Two Positives, One Negative From Kansas’ Border War Defeat to No. 23 Missouri

Every Kansas football fan in the country badly wanted a victory over Missouri in the Border Showdown this week. The Jayhawks haven't won a rivalry game in a long time, and it certainly didn't feel good to see the yellow kitty cats parading on the field after defeating Kansas by three possessions.

But in reality, we have to be realistic as Jayhawk fans. This team has one winning season in the past 17 years. There's no reason to think Lance Leipold is going to turn this program into a powerhouse in the wins department.

What we can do, though, is look at the positives from the contest. No matter the final score, the Jayhawks hung in there in the first half and kept it a game against one of the better teams in the SEC.

Here are three takeaways I came away with from the contest, two being positive and one negative.

The Positives

1. The Front Four Held Its Own

The Jayhawks may not play an opponent of Missouri's caliber again all season, at least in the trenches. I came away thoroughly impressed by what the defensive line had to offer against MU.

Granted, Jamal Roberts broke off a few big runs and the Jayhawks were tired late, but at no point did I feel like KU's athletes were getting overpowered or outmuscled by Missouri's, regardless of what the numbers said. Last year, I thought there was a clear talent disparity between the two teams, despite a lot of luck going KU's way.

Fans closely monitoring the Jayhawks already knew this, but they have a gem in Leroy Harris III. The 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive end was one of the most impactful players of the night, coming away with several big tackles and getting a hand on Blake Craig's field goal attempt that was ultimately returned for a touchdown by Austin Alexander.

Nice job of closing on the scrambling QB from @KU_Football DE Leroy Harris Jr who almost comes away with a FF but instead forces a punt. pic.twitter.com/74mU7Z9wad
— Glenn Naughton (@JetsPicks) September 12, 2026

Other front-four pieces like David Santiago, Dak Brinkley, and Kevin Oatis also made nice plays throughout the night. Keep in mind, KU was doing this against a future NFL Draft pick in Cayden Green and several other strong offensive linemen. In my opinion, there's no one else on the schedule that will give KU's D-line as much of a challenge.

2. Kansas Responded With Resiliency

One of the more encouraging things I saw from the loss was KU's ability to respond to big moments throughout the game. Missouri had many opportunities to completely take control, but the Jayhawks continued to find ways to answer back and keep the crowd engaged.

The biggest example came on special teams, with Taiwo Onatolu's unit coming up with consecutive field goal blocks to open the game. This offset an otherwise terrible start for the offense. Had the Jayhawks taken advantage of those moments, we could be talking about the two blocks as the reasons why KU won.

The defense also came up with a few key stops when Missouri appeared poised to pull away. It deserves some props for keeping an SEC team scoreless for the first 20 minutes of the night.

Obviously, Kansas eventually ran out of answers in the second half and bit itself in the foot with turnovers, but it didn't sit down and fold when things started going awry. Against a talented opponent, there was at least some resiliency on display, and that's something they can build on moving forward.

The Negative

1. Quarterback Play Will Be a Consistent Issue

There's no positive way to frame the quarterback issues from Friday night. Isaiah Marshall was far too inconsistent in his first start against an FBS opponent.

He finished the game a meager 13-of-30 passing, throwing a pair of interceptions and fumbling three times (one lost). More concerning than anything, though, was his inaccuracy on a handful of routine throws.

Coach Leipold said after the game that Marshall was hit in the arm early in the contest, which contributed to his errant throws. However, it's hard to believe that played much of a factor given the two-game sample we've seen from Marshall and the fact that this was his first start against a real defense.

There were always going to be growing pains with the redshirt sophomore, but this is something KU fans aren't familiar with. Even when Jalon Daniels struggled over the past few years, we didn't worry about him dropping snaps or making 360-degree, falling-out-of-bounds throws on second down. He was a veteran who had a high football IQ, and there was always the thought in the back of your mind that he could turn his struggles around.

Ultimately, the same cannot be said about Marshall right now. Jayhawk fans will have to hold their breath every time he drops back to pass.

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