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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Is it too early to start the Border War countdown?

Missouri’s Sept. 6 game against Kansas, a highly anticipated nonconference matchup, is three months away. That’s just over 90 days, which pales in comparison to how long it’s been since the Tigers and Jayhawks faced off on a football field.

When they kick off their resumed series this fall, it’ll have been 5,033 days since MU and KU faced each other for the last time in the Big 12 — a 24-10 Tigers win in 2011 in Kansas City. It’ll have been 6,860 days since the programs last met in Columbia — a 42-17 Mizzou win back in 2006.

The wait for Border War No. 121 will have been a long one.

Missouri is already preparing.

Coach Eli Drinkwitz has assumed the responsibility of getting his players ready to down the Jayhawks, not just in terms of traditional preseason prep, but in delivering crash courses on the history of the MU-KU rivalry. Drinkwitz has brought speakers to the team facility to tell stories to the current team and impart more than a century of contempt upon them.

“As a coach, we certainly feel that, and it’s our job to make sure we continue to educate the players,” defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said, “to have them understand the weight of that and what that means to the people of Missouri and the fanbase and make sure that we represent the University of Missouri.”

MU fans will heartily agree that the best way to represent the university in any matchup against KU is by winning.

Doing so would not just gain Drinkwitz favorability points within the Mizzou fanbase but also help the Tigers with a resume-boosting result for their shot at a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. Kansas has the makings of a decent team this season.

Missouri weighs in at No. 23 on ESPN’s first College Football Power Index calculation of 2025, and the Jayhawks aren’t far behind at No. 30.

“They’ve got an elite returning quarterback in (Jalon) Daniels,” Drinkwitz said in April. “He’s an elite player, has been in college football for a long time. They’ve got good players. They’re gonna want to win. They’ve got a great coach (in Lance Leipold). It’s gonna be a game. We’re gonna have to be at our best early. I think that’s a good challenge for fall camp. There’s no easing into it.”

Daniels threw for 2,454 yards and 14 touchdowns — plus 12 interceptions — while rushing for 447 yards and six scores in 2024. This season will be his sixth on a college roster. That dual-threat ability will be a test for a Mizzou defense that presents quite a bit of upside.

But the nitty-gritty of how that game might play out is still months away. Kansas has to open its season on Aug. 23 against Fresno State and Wagner on Aug. 29, while the Tigers begin by hosting Central Arkansas on Aug. 28.

For now, the animosity of the first Saturday in September is something to look forward to — an excitement-driving thought even in the quiet of the offseason.

“That’s an important game,” Drinkwitz said. “I think regional rivalries are going to continue to drive college football, especially now, in the day and age of all the other things that are going on to distract (from) football. I think anytime you can continue to pump the blood of your fanbases with some of these games, it’s going to be really, really important. It runs deep.”