COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri football welcomes longtime rival Kansas State back to Columbia for the first time since 2010 on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 at 11 a.m. CT. The Tigers and No. 15 Wildcats face off inside a sold out Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field in a game televised on SEC Network and aired on the Tiger Radio Network.

It’s the first sellout at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium since a 38-27 win over Ole Miss on Oct. 12, 2019, and the first nonconference sellout since Sept. 15, 2012, a 24-20 win over Arizona State.

Mizzou is 2-0 after wins over South Dakota and Middle Tennessee at home. Kansas State is 2-0, picking up victories over SEMO and Troy. The TIgers are closing out a three-game home swing and the Wildcats are on the road for the first time in 2023.

GOLD RUSH
Fans are encouraged to wear gold for Saturday’s game. 

MISSOURI TIGERS
Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz
Record at Mizzou 19-19 (Fourth Year)
Overall Record 31-20 (Fifth Year)

KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
Head Coach Chris Klieman 
Record at School 32-20  (Fifth Year)
Overall Record 104-33 (11th Year)

GAME INFORMATION
Facility Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field
Capacity 62,621
TV SEC Network / ESPN+
Radio 1580 AM / 105.1 FM / SiriusXM 133 or 190
Online The Varsity Network: “Search Mizzou”
Series Record MU leads 60-33-5
In Columbia MU leads 30-17-3
Last Meeting Sept. 10, 2022 (Away), KSU W, 40-12

ON THE AIR
TV: SEC Network
• Play-by-Play: Taylor Zarzour
• Analyst: Matt Stinchcomb
• Reporter: Alyssa Lang
• Online: WatchESPN.com
• Mobile App: ESPN

RADIO: TIGER RADIO NETWORK
• Play-by-Play: Mike Kelly
• Analyst: Howard Richards
• Sideline Reporter: Chris Gervino
• Host: Matt Michaels
• Engineer: Jeremy Washington
• Local: 1580 AM / 105.1 FM
• Satellite: SiriusXM 133 or 190 and on the SXM App
• App: Mizzou Tigers / The Varsity Network: “Search Mizzou”

THE SERIES

• Saturday’s game marks the 99th all-time meeting in the series between Missouri and Kansas State. The series dates back to 1909, with the Tigers holding a 60-33-5 edge over the Wildcats, including a 30-17-3 advantage in Columbia.

THE COACHES

• ELIAH DRINKWITZ is in his fourth season as Mizzou’s head coach. He had led the Tigers to bowl appearances in each of his first three seasons, joining former head coach Warren Powers as the only two MU head coaches to achieve that feat. Additionally, only Powers won more games in his first two seasons at MU (1978-79, 15) than Drinkwitz (11). Prior to taking the Mizzou job, Drinkwitz was 12-1 as the head coach at Appalachian State in 2019. He had previous stops as the OC at NC State, Boise State and Arkansas State.

• Chris Klieman is 32-20 in five seasons at K-State and 104-33 in 11 years as a collegiate head coach.

STREAKS, STORYLINES, SIDEBARS … 

• Mizzou is playing its 133rd season of college football.
• USA Today named Truman’s Taxi – a 1950s-vintage Boone County fire truck used to deliver Truman the Tiger to the stadium on game days – as one of the best SEC traditions. 
• Head Coach Eliah Drinkwitz has led Mizzou to a bowl in each of his first three seasons, only the second coach in school history to do so along with the late Warren Powers (1978-84). 
• Mizzou’s 16 returning starters (8 offense, 8 defense) ranks second among SEC schools. 
• The 2023 roster features 32 players who have started at least four games in the collegiate career at the FBS level. 
• Mizzou has won 14-straight nonconference games at Memorial Stadium, dating to Oct. 21, 2017.
• Thirty-eight student-athletes on the team are from Missouri, including eight from the 573 area code, 19 from the St. Louis metropolitan region, nine from the Kansas City area and two from southwest Missouri.
• Additionally, Mizzou added 38 newcomers to its roster, including 23 true freshmen and 15 transfers.
• A total of 18 Tigers made their Mizzou debuts against South Dakota, including starters WR Theo Wease Jr., RB Cam’Ron Johnson and LB Tre’Vez Johnson.
• RB Cody Schrader ranks fourth among active NCAA players in rushing yards with 4,036.
• OL Armand Membou earned a spot on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List, an annual spotlight of the most athletic players in CFB.
• DL Nyles Gaddy was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week following his performance vs. MTSU. He had three tackles, 2.0 for a loss along with a pair of sacks for a 15-yard loss. It is the second multi-sack performance of his career for the Jackson State transfer and first in a Missouri uniform.
• WR Luther Burden III ranks No. 4 in SEC and No. 14 in the NCAA in receiving yards per game (106.5).

