One of college football’s oldest rivalries will be renewed in Week 2, as Kansas and Missouri meet once again.
In their first matchup since 2011 and first meeting on Missouri's campus since 2006, the teams will battle for bragging rights. The feud initially began over the battle of the Kansas-Missouri border during the Civil War. Pro-slavery Missourians clashed with anti-slavery Kansans over Kansas's status as a free or slave state.
“We gave them a little background history today,” said Kansas coach Lance Leipold Monday, “of where it all the way back to the border, and what the border stood for, and the past history and free states and slave states, and kind of went through the whole history of where these two states have been competitive and not always agreed.”
“And then went through when the first game was played and all the things that have gone on from there and where the series is at. Touched on it hasn’t been played in a while. And so, I think they’ve got a good understanding of some of that. I think there’s more there. Even from coaches and staff, it was educational through this process. But the bottom line is we’ve got to go play football.”
Jayhawk fans have made sure Leipold, who took over in 2021, understands how much this game means to the community. At church over the weekend, a fan even approached him and his wife with a simple message: ‘Kick their butt' substituting butt for another word.
"You can tell people are excited, and it's good," said Leipold, who took over at Kansas in 2021. "I think that's what makes college football what it is. We believe in doing things the right way. Compete hard on the field, have it settled there, not in a parking lot or in the stands or all those different things that may happen at times. We want to make sure that we're at our best when our best is needed."
After starting 2-0 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium with wins over Fresno St and Wagner, the Jayhawks face their first road test in a hostile environment. Kansas has been simulating crowd noise in practice to prepare for the difficulty of hearing signal calls. The renewal of the Border War promises to be an intense matchup, and the spotlight will reveal whether either team struggles with the moment.