photo by: Liz Rymarev/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP

Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz shakes hands with Central Arkansas head coach Nathan Brown after after an NCAA college football game in Columbia, Mo., on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025.

Keeping in mind that it’s been 13 years since Kansas and Missouri last played, some sort of refresher on the Tigers might be necessary.

Not so much a refresher about the University of Missouri in a broad sense, or the history between KU and MU — which KU fans are surely well acquainted with by this point in the Border War game week, if they weren’t already long beforehand — but about the Tigers’ personnel, which has of course turned over numerous times since the two teams last played in 2011.

In order to learn more about MU and its roster ahead of Saturday’s contest at Faurot Field, the Journal-World exchanged question-and-answer emails with Sammy Stava, who writes about the Tigers for Rock M Nation, part of SB Nation and Vox Media.

Stava provided insights about Missouri’s 61-6 season-opening victory over Central Arkansas and highlighted key players in several position groups, while also shedding light on the general excitement in the MU community about the rivalry’s renewal.

The full Q&A is below, and the Journal-World’s answers to Stava’s own questions about KU will be posted this week on rockmnation.com.

Q: After back-to-back seasons with double-digit wins and bowl victories, what are the expectations for Missouri this year?

A: National expectations aren’t as high for Missouri this year as the Tigers were unranked to start the season and were picked to finish 12th in the SEC preseason poll. I guess that’s what happens when you lose your starting quarterback Brady Cook and your top two receivers Luther Burden III and Theo Wease Jr. from a season ago. However, they return seven starters on defense and Eli Drinkwitz loaded up in the transfer portal to address the offensive skill positions. There’s still enough talent on this Missouri team to put together a good season — and they have a manageable schedule to work with. I think Mizzou can contend for the College Football Playoff, but I ultimately see them falling short. My expectations for the Tigers this season are to finish 9-3 and end up in a quality bowl game.

Q: With Sam Horn’s injury and Beau Pribula’s strong performance against Central Arkansas, Pribula will have control of the Tigers’ offense for the foreseeable future. What should KU fans know about the Penn State transfer and his play style?

A: Beau Pribula is still a little bit of an unknown at the quarterback position because he backed up Drew Allar at Penn State. He just hasn’t seen a whole lot of playing time – but he is capable of being a dual-threat quarterback. Pribula was 23-for-28 for 283 yards with two passing and two rushing touchdowns in the opener against Central Arkansas. He looked like a quarterback who can compete at a high level in the SEC, but the next step is performing well against better opponents.

Q: What were the biggest takeaways otherwise from Missouri’s season-opening 61-6 victory over Central Arkansas?

A: Overall, the Tigers did what they were supposed to do against an FCS team by winning in convincing fashion – but along with the Sam Horn injury was the injury to their starting kicker Blake Craig, who is out for a long period of time. Other than that, the only weakness to point out was the offensive line as they were called for multiple holding penalties. That unit will definitely need to be more disciplined come Saturday.

(Note: After Stava supplied his responses, Drinkwitz told reporters on Tuesday that Craig tore his ACL and is out for the season, while Horn will be out for “an extended period of time.”)

Q: Which defensive players are expected to play the biggest roles for Missouri this year?

A: Going unit by unit: Georgia transfer Damon Wilson headlines the defensive line as he was a former five-star recruit and had two eye-opening sacks against Central Arkansas. West Virginia transfer Josiah Trotter, who led the team with eight total tackles in the season opener, headlines the linebacker position. And UNLV transfer Jalen Catalon headlines the safety position; he brings plenty of veteran experience and had an interception against Kansas last season.

Q: How does the Missouri community feel about the return of the Border War?

A: I think it’s safe to say that the Missouri fanbase is pumped up. Mizzou’s SEC rivals are Arkansas and South Carolina, so it’ll be great to bring back a true rival even though it’s in the nonconference. It’s an expected sellout on Saturday in Columbia as it should be, bringing Missouri’s sellout streak to 14 consecutive games. While it didn’t get “College GameDay,” SEC Network’s pre-game show “SEC Nation” will be there. Dennis Gates and the basketball team are also hosting five-star forward Toni Bryant for an official visit. It should be a heck of an atmosphere on Saturday.

Q: What’s your prediction for the game?

A: Jalon Daniels is a star quarterback, and Lance Leipold has done a heck of a job with the Jayhawks’ program. Kansas might have an advantage by already having two games under its belt. Having said that, Missouri still has the more talented roster, and this game is in Columbia. This game will be competitive throughout, but Mizzou gets a touchdown late to go up by two scores. I’ll say 31-20 Missouri.