The Border War, the heated rivalry between Missouri and Kansas, was dormant for 14 years and resurrected last season. The hatred is very much alive, don’t take my word for it, though, take it from social media. Kansas is winning the Social War. The question is can they win the Border War. Here’s everything you need to know about the hatred between the two sides. It’s more than just a football game.
It is that deep. pic.twitter.com/4BEcdbLv7S
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 10, 2026
That’s a common phrase among rivalries, but Kansas and Missouri truly hate each other and it encapsulates why the pageantry of college football is one-of-a-kind. Here’s all the history behind the two sides and why Friday’s game is just a piece of the animosity between two schools, separated by nearly three hours.
Kansas vs. Missouri series history
- Series record: Missouri leads 59-54-9
- Last win: Kansas (2008), Missouri (2025)
- Longest win streak: Kansas (4), Missouri (4)
This is a lot closer of a rivalry than you’d think, considering Missouri has had a lot more success over the last decade or so and certainly since leapfrogging to the SEC. Missouri is on a four-game winning streak in the series, winning the first game in over a decade last year, 42-31. Kansas’ last win was back in 2008, 40-37.
When the series resumed last year, it was the first time the game relocated to the campuses since 2006. The series spent five-straight seasons at a neutral site in Kansas City. Friday’s game is the first in Lawrence since 2005. With a win on Friday night, Missouri would tie the longest winning streak in the series for either team (five games).
Both teams have been shutout in the series before. Kansas has the last two shutouts in the series in 1999 and 1993. Missouri’s last shutout win was in 1986, which is also the largest margin of victory in the series (48-0).
Memorable moments in the Kansas-Missouri rivalry
The controversy of 1960
In the 1960 iteration of the game, controversy struck. Kansas and Missouri don’t currently agree on the official record of the series. That’s because in the 1960 game, Kansas’ Bert Coan was deemed ineligible. Though Kansas had to forfeit that game, it technically wasn’t counted as a loss, which is why there’s a discrepancy in how Missouri and Kansas view the overall record of the series.
Missouri extends win streak in rivalry renewed
Kansas made it very interesting, jumping out to a 21-6 first quarter lead and then taking a 31-28 lead late in the first game since 2011 last season. Unfortunately, that was all the Jayhawks had when they ultimately fell 42-31. The win gave Missouri its fourth-straight win in the series, tied for the longest of either team.
The 2008 comeback and Kansas’ last win
Kansas started hot, getting out a 26-10 lead over Missouri. The game was far from over after the Tigers clawed back to take a 29-26 lead in the fourth quarter, led by former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel. In the end it was Todd Reising coming out on top for Kansas in the 40-37 shootout that saw 28 total fourth quarter points. Reising had nearly 400 passing yards with 51 passing attempts. It’s been nearly 20 years since Kansas’ last win.
Why is the Kansas-Missouri rivalry called the Border War?
As much as this rivalry means on the field, it started off the field. The game was first played in 1891, but the bitterness of this rivalry had been brewing since the Civil War years. It started with the Bleeding Kansas conflict back in 1950. The Kansas-Nebraska Act created Kansas and Nebraska as part of western expansion and was created to allow white people in these new territories to vote on pro and anti-slavery via popular sovereignty.
This became a problem for Missouri and pro-slavery “border ruffians” came into the newly establish Kansas territory, committing voter fraud and intimidating voters, thus leading to Bleeding Kansas, a brutal conflict centered around violence, control and power. Though the battles on the field aren’t nearly as ruthless, it became the catalyst for the rivalry in football.
It’s a different type of border war when the two teams play and now that the rivalry is revived, it makes for a clash between teams with a lot of history. This game means a lot on the field. It started with conflicts off the field. The Border War between Kansas and Missouri is everything you want in a college football rivalry.
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