3 Key Stats That Explain Kansas' Loss to Missouri in Border Showdown

The Kansas Jayhawks had an opportunity to go ahead in the final minutes of the Border Showdown before Lance Leipold eventually made the questionable decision to punt on a fourth-and-medium situation.

Nonetheless, looking back at the box score, it's unfathomable how KU even stayed in the game in the first place. Missouri dominated its opponent in most aspects of the game on both sides of the ball.

You could point to a handful of different things to explain why the Jayhawks left Columbia with a loss, but these three stats illustrate just how overmatched Kansas was today.

3. Missouri 40:27 Time of Possession, Kansas 19:33 Time of Possession

Missouri’s offense held the ball for more than two-thirds of the game, leaving KU’s defense flustered and gassed in the second half and beyond.

Over fourteen of those minutes came during an abysmal second quarter when the Kansas offense ran just four plays in 42 seconds. The Jayhawks’ first drive of the second half ended in a strip sack that resulted in a safety, and their next possession was a three-and-out that led to a Missouri field goal, tying the game at 21 apiece.

We can talk about the defense being outplayed all we want, but the rest of the game’s issues started here. No team can expect its defensive unit to stay on the field for over 40 minutes against an opponent of Missouri’s caliber and still be effective in crunch time.

2. Missouri 595 Total Yards, Kansas 226 Total Yards

Our first point leads to our second, as this stat shows not only how much Kansas’ offense struggled at times but also how easily Missouri could move the ball.

The Tigers finished with nearly 600 yards from scrimmage, and quarterback Beau Pribula and running back Ahmad Hardy were unstoppable for most of the game.

The most important stat was Missouri piling up 261 rushing yards to KU's three on 19 carries. Daniel Hishaw Jr. was a nonfactor, and the only KU pass-catcher who consistently produced was tight end DeShawn Hanika.

Beyond that, the rest of the numbers tell the story. Missouri recorded 28 first downs to KU’s 13, went 10-for-19 on third down, and averaged 5.6 yards per rush. Leipold’s group was outclassed and outmatched.