Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz expressed strong disapproval of a hype video released by the University of Kansas prior to their football game, stating it was "uncalled for" and referenced the Civil War in a manner he found inappropriate, especially on September 11.
Kansas's video, narrated by former player Gilbert Brown, titled "Heroes and Villains," drew parallels between the historical conflict and the rivalry. It featured headlines from the "Bleeding Kansas" era, a period of violent conflict over whether the state would permit slavery. Missouri was a pro-slavery state during that time.
"I was disappointed in the rivalry, the turn that it took today. I thought that was uncalled for," Drinkwitz said after Missouri's 38-21 win. "This is about two teams playing football, and especially on 9/11 when we need more unity now than ever before. To be putting some things on your screen celebrating — everybody has complicated pasts, ya know? And to make that an icon was bizarre to me."
Drinkwitz stated that he felt "embarrassed" for Kansas and that his team's victory settled the "right versus wrong bullcrap that was started." He emphasized that the rivalry should be about football, not a rehashing of historical animosities.
The "Border War" rivalry between Kansas and Missouri, which had a 14-year hiatus before resuming in 2023, is one of college football's more intense matchups. The game on Friday marked the first time the teams had played in Lawrence, Kansas, in 21 years.
To make his point, Drinkwitz opted not to have his team kneel to run out the clock when leading by 17 points with 34 seconds remaining. Instead, Missouri ran two plays, including a pass into the end zone, which Drinkwitz later clarified was not intended to score but to send a message.
"I didn’t want to score too bad or I would have called timeouts and tried, but I just wanted — we didn’t think we were gonna throw that in the end zone but I just wanted to let them know like, ‘Dude, what are ya’ll doing?’" Drinkwitz said. "This is a football game. It shouldn’t be bigger than that."
Drinkwitz also suggested that Missouri might reconsider continuing the series after their current contract ends, depending on how Kansas approaches the rivalry. "I don’t care if it continues or not. If they’re going to be weird about it, then what’s the point?" he stated. "If they want to have a football game and play a football game and have a great rivalry on the border then awesome, let’s do it. If they want to make it deeper than that, we left Kansas bleeding again, call it good."