Decades of Rivalry: The 10 Historic Games that Defined the Missouri-Kansas Border Feud

“F- KU”: Missouri-Kansas Football Rekindles a Bitter, Historic Rivalry

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Around 5 or 5:15 p.m. local time on Saturday, the second Missouri Tigers home game of the season will go to a commercial break before the fourth quarter begins, and as has become customary in recent seasons, The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” will play over the loudspeaker.

It has also become customary that the Mizzou fans in attendance at Memorial Stadium will lob F-bombs in unison at their biggest rival.

For the first time in quite a few years, that rival will be in said stadium to hear it.

Missouri and the Kansas jayhawks will meet on the gridiron for the first time since 2011 (3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2) and for the first time in Columbia since 2006. When Mizzou left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012, the rivalry went on pause. The basketball rivalry resumed in 2021, wiht Kansas winning the first three games and Mizzou finally getting back on the board last December. Now its football’s turn.

This rivalry’s roots stem from Civil War days. Both schools’ nicknames were derived from Civil War nomenclature – “Jayhawkers” were robbers and raiders who terrorized slave-state supporters in Missouri counties bordering Kansas, while “tigers” refers to a group of soldiers who protected the city of Columbia from pro-Confederacy guerillas, including some of the same people who participated in burning Lawrence to the ground in 1863.Mizzou and Kansas fans have certainly leaned into Civil War and Burning Lawrence connotations through the years, as problematic as it may look from the outside.

The rivalry’s name was changed from “Border War” to “Border showdown” in the 2000s, but it didn’t tamp down the hostility. If you’re a KU or MU fan living in Kansas City, you probably have an MU or KU neighbor. The jawing has never really stopped, and if you didn’t beleive that before Mizzou fans began adding a “F— KU” chant before the bridge to “Mr. Brightside,” no matter the day’s opponent, that certainly served as a pretty vivid and profane reminder.”This is deeply seated,” Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz told ESPN. “There’s a lot of hate, and whether it’s been basketball games that we’ve seen or soccer matches or now football games, we certainly know it’s significant to the fan base.”

“I’ve gone to those [basketball games], and obviously the crowd’s extremely into it and they’re exciting to see,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “You can see that there’s an extra intensity during the game.”

The crowd in Columbia on Saturday will be awfully antagonistic, and the players will have to meet the moment. That’s a tricky thing when almost no player on the field actually grew up with the rivalry. The last time the game was played, after all, current freshman football players were about 4 years old.

“It’s important to go back all the way to the history of it,” Drinkwitz said. “We had Andy Hill, a former Mizzou player and coach, come back and share with us. We had [former ESPN anchor and mizzou alum] John Anderson come back and share. We’ve really tried to emphasize the importance to the team. We had to educate them on what it is.”

“As this game’s been on the schedule, when I’m out in public appearances and things, people have come up to me and talked more about this one than any other game in recent years,” Leipold told ESPN. “There’s excitement that these two teams are playing again.”

The Mizzou-Kansas football rivalry hasn’t necessarily packed the same number of wild finishes or memorable moments as the men’s basketball rivalry has through the years. But it’s still tremendously hostile, and it still had an impact on multiple national title races, school rushing records and the invention of homecoming. It provided a trio of unbelievable neutral-site games in the 2000s, too. Let’s walk through 10 games that accurately describe the stakes and strange history of this reborn rivalry.

1911: Missouri 3, Kansas 3

“The most remarkable feature of a Yale-Harvard game is the meeting of the old ‘grads’ who have come back to their college town to see the contest. after a few years this will be the case with the Missouri-Kansas game.” — Columbia missourian,1911

Mizzou claims the oldest homecoming gathering,or at least the oldest continuous homecoming,with rallies and parades dating back to 1911. No matter what, it all started with KU. In front of about 9,000 fans on Rollins Field in Columbia – memorial stadium wasn’t built until the 1920s – Jimmy Shuck’s field goal allowed the home team to tie the game with about five minutes left and salvaged a smidgen of pride from a disappointing 2-4-2 season.

1958: Missouri 13, Kansas 13

You need some impossibly silly endings to drive a proper rivalry, and in the first Border War for new head coaches Dan Devine (Mizzou) and Jack Mitchell (Kansas), two near-.500 teams ran up the silly points here.

