2009: Mizzou 41 - Kansas 39

In what would be Mark Mangino’s final game as head football coach at the University of Kansas, the Missouri Tigers made a late fourth quarter comeback that would mark the beginning of the darkest period in Kansas football history.

As the game began, it didn’t look like the Tigers could hang with a motivated kU squad that was fighting for their chance to make a third straight bowl. For almost the entirety of the first half, the Jayhawks maintained a two score lead until a late Grant Ressel FG cut the kU lead to only 21-13.

As the second half started, Danario Alexander decided he wanted to take over game that had mostly been the Todd Reesing show up to that point. After a near silent first half, Blaine Gabbert and Alexander helped guide the Tigers to their first lead of the game with the signature play being a 68-yard TD strike from Gabbert to Alexander. By the final whistle, Alexander would finish with an incredible 15 catches for 233 yards and a TD.

However, kU wasn’t going down without a fight and regained the lead late in the game. With 2:45 left in the game, the Jayhawks led by 4 and were backed up against their own goal line. Inconceivably, Mark Mangino dialed up a pass play on 3rd down that resulted in awful pass protection and allowed the Tigers to sack Reesing for a safety that gave them two points and the ball.

When Blaine Gabbert got the ball back with 2:30 remaining, the outcome felt inevitable. Blaine led the Tigers on a methodical 68-yard drive that set up a 27-yard Grant Ressel FG as time expired and a Mizzou victory.

Here’s a quick look at those eventful final 3 minutes:

This epic back and forth Border War game marked the end of a brief fruitful spell for kU football, and I couldn’t be happier that Mizzou was the team to officially put the nail in Ressing and kU’s coffin.