Missouri, Kansas: a series defined by a few iconic clashes returns on Saturday

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

When Mizzou made the move from the Big 12 to Southeastern Conference about 14 years ago, it came with a lot of great changes for the University. But, you couldn't help but feel like something was missing.

With a new slate of opponents from their new conference loaded up, the Tigers had one, notable team missing from their schedule: Kansas. A rivalry that had stood the test of time disappeared from the slate.

However, in 2025, the Border War is set to make its highly anticipated return.

"We need KU, Missouri," SEC Network host Dari Nowkhah said. "If Bedlam doesn't come back, I think that we're losing something. If OU, Nebraska doesn't come back on a regular basis, I feel like we're losing something...These are the things that fans love."

Mizzou and Kansas are set to kick off in a football game for the first time since 2011, on Saturday. It will also mark the first time time that the Jayhawks have set foot in Columbia, Missouri, since 2006.

In anticipation of this game, Tiger football coach Eli Drinkwitz decided to educate his players during the offseason. He brought in former coaches and even historians to talk to his team about where this rivalry stemmed from and what it means to each state.

The 'hatred,' as fans like to call it, runs deep.

"The first game was played in 1891. Some of the fans in attendance would've experienced, first-hand, the Border War," MU history professor and Kinder Institute Director Jay Sexton said. ""[Back then], homecoming was only every other year because homecoming was another way of saying the Border War, grudge match." 

Over the years, it's been a series defined by iconic matchups and unforgettable moments.

"It's about two schools that don't like each other, that want to win, that want to be successful," former Mizzou football coach and College Football Hall of Famer Gary Pinkel said.

However, almost no game has been more iconic than the one that transpired in 2007: Armageddon at Arrowhead Stadium.

It was a clash between the Associated Press' No. 2 and No. 3 team for the regular-season finale. To put it simply: a showdown that held national importance.

"I mean, the parking lot was just unbelievably packed and it was grills going everywhere, so the haze of the moment, type deal," former Mizzou defensive tackle Lorenzo Williams said. "Phil Collins 'In the Air Tonight' was playing, so it's kinda one of them deals like everybody's starting to get locked in." 

Mizzou got out to a fast start out at Arrowhead Stadium, piecing together a 21-point lead into the third quarter.

"Probably the best sporting atmosphere that I've ever been apart of," former Mizzou tight end Chase Coffman said. "The stakes were bigger, but at the same time I mean that's a circled game that's always a must-win." 

However, as is the nature of the Missouri, Kansas rivalry, the Jayhawks were not going to go down without a fight. Quarterback Todd Reesing and his team scratched back into the game, scoring their first touchdown of the outing in the third quarter. But, the fourth quarter is where things really began to unravel a bit for MU.

Kansas scored 21 points, as the game came down to one more opportunity for Reesing and his offense with about 12 seconds to go.

"It was a huge play in that game," Pinkel said.

Williams put himself into the history books that night, with a play that has become iconic for Mizzou football fans. Near the end of the game, the defensive tackle took down Reesing in the end zone for a safety, putting an end to the threat and icing the ball game.

""I coach football right now. I'm the head football coach at Lawton High School...They always ask, 'Coach, why has this kid got turf in his helmet, is that you, did you do that?' I'm like yeah, that was me," Williams said. "You work your whole life for a five second situation that could last a lifetime." 

Over the years, the tension between Missouri and Kansas has stuck around, even in the face of losing the once-annual rivalry.

"It's really what college football should be all about," Pinkel said.

However, in 2020, both programs announced that they would be renewing the series from 2025-2032. Mizzou would host on the odd years, while Kansas gets the even seasons.

"People remember this game specifically," Coffman said.

ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones asked each former player and coach she talked to to describe the rivalry in one word.

"Dynamic," Pinkel said. "If you had told me that five years before we played them [in 2007] and got in that position, I'd sit there and say, 'What are you talking about? Where does that come from?' But yes, dynamic. It will be really incredible to watch."

"Intense. It's intense," Williams said. "You can't really describe it, but you know the feeling of if you've ever been in a situation where you just can't mess it up...I can be driving down the side of road and accidentally swerve into a lane and keep going on, but you can't go out there and have a mental error or a bad play against KU."

"All out," Coffman said. "It's just intense. There's no holding back. It brings out, sometimes, the worst in people."

Mizzou and Kansas will return to action for the first time in about 14 years on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

You can watch ABC 17 Sports Director Nathalie Jones' full story on ABC 17 News at 10 p.m.