Mizzou burst to an early 13-0 lead in front of a sellout crowd of 32,000, thanks in part to a long touchdown off of a downfield lateral from Ed Mehrer to Jerry Curtright. The lead seemed like it was going to hold up despite a trio of missed field goals, but after a short touchdown by KU’s Bill Crank made it 13-7, homer Floyd reeled in a pass over the middle with just 18 seconds left and raced for a stunning 80-yard touchdown! Victory seized from defeat? Nope! Mizzou’s Dale Pidcock blocked the ensuing PAT attempt.Tie game.

1960: Kansas 23, No. 1 Missouri 7

In almost any broadcast for any Mizzou-Kansas game, you’re almost guaranteed to hear something to the effect of, “These rivals are so bitter, they can’t even agree on the series record!” This game is the reason why.

By his third season in Columbia, Devine had Mizzou on the brink of its first national title. The Tigers had just moved to No. 1 for the first time ever following a blowout of Oklahoma,and with the final AP poll vote coming before bowl season,all Mizzou had to do was beat Kansas to wrap things up. But at 6-2-1, with losses only to two previous no. 1 teams (Syracuse and Iowa), Kansas was on the rise itself. mitchell had brought in quite a few talented players, including a TCU transfer named Bert Coan. The Jayhawks were ineligible for an Orange Bowl bid because of violations that occurred during Coan’s recruitment, but he hadn’t yet been deemed ineligible himself, so he played against Missouri.

This was one of the most anxious and ruthlessly physical games in the rivalry’s history,producing just 353 combined offensive yards and eight turnovers. But the 6-foot-4 Coan reeled in a touchdown pass from John Hadl to make it 10-0 in the third quarter, then scored again to put the game out of reach.

Nearly three weeks after the game, the Big 8 Conference officially voted Coan ineligible and ordered KU to forfeit two games in which Coan played. That made Missouri the conference champion. An Orange Bowl win over Navy completed an “unbeaten” season – one-loss minnesota was still named the AP’s national champion (and then lost again in the Rose Bowl) – and Mizzou lists the forfeit as the official result. But as the NCAA never officially recognized the forfeit, Kansas continues to claim a win as well. According to Mizzou, the Tigers lead the overall series 57-54-9. According to Kansas, it’s 56-55-9.

1976: Kansas 41, Missouri 14

The 1960s were a decade of success for both programs, as they combined for three conference titles (two for Mizzou) and 15 winning seasons. But Kansas grew increasingly inconsistent in the 1970s, and after Devine left for the NFL, Al onofrio’s Tigers went from giants to inconsistent giant killers.

In six seasons from 1972 to 1977, Mizzou beat nine top-10 teams … and went 1-5 against Kansas. Depending on which team you root for,either the peak or nadir of this strange period came in 1976. Kansas came to Columbia 5-5, having lost five of its last six games thanks to an injury to quarterback Nolan Cromwell.Mizzou, simultaneously occurring, had beaten both No.8 USC and No. 2 Ohio State on the road in nonconference play,then toppled No. 3 Nebraska in the Big 8. The Tigers had risen as high as sixth in the AP poll. But they were also leaking fuel, having lost three of their last five games to fall to 6-4.

Only one team showed up at Faurot Field. Kansas scored 24 second-quarter points and led by as much as 34 as, in the words of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Bob Broeg,”Comeback Kansas embarrassed (1) mystifying Missouri,(2) the red-faced Sun Bowl committee,(3) solemn Al Onofrio and (4) most of a hang-dog crowd of 62,559 Saturday.” Onofrio was fired a year later.

1988: Missouri 55, Kansas 17

Within a decade or so, Mizzou didn’t have to worry about beating giants anymore. Neither did Kansas. By 1986, Sports Illustrated was calling the Mizzou-Kansas-Kansas State trio the “Bermuda Triangle” of college football, “for lost fans, lost coaches, lost attendance.” K-State had never generated much football traction (at least until hiring Bill Snyder in 1989),Kansas enjoyed only one winning season between 1977 and 1990,and Mizzou didn’t manage a single one from 1984 to 1996. The Tigers’ and Jayhawks’ combined destitution was at its worst in 1988, when they managed only four combined wins — two against 0-11 Kansas State, one against Utah State, and one head-to-head.

Kansas took an early 10-7 lead in this one, but Mizzou won the last 3½ quarters by a 48-7 margin. Led by running back Mike Jones – who would switch to linebacker in the pros and make one of the most famous tackles in Super Bowl history – the Tigers rushed for 471 yards while forcing five turnovers.

1991: Kansas 53, Missouri 29

Glen Mason’s tenure as Kansas’ head coach began disastrously in 1988, but by 1991 he was generating some traction: The Jayhawks would go 6-5 that year and keep inching upward toward a 10-win 1995 breakthrough. They won four of five against the destitute Tigers in this span, and one win broke records.

