SETTING THE SCENE: ACROSS ENEMY LINES
The 23rd-ranked Mizzou football team (1-0, 0-0 SEC) is set go on the road for the first time this season, making its way across enemy lines to Lawrence, Kansas, for the StorageMart Border Showdown. The matchup will be nationally televised on FOX and mark the 122nd edition of the Border War versus the rival Kansas Jayhawks (1-0, 0-0 Big 12). After not playing on the gridiron since 2011, the Border War was renewed last season when the Tigers took down the Jayhawks, 42-31.
BORDER WAR: SERIES HISTORY
The StorageMart Border Showdown will be back on KU's campus for the first time since 2005, as Saturday's meeting will mark the 122nd bout between the two programs on the gridiron. The game will mark the 49th edition of the rivalry in Lawrence with the first matchup being played in 1912. Prior to reigniting the rivalry last season, the rivalry had been played 120 times over 122 years, in what was the second-longest running rivalry in all of college football at the time, trailing only the Wisconsin vs. Minnesota series. The two teams had met consecutively for 92 seasons beginning in 1919. Overall, Mizzou holds a 58-54-9 advantage in the series.
HISTORY OF THE WAR DRUM
Starting in 1935, the winner of the game was awarded the “Indian War Drum.” 1935 was Don Faurot’s first year as Missouri’s football coach, and some MU alumni in Kansas City wanted to add some juice to the series. So, they got together with some KU alumni in the area, and they purchased an Indian drum from a Kansas City pawn shop that became the trophy. KC-area alums from both schools signed the drumheads. Ironically, no one claimed the drum in 1935, since the game ended in a 0-0 tie. During World War II, the tradition was forgotten but was revived again in 1947. By the mid ‘80s the drum had fallen into disrepair, and assistant AD Joe Castiglione procured a new drum, made by the Taos Indians of New Mexico, which was painted with a Missouri logo on one head and the Jayhawk logo on the other. The original drum is now in the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. In the early 2000s, Kansas desired to exchange the drum for a traditional marching band bass drum. Drum number-two is in the possession of Mizzou football.
THE COACHES
Already No. 4 on Mizzou's all-time wins list, Eli Drinkwitz is in his seventh season as Mizzou’s head coach and enters the week with a 47-29 mark (59-30 overall). The Alma, Arkansas, native has led the Tigers to bowl eligibility in each of his first six seasons in Columbia, making him the only MU head coach in program history to achieve that feat. Prior to taking the Mizzou job, Drinkwitz was 12-1 in his lone season as head coach at Appalachian State (2019). Drinkwitz boasts the best home winning percentage (min. four seasons) in program history at .791 and is 34-9 on Faurot Field during his tenure. Since the start of 2023, Drinkwitz and the Tigers have gone 30-10 (.750) - 12th-best nationally over that stretch.
Kansas head coach Lance Leipold is beginning his sixth season with the Jayhawks, posting a 28-35 record overall in Lawrence. Leipold arrived at Kansas after a successful six-year stay at Buffalo, where in his final three seasons, he posted three straight winning seasons for the first time in 20 years. He won 24 games over the final three seasons, which included a seven-game shortenedseason schedule in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the most successful three-year run in Buffalo history. A proven winner with a strong track record for player development, Leipold served as the head coach at Wisconsin-Whitewater for eight seasons from 2007 to 2014, capturing six NCAA Division III national championships and tallying a record of 109-6.
FIRST AND TEN: STORYLINES
The Tigers are 30-10 since the start of 2023 (.750) - tied for 12th-best nationally over that stretch.
Mizzou entered the season ranked 25th in each of the major polls (AP, Coaches) to mark the second time in the past three seasons appearing in both preseason top 25 polls.
The Tigers face one of the nation's toughest schedules for the 2026 season, featuring five opponents ranked inside the preseason AP Top 10: No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 Texas, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 10 Oklahoma.
MU is 15-1 over its last 16 night games, dating back to the 2023 season opener over South Dakota (8/31/23). The Tigers own an active 14-game winning streak in regular season night games dating back to the 2023 season opener vs. South Dakota.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz moved past Warren Powers (1978-84) and took over fourth place on Mizzou's all-time wins list with the 47th victory of his MU career in the season opener vs. UAPB.
