Border War returns with emotion and good football as Missouri rallies to beat Kansas

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Kevin Coleman Jr. is on his fourth school in four years, yet it's the one that brought him closest to home. The wide receiver grew up in St. Louis, a couple hours east of the Missouri campus, and was well-versed in the Tigers' longtime rivalry with Kansas.

To beat the Jayhawks in the renewal of the Border War?

“It meant everything to win this game,” Coleman said.

Beau Pribula threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns, Jamal Roberts ran for 143 yards and the clinching score, while Coleman had a big game himself to help the Tigers rally for a 42-31 victory over the Jayhawks on Saturday.

The bitter series, which began in 1891 and remains among the most-played in Division I football, had been on hiatus since 2011, when Missouri bolted from the Big 12 for the SEC. Officials at Kansas vowed at the time they would never play again, since the move in part put its conference on shaky footing. It wasn't until recently that the schools began playing in other sports.

Yet the 121st meeting of the schools on the gridiron did not take place until Saturday.

And it lived up to the expectations.

Kansas raced to a 21-6 lead. Missouri (2-0) countered with a big second quarter to forge a 21-all tie by halftime. The lead swung back and forth over the final 30 minutes, with the Jayhawks pulling ahead 31-28 with 8:45 left and the Tigers rattling off two scores in the closing minutes to win the “war drum” that is awarded to the victors.

“Growing up a Mizzou kid, you always heard about this game and how big it is,” said Missouri tight end Brett Norfleet, who also grew up in the St. Louis area, and whose second touchdown reception gave his team the lead for good.

“There's a certain level of passion to it,” Norfleet said. “It's playing for the guy to the left and right of you, and it's also playing for the past teams that have played KU, and not letting them down.”

Want proof of the animosity harbored by the fanbases? At one point, Missouri officials brought a fan wearing a white T-shirt down to the field to try a 45-yard field goal for $25,000. He turned and kicked the ball at the Kansas bench instead, then lifted up his shirt to reveal a — well, a pointed message about KU painted in black letters on his chest.

He was subsequently ushered right back into the crowd, where yellow-clad Missouri fans gave him a standing ovation.

“When we rolled up to the game today, I saw so many Mizzou fans, more than I've ever seen,” Norfleet said. “At the end of the day, we're trying to block out the noise, right? But I mean, I think it's good. I think it's good for both schools to play each year.”

Even those without a long-standing stake in the rivalry knew the importance of it. That included Pribula, the Penn State transfer, who grew up in Pennsylvania — about as far as you can get away from the Midwest. He showed the kind of moxie and desire that has become such a big part of the rivalry, and was so important for the Tigers down the stretch on Saturday.

Twice, the QB exuded poise and confidence in converting fourth downs as Missouri was trying to rally for the go-ahead score.

“It's not just me. We have a lot of really good leaders on this team,” Pribula said, "and I thought that showed up big-time for us."

The Jayhawks (2-1) showed plenty of fight, too. They bounced right back when Missouri scored early in the game, and they did the same after halftime, when momentum was firmly on the other side and the game was getting away form them.

“There's a lot around it,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said, “but at the same time, we're two teams playing. We wanted a good, clean football game that was highly competitive. ... And we got it. I thought it was intense, obviously. A lot of enthusiasm and emotions on both sides. I thought it was a great atmosphere here. Just disappoitned where it ended up.”

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