Kansas Jayhawks vs Missouri Tigers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Saturday, 09/06/25

The “Border War” rivalry will be renewed in college football this year when the Kansas Jayhawks and the Missouri Tigers meet on the gridiron for the first time since the Tigers left the Big 12 for the SEC. This will be the first real test for either of these teams this season, as Kansas is 2-0 with wins over Fresno State and Wagner, while Missouri clobbered FCS Central Arkansas last week 61-6.

However, the Tigers did not make it out of that game unscathed. Quarterback Sam Horn was injured early in the game on a designed run, leaving Beau Pribula with the lionshare of the work under center after Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz intended for them to split time due to an ongoing quarterback battle. Additionally, the Tigers lost their starting kicker to an ACL injury and will seemingly proceed with a true freshman in the role for the rest of the year.

Kansas looked great against inferior opponents in both Week 0 and Week 1, but there are some underlying signs that the Jayhawks could struggle with a Missouri defense that returns over 70% of its production after finishing top 20 in scoring and total defense against a schedule much more difficult than Kansas’. Despite the blowout wins, Kansas only converted 6 of 20 third downs against Fresno State and Wagner, and penalties seemed to be an issue considering the Jayhawks were flagged 15 times in the 2 games combined. For reference, the national average was about 5.8 per game in FBS matchups last season. 

Playing on the road for the first time while simultaneously taking a massive step up in class in a renewed rivalry series is going to require a major adjustment period for the Jayhawks. While their offense has looked great thus far, they have not seen an opponent or environment quite like what they will face on Saturday in Columbia. Look for Missouri to have a distinct defensive advantage in this game, and for the Tigers to limit Kansas’s explosive plays enough to win and cover at home. 

Kansas vs Missouri prediction: Missouri Tigers -6.5 (-110) at the time of publishing. Playable to -7.

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