photo by: Kansas Athletics

Kansas defensive tackle Kenean Caldwell and the KU line await the snap against Missouri on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Columbia, Mo.

Columbia, Mo. — Nursing a 31-28 lead, the Kansas football team had Missouri backed up at third-and-17 after a sack by Leroy Harris III with just under seven minutes remaining in Saturday afternoon’s Border War. With a stop, the Jayhawks could have returned possession to their offense with the lead and a chance to deal the Tigers a massive blow.

Instead, on a day when Missouri went 4-for-5 on third downs, KU allowed back-to-back 10-yard passes by Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula, then a 27-yard touchdown pass from Pribula to Brett Norfleet on fourth-and-1 that put the Tigers ahead 35-31.

The Jayhawks punted immediately after Emmanuel Henderson Jr. juggled and dropped a key third-down pass from Jalon Daniels, and Mizzou running back Jamal Roberts broke free for a game-sealing 63-yard touchdown run to ice a 42-31 victory for the Tigers at Faurot Field.

Roberts and Ahmad Hardy combined to carry the ball for more than 250 yards, while their KU counterparts Daniel Hishaw Jr. and Leshon Williams managed just nine carries for 11 yards.

Daniels tossed two touchdowns, both to DeShawn Hanika, and ran for a third, but Missouri held the ball for more than two thirds of the game. Pribula went 30-for-39 for 334 yards and three scores.

Kansas started poorly with a three-and-out before allowing first downs to the Tigers on each of their first two offensive plays. Missouri only needed two minutes to assert its will on the KU defense, and Hardy’s 32-yard touchdown run gave the Tigers an early advantage. New kicker Robert Meyer’s extra-point attempt got blocked by Tommy Dunn Jr., but Mason Ellis was shoved out of bounds as he attempted to run it back the other day.

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Missouri’s Connor Tollison gave KU favorable field position, and Daniels found an uncovered Boden Groen for 24 yards on fourth-and-1 to bring the Jayhawks into the red zone. Facing pressure from the Tigers’ Chris McClellan, Daniels stood in and lobbed a touchdown pass to DeShawn Hanika, and Laith Marjan’s point-after try was good to put KU ahead 7-6.

The Jayhawks passed their first test against Missouri’s rushing quarterback Pribula. With Pribula attempting to scramble on third-and-3, KU’s Mason Ellis made initial contact and Blake Herold jarred the ball free, forcing a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by redshirt freshman cornerback Austin Alexander.

KU forced an immediate punt and again started in a favorable spot thanks to Tate Nagy’s 21-yard return, but nearly fumbled the ball away on a quarterback run by Daniels. However, Levi Wentz beat his receiver down the right sideline and tracked down a 50-yard deep ball, and Daniels converted a quarterback sneak to extend KU’s lead to two touchdowns.

Missouri’s next drive had quite a bit more durability, as Pribula got what he needed on a pair of third downs with passes to Kevin Coleman Jr. and Xavier Loyd, and Hardy powered his way for another conversion. Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz opted to try for the end zone on fourth-and-2 from KU’s 3-yard line, and it paid off with a touchdown pass from Pribula to a wide-open Coleman.

The Tigers quickly added to their tally when — despite KU starting its drive from the 25-yard line — Daniels got sacked by Zion Young and fumbled for a second time, and the ball squirted all the way back to the Jayhawks’ end zone, where Kobe Baynes fell on it for a safety.

The ensuing drive saw Missouri again proceed down the field at a deliberate pace. Hardy fumbled on a third-and-1 conversion, but possession remained with the Tigers.

A tackle-for-loss by Bangally Kamara and sack by Harris forced them into no man’s land with fourth-and-10 at the edge of their kicker’s field goal range. The Tigers opted to go for it, and freshman Donovan Olugbode reeled in a one-handed catch past the marker to continue the drive, but Mizzou settled for a short field goal from Meyer anyway after holding the ball for nearly nine minutes.

