COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri. Kansas. Playing football against each other for the first time since 2011, in CoMo for the first time since 2006.
Welcome back, Border War. You’ve been missed.
The 121st battle between the Tigers and Jayhawks will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, televised on ESPN2 and available over the radio locally on KTRS (550 AM). The SEC Network’s “SEC Nation†will broadcast live from the MU campus earlier on Saturday morning.
Mizzou is 1-0 after demolishing Central Arkansas, a Football Championship Subdivision program, 61-6 to open the season last week. KU is 2-0 with wins over Fresno State and FCS team Wagner.
Injuries have already affected the Tigers’ season. Placekicker Blake Craig is out for the season with a torn ACL, while backup quarterback Sam Horn is sidelined indefinitely with an unspecified leg injury.
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Here’s what to watch for in the 2025 Border war.
The spectacle
If you’ll be one of the 57,321 fans who’ll make up the 14th consecutive sellout of Missouri’s Faurot Field, you’ll probably be hoarse by the time this one is over. This has been the school’s most anticipated home game in a while — maybe since the programs announced back in May of 2020 that they’d be resuming the series.
On-site pregame show aside, the tailgates are likely to be more energetic than normal. “Mr. Brightside†blasting through the stadium sound system with its accompanying unprintable chant will be a hit with the student section and more than a few of those seated elsewhere.
Corby Jones, who grew up in Columbia before quarterbacking the Tigers in the late 90s, will handle the Big MO duties.
And then there’ll be the game itself.
MU coach Eli Drinkwitz brought in guest speakers this summer to talk to current players about the history and magnitude of the Border War, which dates back to the Civil War. Those lessons were both new and necessary for a generation of players who were in elementary school the last time these two rivals met.
It didn’t take long for them to pick up on the appropriate attitude for Saturday’s contest.
“I know what it takes,†defensive end Zion Young said. “Hopefully, it’s going to be a bloodbath that game. Good luck to those guys.â€
Containing Jalon Daniels
There aren’t many college quarterbacks with more seasons under their belt than Kansas QB Jalon Daniels, who is entering his sixth season with the Jayhawks.
That experience should help him avoid mistakes, even in a high-pressure, loud environment like he’ll encounter in Columbia, but the onus is more on the Tigers to keep the Jayhawks’ dual-threat leader contained.
Daniels’ quarterbacking style will be far from foreign to Missouri, though when Drinkwitz heaped praise on his opponent, he called him the best version of a mobile signal-caller that the Tigers have seen.
The key to stopping him is in part containment — when rushing, avoiding the temptation of powering past him and opening up escape lanes. And once Daniels gets out of the pocket — which he will no matter the containment efforts — MU will need to have its secondary hold up in coverage.
Breakdowns against mobile quarterbacks plagued Mizzou at times last year. Of the 14 passing touchdowns the Tigers allowed last season, 10 came against just three dual-threat QBs: Boston College’s Thomas Castellanos, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers.
Players to watch
Among the Missouri players who’ll have an individual spotlight on them Saturday:
- True freshman Robert Meyer is now MU’s kicker when it comes to field goals following the injury to Craig. He was perfect on extra points last week, but the kicks will probably get a little less routine — or at least have a little more pressure — this week. He’s an unknown at this level, so Drinkwitz and company will be learning what they have in their new kicker alongside everyone else in the stadium.
- Beau Pribula is, perhaps a bit unceremoniously, the starting quarterback following Horn’s injury and a strong debut outing. He looked comfortable in Game 1, but the uptick in talent between Central Arkansas’ defense and that of Kansas should be significant.
- OK, not an individual here, but a duo: left tackle Cayden Green and left guard Dominick Giudice. After moving to those spots late in fall camp, their first game together was rocky. Pribula faced more pressure and took more hits than would’ve been optimal for a game against an FCS team. There was always going to be a chemistry-building process for Green and Giudice, but if they haven’t taken steps forward, KU’s edge rushers will punish them. Watch Pribula’s blind side on his behalf, especially early on or when the Jayhawks deploy stunts along their D-line.
