Know Thy Enemy: Henry Greenstein of the Lawrence Journal-World, KUsports.com previews Mizzou’s upcoming game against Kansas

The Columbia Missourian spoke to Henry Greenstein, who writes for The Lawrence Journal-World and KUsports.com, to preview the game.

This interview has been modified for brevity and clarity.

Q: What do you make of the rivalry between Missouri and Kansas, and how do you expect the Jayhawks and overall campus to respond to Mizzou coming to town?

A: It'll be interesting to see. I think that the atmosphere in the stadium will be one of palpable excitement. The only thing is, I don't think that David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium is in shape right now to leverage that excitement as much as it might be in some years because KU is playing with a considerably reduced capacity.

The (stadium) can only accommodate about 32,000 fans right now due to ongoing construction on the east side of the stadium. After last season, they demolished the old east side, and they were able to build a functional thing for this year, but it's partially temporary and doesn't have an upper bowl, so it's small and insubstantial. As a result of that, it won't be the loudest or most intense environment, but I can guarantee you there will be a lot of vitriol.

This rivalry is as bitter as it gets, and I saw that firsthand in Columbia last year. I'm sure that the KU fans and students are going to bring it as much as they possibly can.

Q: Kansas no longer has quarterback Jalon Daniels, and this year’s starter was recently named: Isaiah Marshall. What do the Jayhawks lose without Daniels, and what do they gain with Marshall?

A: Jalon was a known quantity, and he brought a level of veteran experience and composure. (It) didn't always work out for him, but you had a pretty good sense that there was a guy back there who could extend plays with his legs, make off-platform throws that many quarterbacks couldn't and ultimately lead an offense with composure and enthusiasm.

Isaiah Marshall is much more of an unknown. Until (the LIU game), he had thrown three passes in his career for 28 yards. (The LIU game) certainly showed that he's far beyond a pure runner… Of course, he was doing it against Long Island, and the quality of competition is going to increase drastically, but he hit a couple of deep balls over the top to Nik McMillan and Nahzae Cox.

When he was running, he did look elusive. He had seven carries for 49 yards, but he showed an ability to go through his progressions better than I think many would have expected and took advantage of the situations where the defense gave him too much time and, in general, provided some confidence that he'll be a functional starter this year.

Now, he also got away with some mistakes. He should have had two passes intercepted that bounced directly off of Long Island linebackers, and obviously Missouri and the teams that he’ll face in the Big 12 will make him pay for that sort of thing. A lot remains to be determined about how he'll deal with his first taste of high-level competition.

Q: Were you surprised that Marshall won the job over Cole Ballard, or what were you kind of seeing with that battle?

A: I think the consensus early in camp among most of us in the KU sphere was that we expected Cole to win because of a greater level of experience and because of how much KU coaches like to talk about his leadership. But it always felt like (there was) a higher ceiling and sort of a wider array of capabilities in offense if Marshall were to be the pick.

You think about getting Andy Kotelnicki back after a couple of years at Penn State as an offensive play caller. He's known for his creativity (and) making the most of high-level athletes, as he did with Tyler Warren when he was at Penn State and as he did with KU players in his first stint here. When KU had success in his first tenure, a lot of it had to do with running the option. While Ballard is a capable runner, he's not near the level of athlete that Marshall is, and I think that the prospect of pairing up a mobile quarterback with someone like Dylan Edwards or Yasin Willis in the backfield is very tantalizing.

Now it's just up to (Marshall) to validate that decision with his on-field play and carry over some of what he did against Long Island to higher-level competition.

Q: Missouri and Kansas both start the season 1-0 after defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff and LIU, respectively. How is this matchup going to challenge both teams?

A: Mizzou is going to face some of the best of the best in the SEC all year. For KU, this could be the toughest team on its schedule.

This will kind of set a benchmark for the standard that KU needs to play at for the remainder of the year. (The Jayhawks) have the benefit of doing it at home, which will help them out a little bit. They're going to get a decidedly different experience than in the FCS game. They're going to see a level of athlete at some positions they might not get the rest of the year.

When you think about what Missouri has at the skill positions and at linebacker and even some of the offensive tackle talent, if Cayden Green is able to go, there are players of Mizzou's (who) will be the best in their given position group that KU faces all season, much as was the case last year. It'll be a really significant test, and regardless of which way the game goes, it'll be a valuable experience for a lot of the Jayhawks to get.

