The Kansas Jayhawks will host the No. 23 Missouri Tigers at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas, on Friday night.
Ahead of the game, Kansas had an extremely pointed message for its bitter, centuries-long rival, and it had nothing to do with college football.
Kansas Football’s official social media accounts posted a 90-second hype video with thick abolitionist themes:
It is that deep. pic.twitter.com/4BEcdbLv7S
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) September 10, 2026
To start, “HEROES AND VILLAINS” sprawls across the screen. Then, Gilbert “The Gravedigger” Brown delivers a narration for the ages.
“Love doesn’t exist here. Neither does mercy. This rivalry is different because it’s built on something much deeper than just school pride,” Brown says, as headlines from the Lawrence Massacre flicker. “It’s fueled by hatred passed down through generations. Our roots reach back to the Civil War, when blood was spilled over what you believed in and which side you stood on.”
“There are heroes and villains,” Brown says, this time in correlation to photos of abolitionist John Brown and Confederate leader William Quantrill. “Only allegiance decides their legacy. There’s right and wrong. There’s Kansas and Missouri. In this rivalry, passion has its colors: crimson and blue, gold and black. Colors that continue to clash. When we collide, it goes beyond the game.”
Brown’s parting words are more in line with what you’d expect from a college football hype video: “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.” The video concludes with highlights to the tune of Metro Boomin and Future’s “Superhero (Heroes & Villains).”
This year’s Border War (formerly called the Border Showdown) will occur in Kansas for the first time since 2005. Last year, Missouri defeated Kansas in their first football rivalry game since 2011. Missouri exited the Big 12 for the SEC in November 2011.
The Tigers hold a slight all-time edge over the Jayhawks, but these two can’t even agree on the record. Kansas says it’s 57-55-9 in favor of Missouri, while Missouri faithful claim a 58-54-9 all-time record.
About Megan Armstrong
Since first getting published as a student by the Kansas City Star in 2013, Megan Armstrong has gone wherever curiosity and stories have taken her, specializing in sports, media, music, and culture coverage. She also has an extensive background in interviewing and profiling public figures. Her work has appeared in Billboard, Boardroom, Bleacher Report, Esquire, GQ, GRAMMY.com, NYLON, Newsweek, Teen Vogue, The Hollywood Reporter, UPROXX, and elsewhere.