With three timeouts and a minute left in the half, KU went nowhere, expended essentially no time and punted. A 39-yard run by Roberts and 50-yard reception by Coleman, who weaved his way down to the 2-yard line, put the Tigers in scoring range with three seconds left, but Drinkwitz opted for the game-tying field goal instead of a chance at a touchdown.

Consecutive pass breakups, including one by Jalen Todd on fourth down, got KU possession back early in the third quarter. The Jayhawks looked poised to punt again but received a break in the form of a facemask penalty by Darris Smith on what looked like a sack of Daniels (and when it looked like Smith had grabbed Daniels’ shoulder). Daniels found Hanika on a pair of occasions to set up a field goal by Marjan that made it 24-21.

Mizzou had another response, and this time took its first lead since 6-0 on a touchdown pass from Pribula to the tight end Norfleet. Pribula made a key 26-yard pass to Daniel Blood, and an offsides penalty on Tommy Dunn Jr. turned a pivotal third-and-6 into a third-and-1 that Hardy picked up. On third-and-goal from the 11-yard line, Norfleet found a soft spot in KU’s defense and Pribula delivered the pass before Jon Jon Kamara arrived to cover him.

After a pair of punts, KU was backed up at its own 8-yard line but advanced deep into Tiger territory on catches by Hanika, Henderson and Cam Pickett and a 19-yard scramble by Daniels, before Daniels hit Hanika for his second touchdown of the day.

Missouri surged back ahead with Norfleet’s own second score and did not relinquish the lead. Daniels was intercepted by safety Jalen Catalon while trying to throw the ball away on KU’s desperate final drive.

KU fell to 2-1 and will return to action following an open date when it opens Big 12 play at home against West Virginia on Sept. 20.

Notes and observations

Previously injured linebackers Jayson Gilliom, Bangally Kamara and Joseph Sipp Jr. all went through warmups, but redshirt freshman Jon Jon Kamara received the start at weak-side linebacker alongside Trey Lathan. Both Kamaras played extensively, and Gilliom saw action as well, but Sipp did not appear in the game.

Punter Finn Lappin returned to action for the Jayhawks after missing their game against Wagner, and he punted four times for an average of 45.8 yards.

How they scored

First quarter

10:53 — Ahmad Hardy 32-yard run. Robert Meyer PAT no good. Five plays, 71 yards, 2:09 TOP. MU 6, KU 0.

8:09 — DeShawn Hanika 15-yard pass from Jalon Daniels. Laith Marjan PAT good. Seven plays, 62 yards, 2:41 TOP. KU 7, MU 6.

6:53 — Austin Alexander 28-yard fumble return. Marjan PAT good. KU 14, MU 6.

2:13 — Daniels 1-yard run. Marjan PAT good. Six plays, 53 yards, 2:33 TOP. KU 21, MU 6.

Second quarter

10:10 — Kevin Coleman Jr. 3-yard pass from Beau Pribula. Meyer PAT good. Fifteen plays, 75 yards, 7:03 TOP. KU 21, MU 13.

9:49 — Safety (Kobe Baynes fumble recovery). KU 21, MU 15.

1:03 — Meyer 25-yard field goal good. Seventeen plays, 63 yards, 8:40 TOP. KU 21, MU 18.

0:00 — Meyer 20-yard field goal good. Four plays, 84 yards, 0:28 TOP. KU 21, MU 21.

Third quarter

5:48 — Marjan 26-yard field goal good. Ten plays, 56 yards, 4:29 TOP. KU 24, MU 21.

0:24 — Brett Norfleet 11-yard pass from Pribula. Meyer PAT good. Twelve plays, 75 yards, 5:24 TOP. MU 28, KU 24.

Fourth quarter

8:45 — Hanika 6-yard pass from Daniels. Marjan PAT good. Eight plays, 92 yards, 3:51 TOP. KU 31, MU 28.

4:14 — Norfleet 27-yard pass from Pribula. Meyer PAT good. Ten plays, 75 yards, 4:31 TOP. MU 35, KU 31.

1:49 — Jamal Roberts 63-yard run. Meyer PAT good. Three plays, 75 yards, 0:56 TOP. MU 42, KU 31.