Kansas vs. Missouri is always a game to circle on the calendar when the two lifelong rivals face off. KU Football had lost four straight games against Mizzou entering Friday night, but the pre-game hype was building momentum for the Jayhawks to break the losing streak. Unfortunately, KU fell to the Tigers 38-21… Who is most to blame for this brutal loss?
In the first blame pie of the 2026 season, we will discuss the biggest factors that led to the brutal home loss. Before that, however, there do have to be a couple of shoutouts for specific Jayhawks/units that did everything they could to secure the win.
First, a Jayhawk who earned a slice of praise pie in the win against LIU, Leroy Harris III, deserves some more kudos for how he impacted this game. Harris III was all over the place for the entire game and is quickly making his case for the best defensive player Kansas has had since Austin Booker in 2023.
Harris III influenced the game early in the first quarter when he had a nice swat of a pass from Mizzou QB Austin Simmons. He continued his stellar play shortly thereafter when he forced a fumble and also helped KU score their first points of the game by blocking a FG attempt. In the 2nd half, he added a great QB hit to force Mizzou to punt and eventually added a tackle for loss too.
Thanks to his blocked FG, the 6’5” Junior is also a key part of the lone other area to praise, which is the special teams defense. Kansas blocked not one, but two FGs in this game, with Austin Alexander returning one of the blocks for a touchdown, leading to an overall swing of 13 points. They also never allowed Mizzou to get a good kick return or punt return against KU.
Now to the sad crimson and blue blame pie…
The Quarterback Play Disparity Makes up the Largest Slice of the Blame Pie
70% (and most to blame): Isaiah Marshall Playing Well Below His Potential - This was a rough night for the Isaiah Marshall diehards and the Marshall > Ballard argument in general. While there were definitely some highlight plays mixed in, Marshall had the “deer in headlights” look far too often and missed nearly a dozen opportunities.
Marshall finished the game completing just 13/30 passes for a pitiful 43.3% completion rate. He overthrew several players, underthrew several players, and tossed two interceptions, one of which was an abysmal display of field vision. Not even his running game could get going as he rushed 20 times for a measly 23 yards. Marshall ended with a 16.9 QBR and must be better.
20%: Defensive Coordinator D.K. McDonald’s Secondary Scheme - Kansas’ defense having issues is not uncommon, but McDonald’s handling of his secondary was very rough on Friday night. While KU was able to perform okay against the run (4.3 yards allowed per carry), they could not stay attached to WRs Cayden Lee or Donovan Olugbode.
Mizzou’s duo combined for 12 catches and 241 yards, including two TDs. While one of Olugbode’s catches was a 65-yard freebie off of a broken CB blitz play, many of the catches were due to McDonald’s soft secondary style, where Mizzou WRs had no one within 5 yards of them. It doesn’t help that the Tigers QB Austin Simmons was far more accurate than Marshall.
10%: Lance Leipold Falling Short in a Rivalry Game… Again - Leipold helped turn around what was one of the worst Division I football programs in the entire nation when he took over KU 6 years ago, but he is now 0-7 against Kansas State and Missouri in his tenure. The 11 penalties, 2 interceptions, and 4 fumbles (1 lost) is much too sloppy and that has to fall on the head coach.
Kansas now heads to London to face off with Arizona State on September 19th at the famous Wembley Stadium. Will the Jayhawks be able to shake off this poor game or will KU fans be looking at another blame pie?
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