320 / K269GB FM 101.7 / KKSW FM 105.9)
• Betting line: MU -5.5; over/under 50.5
• Series history: MU leads 57-55-9 according to KU; MU leads 58-54-9 according to MU
KEEP AN EYE OUT
1. Getting off the field: Last year’s renewal of the Border War was a bizarre game in which Missouri held the ball for more than twice as long as KU did. That was the culmination of a lot of factors, including an early defensive touchdown for the Jayhawks and safety by the Tigers, but most notably an inability to get off the field on money downs. Missouri went 10-for-19 on third down, then 4-for-5 on fourth down, most notably converting twice in KU territory on its go-ahead touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. In retrospect, this week Eli Drinkwitz called those fourth downs and the Tigers’ execution the “difference in the game.” If the Jayhawks want to prove that their defense has truly improved since its erratic 2025 campaign, there will be no better way to demonstrate it than by forcing Missouri punter Brunno Reus onto the field and getting stops when he doesn’t come out at all.
2. Heavy rotation: For much of the preseason it appeared as if right guard was the position at which KU was experiencing the most hotly contested position battle along its offensive line, with Tavake Tuikolovatu, Connor Stroh and possibly DeAndre Harper in the mix. Well, Tuikolovatu seems to have won that starting job fairly decisively, but Harper is now challenging Cal transfer Nick Morrow, who started at left tackle for two years with the Bears, at the right tackle spot. Harper actually earned more snaps than Morrow against Long Island, albeit in a game during which KU went to the bench quite early. Kotelnicki said that in this particular position battle, “It’s about minimizing those limitations and capitalizing on what they’re doing well.”
3. Lefty loosey: The opportunity to face a left-handed quarterback doesn’t come along too often for the Jayhawks’ defensive front, but that’s what they will get when they line up against Simmons. As KU defensive ends like Leroy Harris III and David Santiago, who had strong showings in the opener against LIU, prepare for the former Ole Miss starter, they will also need to reorient themselves: “The biggest thing with a lefty is just knowing which arm to reach for,” Santiago said. The defense as a whole may need to prepare for more rollouts to the left than it will see most of the year.
SPOTLIGHT ON…
Quincy Davis: The New Mexico State transfer was one of the standouts of the spring after arriving in Lawrence, but he also spent much of the offseason working at middle linebacker to help spell Trey Lathan. Bam Crouch’s shoulder injury four defensive plays into KU’s season thrust Davis — listed on the depth chart as Lathan’s backup — into immediate action at weak-side linebacker, and he ended up leading the Jayhawks with 31 snaps against LIU, according to Pro Football Focus. Leipold this week expressed confidence in Davis’ cross-training at the weak-side spot, and Lathan said, “We’re all equipped and prepared to go in there no matter who’s in there.” Marshall transfer Jibreel Al-Amin and Malachi Curvey should also be in for increased roles if Crouch isn’t able to go on Friday.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
2031: The next time this rivalry game will be played. Leipold said this week that the Border War is the sort of game “that should remain and find ways to make sure we get that played, so we’ll see where it takes us,” but it’s hard to imagine it fitting in any time before 2031 with KU and MU playing nine conference opponents apiece.
76: Receiving yards for Missouri tight end Brett Norfleet last year against KU, which is still a career high (as are his seven catches).
7: Nik McMillan’s quantity of consecutive 100-yard receiving performances dating back to last season at Buffalo, which is by far the longest such streak in the FBS (Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith is second with three).
PREDICTION
Missouri wins 28-23. Without having seen KU’s defense, especially its pass defense, prove it against high-level opposition, it’s hard to have much faith in the Jayhawks’ ability to slow down Simmons and the Tigers’ passing attack (which besides Olugbode and Norfleet also includes an array of well-regarded transfer wideouts). Kotelnicki should have the element of surprise and will innovate ways to help KU keep up, but it’s hard to imagine the Jayhawks making enough stops at the other end to take down a top-25 foe at this early stage of the season.
Missouri running back Jamal Roberts (20) runs past Arkansas-Pine Bluff linebacker Derron Moore, right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Columbia, Mo.
Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons (13) throws during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, in Columbia, Mo.
AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
AP Photo/Jeff Roberson