KU coach Lance Leipold says ‘The Booth will be rocking' for game versus Mizzou

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom. Read our AI Policy. After a 14-year break in the action, Kansas and Missouri met in a revival of the Border War football series last season, a 42-31 Mizzou victory contested before a crowd of 57,321 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia. 'It was an excellent atmosphere, loud and everything you would expect from a road game in that capacity,' recalled sixth-year KU coach Lance Leipold, speaking at a Monday news conference held in advance of Friday's 122nd all-time meeting between the schools. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium with a live telecast on FOX. 'I think 'The Booth' will be rocking on Friday night. It should be a great college atmosphere. It should be what it's all about' Leipold added. KU, which had some tickets available as of Monday afternoon, is expecting a sellout, which this season means 32,000 fans amid stadium renovation. 'It'll be a great matchup,' Leipold said of the 1-0 teams representing the Big 12 and SEC. 'A chance to be on network television is a big opportunity for both programs and a chance for us to play when there are not as many games on (TV). So hopefully it'll be something that the nation will embrace.' KU is coming off a 51-6 season-opening win over Long Island on Friday at 'The Booth.' MU opened with a 54-14 win over Arkansas Pine Bluff on Thursday in Columbia. Leipold didn't talk about his team possibly being extra motivated to make up for last year's loss at MU. He did acknowledge his returning players actually should be more educated about the history of the rivalry entering this year's game. 'I think what you're looking for is some 'Knute Rockne' type motivational deal that we hate (MU) and all this,' Leipold said. 'I think our guys learned a lot more about what it is. We talked about why this rivalry is beyond football. We talked about the history. I think we all are a little bit more there, myself included. 'I know it's not always popular to say this, but we've still got to play 10 more games after this one. And again, it's important for a lot of reasons, for a lot of our fans, and again, keeping the main thing the main thing. But yes I think we've learned from that experience, and I think our guys have a different sense of appreciation this time around. But it's still going to (about) going out and doing the things right that are necessary to win games,' Leipold stated. Leipold said during the heat of the action, 'when you are in the trenches if Calvin Clements (offensive tackle) is thinking about that (rivalry) at the moment, he's got to block somebody. There's still a thing about executing what you've got to do, and getting that done in the right focus and preparation and training all the way through. But I know this: Our guys will be excited to take the field.' KU associate head coach/offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki was coaching at Penn State last season, thus didn't see the KU-MU game in Columbia in person. He's heard it was loud, just as he expects it to be loud Friday in the stands in Lawrence. 'It'll be rocking, I hope. Shoutout to our fans to get there, be loud, partake in the sacrament, right? As much as you can, right?' he said with a laugh. 'Be obnoxious. We love it. Be all of that.' Kotelnicki, who has an outgoing personality, said KU-MU is 'unlike other rivalries.' 'It's different in the sense this is rooted in American history. There's a historical, Americana, freedom (element). So it's a little deeper than just, 'Hey, we really don't like Michigan.' This is generations of wrongs we had to correct as a country that are represented in this game. This is unlike any rivalry in the sense this is very much rooted in political, civil rights. It's deep, unlike other rivalries,' Kotelnicki stated. Kotelnicki said no matter the atmosphere Friday, 'our guys are committed to the process. If you've got to change something for when you're playing in a big game, then really your process is broken anyway. So we have a standard of excellence regardless of who we're playing. I tell our guys in the office, our opponent is us. Our opponent is in the mirror. We have to do a great job of preparation. We have to do a great job of take care of our business, and then the results will show up on Friday night.' Friday's game will be the second in a four-game series that has been scheduled for the rivals. After Friday, the teams will meet Sept. 6, 2031, in Columbia and Sept. 11, 2032, in Lawrence. This will be the first time MU has played at KU in 21 years. 'Last year, getting the teams back together reignited the spark, so to speak, of this rivalry and the intensity of it,' Leipold said. 'Now it's not on the books again for a while after Friday, so hopefully it can be, and it is something after being part of it that I think when you're watching really what matchups are across the board in college football these days and what people are looking for, I think this could be one or should be one that should remain. And (we need to) find ways to make sure we get that played. So we'll see where it takes us.' This story was originally published September 7, 2026 at 2:42 PM with the headline "KU coach Lance Leipold says 'The Booth will be rocking' for game versus Mizzou."