I think (the Tigers will) be challenged by KU's running backs in particular, which is probably the best group KU has had overall under Lance Leipold.

I think the biggest benefit will be to Missouri's defense for seeing probably as much weird stuff as you will see out of one given offense. (Kansas was) extremely vanilla against LIU. I expect KU to pull out all the stops, and you will probably see formations that you will not see again in your life, let alone this season, in service of trying to get KU whatever advantage it can. Misdirection and stuff like that have been a big way that it's gained an advantage over its opponents. I think that it will be a test of the Mizzou defense's discipline and probably something that will serve it well when it faces some of the challenging and more elaborate offenses in the SEC as the year goes on.

Q: What did the matchup against LIU reveal about this 2026 Kansas team?

A: I think the performance of Marshall was certainly encouraging. I think Nik McMillan looks like a bona fide No. 1 wide receiver, which is maybe not a huge surprise. He was just shy of 1,000 yards last year at Buffalo. We'll see how he does against power conference defensive backs, but man, he looked so well-rounded yesterday.

The offensive line (wasn’t) particularly exceptional. It gave Marshall some good time in some cases, but it didn't open up a huge amount of holes in the run game, and there's still some uncertainty at right tackle because they rotated DeAndre Harper in a lot more for Nick Morrow than I expected.

The secondary did not fare very well against Mizzou last year for KU, and seeing what (Donovan) Olugbode did against Pine Bluff after seeing him make some incredible catches against KU last season, that's going to be a huge test for Jalen Todd and Austin Alexander, who really did not play all that much against LIU. They're the two starting outside corners.

One more thing I should mention is that KU's defensive ends look really good. Last year, KU had a really hard time getting after Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts on outside zone plays, where Missouri would send its offensive linemen out there and they'd pave really wide paths for those guys to run through. I think the lateral quickness of this year's offensive linemen, with Leroy Harris III and David Santiago and Alex Bray, looks super promising in terms of being able to curtail outside runs. We'll see how that translates again to SEC and Big 12 opponents.

Q: When the teams met in 2025, Jamal Roberts was Missouri’s rushing leader with 143 yards. How does the Kansas defense stop him?

A: (Roberts) had that game-sealing touchdown on Mizzou’s final drive to make it 42-31 at the end. I think KU focused on getting bigger in the trenches in preparation for matchups like these. Leroy Harris, who I think has the potential to be an All-Big 12 defensive end, is now up to 270 pounds and looking just as fast and agile as ever. He's going to be key.

(The Jayhawks) lost one of their transfer defensive tackles, Tre'von McAlpine, to a season-ending injury, but you've got a guy in there in Eamon Smalls who is a bona fide nose guard, and he's listed at 6 feet 2 (inches), 335 (pounds). I think he's going to be really important in terms of plugging up holes and will obviously be tested by Missouri's interior line, which has some fine players.

One thing that's really important to note is last year KU had basically no depth at linebacker. That time of possession was crazy; I think Trey Lathan, the middle linebacker, ended up playing north of 80 snaps. Those kinds of players will wear down over the course of a game like that. While the linebacker depth is already being tested with Bam Crouch suffering an early injury against LIU, I do think KU has more players in the fold that will help it deal with Missouri's run game at the second level.

To answer your question initially, obviously, extreme talent at that position. I think (Xai'Shaun) Edwards gives them another complementary option as well, so it won't just have to be Roberts.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to say?

A: I don't think anyone really is going to care about this, but KU's punter didn't have to punt against LIU, and he’s still never appeared in a collegiate game. He's a freshman they got from Australia, so I think the punt game remains an enigma headed into Missouri. We'll see how he fares in his first collegiate action, assuming that KU has to punt at some point.

Q: What's your prediction?

A. My score prediction as of now is 28-23 in Missouri's favor. I just can't help thinking about how difficult it was for KU's defense to get off the field in last year's matchup. I think the Jayhawks have upgraded in a lot of ways that will make it easier for them to get stops, but I still have concerns about KU's secondary and its ability to hold up against what looks like a pretty potent passing game with Austin Simmons at the helm. We'll see how it goes, but however much offensive creativity KU is able to muster with Andy Kotelnicki back in the fold, it won't matter if the Jayhawks can't figure out a way to limit the Tigers at the other end.