WEB EXTRA: SEC Network’s Dari Nowkhah previews renewal of the Mizzou, Kansas rivalry

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

On Saturday, one of the most iconic rivalries in all of college sports will return to the gridiron.

When Kansas descends upon Columbia, it will be the first time the Jayhawks have visited Faurot Field since 2006. It's the first time that these two have meet on the football field, period, since 2011.

SEC Network main anchor Dari Nowkhah sat down with ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones to preview the matchup, which will air on KMIZ. He said that rivalries like this one are what makes college football so special.

"Growing up in Big Eight, Big 12 country, I feel like I know it pretty well," Nowkhah said. "They need to continue these. There need to be more of these. I mean, I grew up in Oklahoma and if Bedlam doesn't come back I think that we're losing something. If Oklahoma, Nebraska doesn't come back on a regular basis, I feel like we're losing something now. We need Missouri, Kansas. We need these types of games to generate more and more interest...College football is a great game and, you know, Missouri is selling out their opener Central Arkansas, so obviously you can only imagine what Faurot Field is gonna feel like on Saturday for KU. But, no these are the things that fans love."

You can watch the full one-on-one interview in the video player below.

Nowkhah said his biggest takeaway from Mizzou's 55-point thrashing of Central Arkansas was the play at quarterback. He said you feel awful for fourth-year returner Sam Horn and the injury that he sustained, but Beau Pribula's play was exactly what fans wanted to see.

"I didn't know he was as shifty and as quick on his feet. He he made some incredible throws. I think, if I'm a Missouri fan, my confidence and my level of optimism skyrocketed after watching that game," he said. "Brady [Cook]was underrated and athletically a very good runner. Beau's better. I think Beau's better. I think he's a better athlete, even than Brady. I want to see him throw more into smaller windows which I think we'll have to see because KU is going to put up a better fight defensively than what they got from from Central Arkansas, but if a play breaks down he can break your back just like Jalon Daniels can. I think this it's going to be hard to find a matchup nationally of two quarterbacks that that could potentially be as good as this one," Nowkhah said.

He added that he feels like all eyes were on Mizzou's offense in that opener against the Purple Bears, but those eyes will quickly switch to the defense in Saturday's game against the Jayhawks. The Tigers are set to contend with quarterback Jalon Daniels, who is playing in his sixth season of college football.

It will be a challenge for MU, there's no doubt. Nowkhah was very complimentary of Daniels' skillset, especially his ability to flip a broken play to a positive one. However, head coach Eli Drinkwitz brought on plenty of defensive depth in the offseason to help slow down the Jayhawks QB.

"I don't think Drink gets enough credit. I'll be honest, I don't think he gets enough credit. One for coaching and two for his offensive mind, but also three for roster management. Not only retention, certainly to a point which we saw with Luther Burden and so on, but, you know, his ability to attract players that fit what he wants to do. I don't think enough people realize that one Missouri has far more, NIL funds and donor funds than anybody realizes that they do...He's exploited that and Saint Louis and Kansas City. There's a lot of money that's coming into this program, a lot of interest in the program and convincing players from around the country to come be a part of something special, which it is. I think he's done an incredible job, since he got to Columbia. So I think he's under-appreciated on a national level," Nowkhah said.

As the nation's focus turns to Columbia, Missouri on Saturday, Nowkhah emphasized how important it is for Mizzou to perform on a big stage like this. He feels this team has every capability of being a nine or 10-win group, but it's moments like these that define that.

"It's interesting because week two is not full of the great matchups, right? You got Oklahoma, Michigan, but that's in prime time. Having Mizzou, Kansas that's kind of the attraction dayside," he said. "I think it's great I think it's opportunity show off the program. I'm glad it's at home. It's an opportunity to show off the crowd and the passion that they do have for that. It's a great opportunity to see a really good under-appreciated, on a national level, rivalry and if Missouri goes out and beats KU handily by three or four touchdowns, then all of a sudden think you're looking at a Top-20 ranking and people start seeing this program differently."

Mizzou will kickoff against Kansas for the first time since 2011 at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6 at Faurot Field.