Missouri vs. Kansas, a ‘special’ rivalry from the Big 12 and Big 8 days, will return this college football season.
Nussmeier, Williams and more stars in 2025 USA TODAY Network’s preseason All-SEC team
The 2025 USA TODAY Network’s 2025 preseason ALL-SEC football team is out! Find out who our reporters have selected for QB, RB and more.
Give ‘em truth serum, and more than a few Missouri fans would say they wish the old Big 12 — the one that included Nebraska and Oklahoma — remained intact and that the Tigers were still a member. Find fans of a certain age, and they’ll sing ballads of the Big Eight, which didn’t include any Texas schools.
Give ’em truth serum, and those Tigers faithful will say they still detest Kansas more than any SEC foe.
Don’t confuse that with me saying Missouri made a mistake by joining the SEC. It didn’t. That move ensured the Tigers would emerge on the right side of conference realignment, and they’ve enjoyed some fruits of the SEC’s riches. There have been on-field highlights, too, including two SEC Championship Game appearances during the Gary Pinkel era, and 21 victories the past two seasons under Eliah Drinkwitz.
Missouri, in most years, holds its own in the SEC.
But let’s not kid ourselves. The Tigers left behind all of their best rivalries when they departed the Big 12. No rivalry was bigger than the Border War against Kansas.
That rivalry, dormant since the last meeting in 2011, will renew as a non-conference clash on Sept. 6 in Columbia.
[ This column first published in our SEC Unfiltered newsletter, emailed free to your inbox daily. Want more commentary like this? Sign up here for our newsletter on SEC sports. It’s free. ]
When Lance Leipold became Kansas’ coach before the 2021 season, he didn’t fully grasp the significance of a bitter rivalry that derived its…
Source link : https://www.knoxnews.com/story/sports/college/2025/07/17/missouri-kansas-college-football-rivalry-border-war/85252048007/
Author :
Publish date : 2025-07-17 10:05:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
