‘It goes so deep’: Young and old, Mizzou fans lean into storied rivalry with KU
Mizzou and Kansas have enjoyed some recent battles on the basketball court, but for the first time since 2011, they took their historic rivalry to the football field.
The Tigers and Jayhawks matched up at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia on Saturday, Sept. 6, marking their first matchup in football since 2011, when Mizzou left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.
Mizzou students and fans treated Saturday’s game as a landmark event, selling out the stadium and tailgating hours before the gates opened.
Speakers blared “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’Roses and “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, prompting Mizzou fans during the post-chorus to chant an explicit saying to the border state rival. MU students and alumni shared beers and brats with each other in anticipation of the game many had circled on their calendars.
For most students currently attending the University of Missouri, this is their first exposure to the football side of the rivalry, having been too young to remember the last time these two teams matched up on the gridiron. They would’ve learned about the deep hatred these teams have for each other through word of mouth, but it’s their first time experiencing it themselves.
Fans were treated to a game with blocked extra points, safeties, lead changes and all sorts of highs and lows. Kansas led 21-6 at the end of the first quarter, but Mizzou found its groove with the help of a crowd that was never out of it. In the end, Mizzou defended its home territory and defeated Kansas 42-31.
How do fans feel about the return of the Border War to college football? Here’s what the sellout crowd said in Columbia.
Senior sendoff
Mizzou hosts quite a few seniors and graduate transfers on its team who are getting the chance to play Kansas for the first time ever, like cornerback Toriano Pride Jr., wide receiver Jayden Bolton and quarterback Beau Pribula. The senior students in the crowd are also relishing the chance to watch this rivalry unfold before they claim their diploma at the end of the fall or spring semesters this school calendar.
Liberty native and Mizzou senior Kayley Lenger claimed a front row spot in one of the student section seating areas, which sits behind the visiting team’s bench. She, like the rest of the crowd, sang along when the stadium DJ played “Mr. Brightside” before kickoff, before the fourth quarter and with four minutes left in the game, ignoring the video prompt that encouraged fans to chant “Beat kU.”
With next year’s game between the two teams set to be played inside the renovated David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lenger is excited to be a part of it while she’s still in Columbia.
“It’s blood, right?” Lenger said. “Everyone knows what this is about and it goes so deep. We’re excited to see the boys perform and have a good day.”
Renewing the Mizzou-KU rivalry
Mizzou attracts out-of-state students to its university, which means unless they know someone who also went there, the odds of them arriving with knowledge of the rivalry’s history are low.
For Wisconsin native and sophomore Samantha Longua and her friend, Illinois native Elise Noble, they came into Mizzou knowing nothing about the history, which dates back to at least the 1850s, when there was an actual border war before the Civil War over slavery. Missouri was a slave state, and Kansas was set to cast a vote on whether it would enter the Union as a free or slave state, leading to some bloody battles between the two states.
The rivalry has long shifted to athletics, and Long and Noble are proud to be a part of it in its current state.
“I have learned that obviously it’s a huge rivalry and there’s a lot of history that goes to it,” Longua said. “I’m so honored to be here for the first time.”
“It really means a lot, and I really hope we get the win today,” Noble said.
The game means a lot to every player, but it meant a little more to junior tight end Brett Nortfleet, who scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Tigers with 4:14 left in the game. He’s from O’Fallon, 90 minutes east of Columbia and grew up a fan of the Tigers.
The 21-year-old grew up knowing how big the rivalry with the Jayhawks was, and was very excited to contribute to the victory. He’d like to see the rivalry continue with them playing every year.
“It’s playing for the guys to the left and right of you, but it’s also playing for past teams that have played KU,” Nortfleet said. “It’s playing for those guys to not let them down.”
Advice from a veteran Tiger
Not everyone inside Faurot Field was experiencing the Border War for the first time.
Jefferson City native Brad Wilson now lives in Dallas, but said he was taught to hate KU straight out of the womb. This game means a lot to him, and he’s glad that a new generation of Tigers and Jayhawks get to play a part in the next chapter of the rivalry.
“I still think it’s the best rivalry in America that no one knows about,” Wilson said.
The Border War gives him good memories of his family and his childhood. It also makes him think about what’s great about college football, which he said is the long, enduring rivalries between teams.
What he hopes newcomers take away from Saturday’s game as the rivalry looks ahead to a Dec. 7 basketball game in Kansas City and another football match on Sept. 12, 2026? To hop on the bus and enjoy the rivalry.
“I think it’s good for sports and it’s good for camaraderie,” Wilson said. “I hope they study some history, understand the Civil War, and bond and come together around a rivalry that has endured for centuries.”
This story was originally published September 6, 2025 at 8:45 PM.