LAST TIME OUT – MIZZOU 23, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 19

• QB Brady Cook overcame a slow start to complete 14- of-19 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another touchdown to help Missouri beat Middle Tennessee State 23-19.
• Before a crowd of 57,645, the Tigers moved to 2-0 for the first time since 2018.
• WR Theo Wease Jr. scored his first Missouri touchdown in the third quarter when he high pointed a five-yard TD pass from Cook; that play capped an 80-yard drive that featured a 44-yard completion down the middle to WR Luther Burden III and gave the Tigers a 16-10 lead
• Burden had his first 100-yard game as a Tiger with eight receptions for 117 yards.
• It looked like Missouri had broken the game open when on the first play of the fourth quarter, RB Nathaniel Peat went in motion to the right, was left uncovered by the MTSU defense and Cook found him with a short pass that Peat took 49 yards to the end zone for a 23-10 lead.
• But then the Blue Raiders scored nine points in 50 seconds to close to within four points of the Tigers.
• But the Tigers Defense stood its ground on the Blue Raiders final drive, stopping the visitors on fourth down to seal the outcome.
• The Tigers logged 12 tackles for loss – most since by a Mizzou defense since at least 2000.
• DE Nyles Gaddy had two of Mizzou’s four QB sacks, while DB Daylan Carnell led the Tigers with eight stops, including two for losses.

SUNFLOWER SENTIMENTS

• Saturday’s game marks the 99th all-time meeting in the series between Missouri and Kansas State.
• The series dates back to 1909, with the Tigers holding a 60-33-5 edge over the Wildcats, including a 30-17-3 advantage in Columbia.
• K-State has won the last two meetings in the series, including a 40-12 victory last September in Manhattan.
• The Wildcats rushed for 235 yards and kept Mizzou out of the end zone until the game’s final drive.
• Despite sharing a border with the state of Kansas, just three current Tigers hail from the Sunflower State, as TE Shawn Hendershot, WR Mekhi Miller and DL Jalen Marshall each call Overland Park home.
• K-State’s 2023 roster features seven Missouri natives, including Phillip Brooks (Lee’s Summit), Michael Capria (Kansas City), Will Lee III (Kirkwood), Xavier Loyd (Blue Springs), Donovan McIntosh (St. Louis), Randen Plattner (Parkville) and Austin Romaine (Hillsboro).

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WAY

• The Missouri defense has impressed in each of its first two games, permitting just 239.5 yards of total offense per outing to rank 16th in the nation.
• The Tigers have yet to yield a rushing touchdown and have allowed an average of 58.5 yards per game on the ground, which is good for the No. 7 rushing defense in the FBS ranks.
• Mizzou’s defense limited South Dakota to 194 yards of total offense in its season opener, marking the lowest single-game total by a Tiger opponent since Oct. 24, 2020 vs. Kentucky.
• Led by SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week Nyles Gaddy, the Tigers logged 4.0 sacks and 12 tackles for losses against Middle Tennessee (Sept. 9), with the latter total representing the most by a Missouri defense since at least the 2000 season.

CUE MR. BRIGHTSIDE

• Missouri drew a crowd of 57,645 for last week’s win over Middle Tennessee, marking the seventh time in its last eight home games MU has topped the 50,000 mark.
• Mizzou’s opening-night gathering of 50,434 vs. South Dakota (Aug. 31) represented its largest crowd for a home opener in four years. 
• This season marks the first time the Tigers have hosted over 50,000 fans in each of their first two home games since 2019, when MU drew 51,215 vs. West Virginia (Sept. 7) and 56,620 against Southeast Missouri (Sept. 14) to open its home slate.