No. 23 Missouri Tops Kansas 38-21 as Austin Simmons Throws Three TDs to Extend Border War Streak to Five
Austin Simmons threw three touchdowns and No. 23 Missouri pulled away in the second half to beat Kansas 38-21, extending the Tigers' Border War win streak to five straight.
No. 23 Missouri turned back a hostile crowd and a feisty Kansas team to win the Border War for the fifth consecutive time, beating the Jayhawks 38-21 on Friday night at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Quarterback Austin Simmons threw for three touchdowns in his first true road test, and the Tigers improved to 2-0 while extending their command of one of college football’s oldest rivalries.
The victory marked the 122nd meeting between Missouri and Kansas, a series that dates back more than a century and carries roots in Civil War-era border conflict between the two states. The rivalry went dormant for 14 years after Missouri departed the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012, only to be revived in 2025 with a 42-31 Tigers win in Columbia. Friday’s game was the first trip to Lawrence for Missouri since a 38-34 win in 2001, Gary Pinkel’s debut season as head coach.
Simmons Delivers Under the Lights
Simmons, an Ole Miss transfer making just his second career start for Missouri, completed 19 of 29 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with Cayden Lee for a 27-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14 before halftime, hit Olugbode for an 8-yard go-ahead score after Missouri forced a second-half turnover, and delivered the dagger with a 13-yard fourth-down touchdown pass to tight end Brett Norfleet with a little more than two minutes remaining. Through two games this season, Simmons has thrown for 544 yards and seven touchdowns without an interception.
Missouri’s defense played its part as well. Linebacker Robert Woodyard Jr. forced two turnovers on consecutive Kansas possessions in the third quarter, flipping field position and setting up scoring drives that turned a tie game into a comfortable Tigers lead. Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall finished 13 of 30 for 168 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions as the Jayhawks fell to 1-1.
Streak Ties Series Record, Season Outlook Ahead
The win pushed Missouri’s streak against Kansas to five straight, matching the longest run in the rivalry’s history, and gave the Tigers six wins in the last seven meetings dating back to 2006. Missouri now leads the all-time series 59-54-9. Head coach Eliah Drinkwitz, in his seventh season in Columbia, has guided the program to a 47-28 overall record and back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2023 and 2024.
Missouri opened the season with a 54-14 rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff before Friday’s rivalry win, extending its season-opening win streak to six years. The Tigers and Jayhawks are locked into a four-game series arrangement that continues in 2031 in Columbia and 2032 in Lawrence, but for now Missouri sits at 2-0 and ranked in the national top 25 as SEC play looms, with a slate of ranked conference opponents still to come this fall. Fans looking to follow the Tigers’ push through SEC play can check Missouri sportsbooks for legal options as the season progresses.