One mark of a great leader is refusing to cast blame after a loss. 

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels took defeat on the chin after falling 42-35 to rival Missouri. Despite throwing for 223 yards and two touchdowns, Daniels said the border war loss rests on his shoulders as the man under center.

"At the end of the day, the only statistic I believe in is the win and loss category," Daniels said. "So today we came up short and as a quarterback, that's always going to hurt me deeply because at the end of the day, I feel like I didn't put our team in in enough good situations to be able to come out with the win today. So, that's on me."

The Jayhawks put an emphasis on finishing out close games during the offseason. So, with the team not being able to get it done in their first chance to show growth definitely will leave a sour taste.  

Daniels is focused on turning the page to the next game against conference opponent West Virginia in hopes of getting the ball rolling.

 "Adversity always is going to strike at some point and a lot of things you do in life, no matter how hard you work, sometimes you end up short," he continued.

"But it's not all about what happens. At the end of the day, we believe in E plus R equals O, which is the event plus response equals outcome. We can't control the event. We can't control the outcome, but what we can control is our response."

Three Takeaways From Kansas' Border War Loss To Missouri

Kansas has fallen to Missouri in what some would call an upset.

The Tigers defeated the Jayhawks 42-31, earning bragging rights in the border war rivalry. It was a back-and-forth contest, but Missouri made precise plays in the final quarter and came up with key stops.

Let's take a look three takeaways from the Jayhawks first loss of the season.

Although the Jayhawks at one point led 21-6, an unsettling second quarter let the Tigers get back into the game. In the second period, Kansas ran just four plays for minus 18-yards along with a safety. 

Kansas became the first FBS team in a decade to get outgained by 200-plus yards and not trail at the break.  

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels threw for 223 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while Missouri’s Beau Pribula posted 334 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks. In a game where the Jayhawks needed their sixth-year senior to play Superman, Daniels couldn’t quite deliver the plays to get them over the hump.

It’s important to note that Daniels tried to give Kansas a late lead, but a dropped pass from Emanuel Henderson Jr. spoiled their chances.

Missouri running backs Jamal Roberts and Ahmad Hardy each rushed for more than 100 yards, as Kansas offered little resistance to the ground game and routinely gave up big gains.

Kansas’ running backs combined for just 11 yards. Without any support on the ground, the Jayhawks’ offense became one-dimensional in the border war, sealing their downfall.