With both the temperatures and the winds in the mid-30s at kickoff and just 28,000 in the stands in Lawrence, Mizzou found brief success with its passing game in the second quarter, and KU led just 25-22 at halftime despite 156 rushing yards from the Jayhawks’ Tony Sands. But Mizzou’s Jeff Handy stopped completing passes in the second half, and sands just kept running. He had 141 yards in the third quarter alone. And then he produced another 99 in the fourth quarter. He ended the day with 58 carries – hey, why not, it was the last game of the season – and a then-record 396 yards. Four players have since topped 400 yards in a game, but no one did it against their most bitter rival.

what were the origins of the Missouri-Kansas rivalry?

The Roots of the Rivalry: A History of conflict

The Missouri-Kansas border war isn’t just a chapter in American history; it’s a deeply ingrained part of the athletic rivalry between the University of Missouri (Mizzou) and the University of Kansas (KU). Stemming from pre-Civil War tensions over slavery, the border dispute fueled decades of animosity that naturally extended to the football field, basketball court, and beyond. Understanding this historical context is crucial to appreciating the intensity of the games that followed. The University of Missouri, founded in 1839, stands as a testament to this history, being the first public university west of the Mississippi River.

1. 1907 Football Game: The First Spark

This game, played in Lawrence, Kansas, is often cited as the ignition point for the modern rivalry. Reports suggest a notably rowdy atmosphere, wiht accusations of unsportsmanlike conduct flying from both sides. While details are scarce, the game ended in a 0-0 tie, a fittingly tense result for the burgeoning feud.This early contest established a pattern of fiercely contested matchups. Keywords: Mizzou vs KU football, early rivalry games, Kansas-Missouri border war.

2. 1911 Football Game: The “Rock, Chalk” Incident

The 1911 game saw a controversial call that favored Kansas, leading to accusations of biased officiating. the incident fueled already simmering tensions and solidified the “Rock Chalk” battle cry as a symbol of KU dominance, much to the chagrin of Mizzou fans. This game highlighted the growing importance of the rivalry to both universities and their respective states.Keywords: Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Mizzou-KU controversy, college football history.

3. 1959 Basketball: The Border War Begins to Boil

While football had established the rivalry,the 1959 basketball game truly ignited the “Border War” moniker.A nail-biting contest decided by a single point, the game was marked by intense defense and passionate fan support. This game signaled basketball’s rise as a central battleground in the rivalry. Keywords: Mizzou-KU basketball, Border War, college basketball rivalry.

4. 1969 Football: The Comeback Kids

Mizzou, trailing by a significant margin in the fourth quarter, mounted a stunning comeback to defeat Kansas. This victory was particularly sweet for mizzou fans, who had endured years of KU dominance. The game is remembered for its dramatic shift in momentum and the resilience of the Mizzou team. Keywords: Mizzou football comeback, KU vs Mizzou football, historic college football games.

5. 1974 Basketball: The Perfect Season on the Line

Kansas entered the 1974 game with a perfect record, aiming for an undefeated season.Mizzou, playing the role of spoiler, pulled off a shocking upset, handing the Jayhawks their first loss. The game remains a legendary moment in Mizzou basketball history. Keywords: KU basketball undefeated season, mizzou basketball upset, college basketball history.

6. 1989 Football: The Turnover battle

A defensive slugfest, the 1989 football game was decided by a series of crucial turnovers. Mizzou capitalized on KU’s mistakes, securing a hard-fought victory. The game underscored the importance of ball control and defensive prowess in the rivalry. Keywords: Mizzou-KU football turnovers, defensive college football, rivalry game analysis.

7. 1994 Basketball: The Raef LaFrentz Showdown

Featuring future NBA player Raef lafrentz, this game was a showcase of individual talent. LaFrentz dominated the game, leading Kansas to a narrow victory. The game highlighted the growing importance of star power in the rivalry. Keywords: Raef LaFrentz, KU basketball stars, Mizzou-KU basketball highlights.

8. 2007 Football: Chase Daniel’s Masterclass

Mizzou quarterback Chase Daniel delivered a masterful performance, leading the Tigers to a decisive victory over Kansas. This game marked a turning point in the rivalry, with Mizzou asserting its dominance in football. Daniel’s performance is still widely discussed among fans. Keywords: Chase Daniel, Mizzou football quarterback, KU vs Mizzou football highlights.

9. 2012 Basketball: The Final Border War (For a While)

This game, played before Mizzou’s move to the SEC, was billed