Ahh, Missouri-Kansas week. One of the longest running rivalries in college sports and one of the tightest. The series tie will be broken this Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. Each team has won 54 games while nine games ended in ties. Of course if you ask KU, they will say they lead 55-53-9 if you go back to the 1960 game when one of the KU players was ruled ineligible by the NCAA.
KU still considers the game a win, MU considers it a win although the Tigers ultimately lost out. They were number one in the country at the time KU beat them on the field 23-7. After it was determined the Jayhawks cheated, there was nothing that could be done about their national title hopes.
This year, the story is quite different. There are questions surrounding KU coach Mark Mangino about whether he will be back to coach next year after allegations surfaced that he was verbally abusive to players. KU has also lost six games in a row and are 1-6 in the Big 12 South. Missouri is trying to save face on a season that took a turn for the worse at the start of conference play when the Tigers went 0-3. They have a chance to finish at .500 in the Big 12 South and grab second place. Plus, an 8-4 season with a bowl game looks much better than 7-5.
Head coach Gary Pinkel tells us this week that Derrick Washington should be able to play after suffering a concussion. He also talks about the progression of wide receiver Jarrell Jackson who had a big game with nine catches after fumbling early in the Iowa State game. With a running game that is getting better and other options to compliment Danario Alexander, Pinkel talks about how much more they can do now that Blaine Gabbert is healthy.
Listen to Gary Pinkel’s media press conference