The Tigers are 21-5 overall under head coach Eli Drinkwitz in non-con action, and 19-2 in regular-season non-con action.
Mizzou is aiming for its fifth-straight win in the Border War series. A win would mark seven wins out of the last eight matchups dating back to 2006.
TIGERS DOMINANT IN NON-CONFERENCE
With its 54-14 win over UAPB, Mizzou extended its regular-season non-conference win streak to 15 games, dating back to Sept. 17, 2022.
Mizzou has owned its home turf in recent years against non-conference competition, winning each of its last 24 non-SEC games on Faurot Field dating back to an October 21, 2017, victory over Idaho.
Under head coach Eli Drinkwitz, the Tigers are 21-5 overall in non-conference action - including wins over No. 7 Ohio State (2023 Cotton Bowl) and Iowa (2024 Music City Bowl).
In regular-season non-conference action, Missouri is 19-2 under Drinkwitz.
MOVING ON UP!
With Mizzou’s season-opening victory, Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz moved into sole possession of fourth place on the program’s all-time wins chart.
Drinkwitz earned his 47th victory at the helm of the Tigers, breaking a tie with Warren Powers, who recorded 46 wins from 1978-84.
OPENING STATEMENT
Mizzou opened its 2026 campaign with a 54-14 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, extending its winning streak in season openers to six games.
The Tigers have now scored at least 50 points in three consecutive season openers and improved to 88-43-5 all-time in season-opening contests.
Mizzou improved to 6-1 in season openers under Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz, while the Tigers have won 11 consecutive openers when nationally ranked.
FIRST-HALF FURY
The Tigers wasted little time taking control against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, scoring 40 first-half points in their season-opening victory.
The 40 points marked Mizzou’s most in a first half since scoring 42 against Troy in 2019 and its most in the opening half of a season opener since recording 48 against Missouri State in 2017.
Mizzou outgained the Golden Lions by a 376-6 margin over the opening 30 minutes, averaging 8.2 yards per play while limiting UAPB to just 0.2 yards per snap.
SIMMONS DEBUT
Southpaw transfer QB Austin Simmons shined in his Tiger debut vs. UAPB on Sept. 3.
Simmons delivered a record-setting performance in his Mizzou debut, completing 17-of-19 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns in the Tigers’ 54-14 victory.
Simmons’ 89.5 completion percentage marked the highest by a quarterback in his Mizzou debut, surpassing Beau Pribula’s 82.1-percent effort against Central Arkansas in 2025.
His 270.4 passer rating was also the highest by a Tiger quarterback in his debut, while his four touchdown passes rank second only to Chase Daniel’s five against Murray State in 2006.
The Ole Miss transfer is the seventh different signal-caller to start during the Drinkwitz era, and the third transfer QB.
CAREER [OLUGBO]DE
Sophomore WR Donovan Olugbode established career highs with seven receptions, 107 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the season opener.
Olugbode accumulated all seven receptions in the opening half, including a career-long 35-yard touchdown catch during the second quarter.
His performance marked the 200th individual 100-yard receiving game in Mizzou history.
SIMMONS + LEE CONNECTION
QB Austin Simmons and WR Cayden Lee bring their duo from Ole Miss to Mizzou.
Lee, a two-year starter for the Rebels, played in 38 games and racked up 1,623 yards. He started all 15 games a season ago and 12 of 13 games in 2024 when he hauled in a career-high 57 passes for 874 yards.
Simmons opened the season as Ole Miss' starter at QB and connected with Lee three times for 21 yards in the opening two games of the 2025 campaign. The graduate student threw for 100 yards in relief against The Citadel and went 4-5 with 64 yards in a CFP First Round matchup against Tulane.
In the duo's first game donning the Black & Gold, the pair gave Tiger fans a glimpse of what is to come, linking up five times for 89 yards - highlighted by a 47-yard catch and run for a touchdown by Lee for his first as a Tiger.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Three different Tigers caught touchdown passes from Austin Simmons in his Mizzou debut.
Shaun Terry II opened the scoring with the first touchdown reception of his career, while Cayden Lee found the end zone for the first time as a Tiger on a 47-yard catch-and-run.
Sophomore Donovan Olugbode added a pair of touchdown receptions as part of his first career 100-yard receiving performance, ending the day with a career-high seven receptions, 107 yards and two scores.