Missouri 38-21 Kansas (Sep 11, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: Missouri · Kansas

No. 23 Missouri2-038

Kansas1-121Final

Fri, Sep 11 · Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kan. · Crowd 32,000

No. 23 Missouri beat Kansas 38-21.

We had Missouri favored. It won.

Next: Missouri beat Troy 27-17, Sat Sep 19

Next: Kansas lost to Arizona State 24-17, Sat Sep 19

Top comment in the game thread

2 QBs injured on the same play is the most KU thing I’ve ever seen

Q3 3:46 · r/CFB game thread · Fri, Sep 11

How it swung

The turning point: Craig 27-yd field goal no good, blocked, Kansas goes ahead 7-0 (Q2, 7:16). Missouri went from 62% to 31% to win.

Before kickoff, our ratings gave Missouri a 60% chance, and the closing betting line (Missouri was a 4-point favorite) put it at 63%.

Missouri won by 17, after dipping to 29% in the second quarter.

Up to 71% in the second quarter, then Kansas lost it.

Blocked field goalQ1 6:01Blocked field goal TD

Kansas · Q2 7:1621 unanswered

Missouri · Q3 11:40

FinalMissouri 38-21 KansasMissouri wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The two plays that swung it

1Q2 7:16Craig 27-yd field goal no good, blocked, Kansas goes ahead 7-0Missouri 62% → 31% (−31)
2Q2 5:22Roberts 64-yd TD run, ties it 7-7Missouri 29% → 56% (+27)

The two plays that swung it

1Q2 7:16Craig 27-yd field goal no good, blocked, Kansas goes ahead 7-0Kansas 38% → 69% (+31)
2Q2 5:22Roberts 64-yd TD run, ties it 7-7Kansas 71% → 44% (−27)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q2 14:04Fans celebrate the chaotic, error-filled nature of the game as a sickos classicSickos paradiser/CFB game threadSickos assembler/CFB game thread
Q3 11:28Marshall throws interception to Woodyard Jr. as fans mock the playMarshall finally has decent footwork and he throws a pick. Maybe he should go back to happy feetr/CFB game thread
Q3 7:40Kansas QB Marshall throws a 360 no-scope pass that works despite fans calling it dumbUnironically his most impressive throw of the night. Also these refs are terrible.r/CFB game threadThat might be the coolest and dumbest throw I've ever seenr/CFB game thread
Q3 3:46Fans argue roughing call as Kansas Marshall and Ballard get hurt on same playThat hit actually fixed Marshallr/CFB game threadQuoted at the top of the page.

Missouri’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (Missouri -4), at 53% for Missouri (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Outlined diamonds mark rare plays. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a Kansas or Missouri flair (880 and 1,704); both sides share one scale, regulation only. A gold diamond marks a play fans were reacting to.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show Missouri’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

Missouri scored on 7 of its 14 drives; Kansas on 2 of its 13.

Missouri’s drives are teal, Kansas’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

From Kansas’s side

Kansas’s best moment: Craig 27-yd field goal no good, blocked, Kansas goes ahead 7-0 (Q2 7:16). It lifted Kansas’s win chance by 31 points.

How Kansas fans took it: “We need to play at least every other year” r/CFB game thread

“There is a God. And he hates Misery just as much as us!”

A Kansas fan

How fans reacted

Steady

Fans had the most to say in the second quarter.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was steady; the crowd was loud.

Two crowds, one game

The words each side’s fans used far more than the other side, from the game thread.

Missouri fans

simmons“The leadership, the passing abilities, the charisma he has being a Mizzou Tiger. Dare I say Austin Simmons is working towards becoming a true son??”

drink“So far this game is showing how bad of a coach Drink actually is. He can recruit but his actual game management skills are horrible”

Kansas fans

ballard“Marshall sucks. Good thing we injured Ballard as well. 4-8 here we coooome”

Both sets of fans kept coming back to: ball, don, throw, back.

What it cost

Missouri’s chance to make the playoff rose from 28% to 33%.

Make the playoff

Missouri · won28% → ▲33%

Kansas · lost2% → 2%

Before the game (September 11, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Box score

Missouri 38, Kansas 21

Missouri covered −4 by 13. The total, 59, went over 51.5.

Team totals	Missouri	Kansas
Total yards	469	255
Passing	19 of 30, 292 yds	14 of 31, 174 yds
Rushing	41 for 177 yds	36 for 81 yds
First downs	21	18
Third down	7 of 16	3 of 15
Fourth down	1 of 1	3 of 5
Turnovers	1	3
Penalties	10 for 76 yds	11 for 89 yds
Time of possession	31:21	28:39

Missouri leaders

Passing Austin Simmons 19 of 29, 292 yds, 3 TD
Rushing Jamal Roberts 28 for 125 yds, 1 TD; Xai'Shaun Edwards 10 for 45 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Donovan Olugbode 6 for 121 yds, 1 TD; Cayden Lee 6 for 120 yds, 1 TD

Kansas leaders

Passing Isaiah Marshall 13 of 30, 168 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Dylan Edwards 6 for 39 yds; Isaiah Marshall 20 for 23 yds
Receiving Nik McMillan 2 for 52 yds, 1 TD; Keaton Kubecka 3 for 38 yds

No rain and calm

79° at kickoff · no rain recorded · wind 4 mph from the east-southeast, gusts to 7

September game-day temperatures at Memorial Stadium

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

Second quarter, 7:16 left8:01 p.m.

