It is generally never a good idea to re-spark a war that has been cold for many years, but the athletic departments from the Universities of Kansas & Missouri have done it. This Saturday, September 6th, the Border War will be restored in Columbia, Missouri as the Jayhawks (2-0) and Tigers (1-0) face-off in week 2 of the young 2025 college football season.
This rivalry has not been active since 2011, but even once Missouri left the Big-12 for the SEC, the tension never died, in fact, it has only gotten more intense and acerbic. KU has not notched a win over MU on the turf since the 2008 season, and it's not going to be easy if the Jayhawks want to tranquilize their thirst during this prolonged drought.
The lengthy history of this rivalry extends all the way back to Halloween night, 1891, where the KU Jayhawkers (previous nickname) prevailed in the first meeting by a score of 22-8, according to the University of Kansas. It was the first game of the formal inaugural season in Kansas Football history (went undefeated), and the fourth official game that the school ever played in. Just for context, the first three games that KU football ever competed in came one year prior in the 1890 season, where they played in their first three games as a program. Two of these three contests were against fellow eastern Kansas college, Baker, while the other one was played against the Kansas City YMCA. KU went 1-2 in those three games before heading into the 1891 season as a full-blown football program.
The tallies in this legendary series between the institutions are shockingly and fittingly close, with the Jayhawks' current record in the Border War being 55-56-9. There have been a couple of games with disputes about who won or lost, like the infamous 1960 controversy, but if you give each side one win on that debate, then that is the current record for KU against rival Mizzou.
One of the most famous meetings between the two schools came in 1911. It is widely considered and formally credited as being the first American football homecoming game ever played. The contest occurred in Columbia, Missouri at Rollins Field and drew tens of thousands of viewers, with a large mass of radio listeners from Lawrence, Kansas. The game reportedly ended in a 3-3 tie, and not much else is available about the competition.
Fast-forward to present-day and we are now en route to game number 121 of this historic conflict. Lance Leipold against Eli Drinkwitz will easily be one of the most fascinating and intriguing coaching matchups of the 2025 season.
If you have ever been a part of or been around this rivalry, then the hype behind this volatile meeting should speak for itself. We already know the environment will be deranged and erratic, and the fans are not backing down from the smoke in this one, as both sides of social media have been sounding off in anticipation of the upcoming matchup. Many fans were far from amused after College GameDay announced that they were heading to Norman, Oklahoma for week 2. This comes ahead of the matchup between Oklahoma and Michigan. Many fans and college football connoisseurs ranted about the crew choosing that game instead of coming to cover the Border War in Columbia, since it has been so scarce. If either side needed any more motivation than they already have for Saturday, then this is it.
Regardless of any outside attention, this promises to be one of the pinnacle matchups in a lackluster week 2. The winning school in this game will be on cloud nine, while the losing side will be forced to endure the pain of defeat at the hands of a bitter rival. Tune in to ESPN2 on Saturday, September 6th, at 2:30 pm local time to watch the Jayhawks take on the Tigers in the first battle between the two schools in fourteen years.