Missouri 0, Kansas 7 · Kansas 69% to win

no rain · wind 5 mph from the southeast · 71°

Craig 27-yd field goal no good, blocked, Kansas goes ahead 7-0

Measured at Lawrence airport, 3.6 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

This is Border War — see the full head-to-head history →

Recent games

Last three games · 2025 season

Missouri · 8-5

Rated 38th in our preseason ratings, 42nd now.

1-2 in its last three, one over ranked or top-40 competition.

L 7-13 vs VirginiaTop 25 #32 of 667

lost by 6 as a 4-point favorite

W 31-17 @ Arkansas #37 of 667

won by 14 as a 4.5-point favorite

L 6-17 @ OklahomaTop 25 #15 of 667

lost by 11 as a 4.5-point underdog

W 49-27 vs Mississippi State #56 of 667

won by 22 as a 7.5-point favorite

L 17-38 vs Texas A&MTop 25 #8 of 667

lost by 21 as a 6.5-point underdog

L 10-17 @ VanderbiltTop 25 #26 of 667

lost by 7 as a 3.5-point underdog

W 23-17 @ AuburnTop 25 #20 of 667

won by 6 as a 1.5-point favorite

L 24-27 vs AlabamaTop 25 #5 of 667

lost by 3 as a 3.5-point underdog

W 42-6 vs Massachusetts #169 of 667

won by 36 as a 44.5-point favorite

W 29-20 vs South CarolinaTop 25 #21 of 667

won by 9 as a 10.5-point favorite

W 52-10 vs Louisiana #100 of 667

won by 42 as a 27.5-point favorite

W 42-31 vs Kansas #28 of 667

won by 11 as a 6.5-point favorite

W 61-6 vs Central Arkansas #148 of 667

won by 55 as a 39.5-point favorite

Last three games · 2025 season

Kansas · 5-7

Rated 87th in our preseason ratings, 85th now.

Three straight losses.

L 21-31 vs UtahTop 25 #14 of 667

lost by 10 as a 10.5-point underdog

L 14-38 @ Iowa StateTop 25 #42 of 667

lost by 24 as a 3.5-point underdog

L 20-24 @ ArizonaTop 25 #57 of 667

lost by 4 as a 6.5-point underdog

W 38-21 vs Oklahoma State #168 of 667

won by 17 as a 24.5-point favorite

L 17-42 vs Kansas StateTop 25 #32 of 667

lost by 25 as a 3.5-point favorite

L 17-42 @ Texas TechTop 25 #12 of 667

lost by 25 as a 13.5-point underdog

W 27-20 @ UCF #58 of 667

won by 7 as a 3.5-point favorite

L 34-37 vs CincinnatiTop 25 #39 of 667

lost by 3 as a 4.5-point favorite

W 41-10 vs West Virginia #62 of 667

won by 31 as a 13.5-point favorite

L 31-42 @ MissouriTop 25 #12 of 667

lost by 11 as a 6.5-point underdog

W 46-7 vs Wagner #242 of 667

won by 39 as a 45.5-point favorite

W 31-7 vs Fresno State #87 of 667

won by 24 as a 14.5-point favorite

Week by week

Kansas

Wk 1Wvs Long Island University51-6

Missouri

Wk 1Wvs Arkansas-Pine Bluff54-14

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: Kansas’s explosive plays against Missouri, 75 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

Kansas’s explosive plays against Missouri’s defense
Kansas offense, 95th percentile · Missouri defense, 20th
Missouri’s success rate against Kansas’s defense
Missouri offense, 28th percentile · Kansas defense, 84th
Missouri’s rushing EPA against Kansas’s defense
Missouri offense, 32nd percentile · Kansas defense, 87th

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

MissouriKansas

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

The series

Missouri leads the series 55-48-8

111 meetings since 1901 · Missouri has won the last 4

2025Missouri 42-31
2011 · neutral siteMissouri 24-10
2010 · neutral siteMissouri 35-7
2009 · neutral siteMissouri 41-39
2008 · neutral siteKansas 40-37

Each line is Kansas’s chance to win through that meeting. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

Kansas fans are in a better mood than Missouri fans (41st vs 8th among FBS fanbases), even with Missouri favored.

Missouri favored by 4 · Total 51.5

How games like this usually go

Missouri by 4, and it went to form

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 377 games since 2025 with a favorite of 3.5 to 7.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 3 points toward Kansas.

The total fell 1 point.

The books’ cut: 4.2%, the margin built into the odds

Home field

Kansas is worth +3.2 points (±4.6) more at home than on the road since 2018 — bottom third of FBS, 32nd percentile.

38% at home, 22% on the road against FBS opponents (15-25 home, 10-36 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -1.0 at home vs. away over 92 games — inside the ±6.8 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 157 miles to get here.

Last meeting in our History pages

Missouri 42, Kansas 31Sep 6, 2025

No. 23 Missouri beats Kansas 38-21