LOOK: Eli Drinkwitz fires back at reports Missouri refused to face Kansas in Liberty Bowl

Earlier Friday, college football insider Brett McMurphy of The Action Network reported Missouri refused to play longtime rival Kansas in a potential yet-to-be-announced Liberty Bowl matchup. The Tigers official Twitter account definitively rejected that assertion later Friday afternoon.

Missouri and Kansas are traditional rivals in what is known as the Border War. So, fans were excited about a potential rematch, and this report led to some backlash against the Tigers for ducking the Jayhawks. However, the Mizzou football Twitter account didn’t agree with McMurphy’s reporting.

“Not True … looking forward to our bowl game vs. any team!” Mizzou said in a quote tweet of McMurphy’s report.

Later on Friday night, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz doubled down on the theory that the Tigers aren’t scared to play Kansas in the Liberty Bowl by tweeting a picture of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee–which happens to be the site of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Check out the tweet by Drinkwitz.

Ain’t scared to play here- there- or anywhere #MIZ pic.twitter.com/kxI52yjC0B

— Eliah Drinkwitz (@CoachDrinkwitz) December 2, 2022

Missouri also was slated to play Memphis in Memphis, but the location of that game has been changed

Missouri was also slated to face the Memphis Tigers in that stadium during the 2023 season, but that game has been moved to St. Louis, Missouri. So now, not only are their questions about the Tigers ducking Kansas if the matchup between the two 6-6 teams doesn’t happen, but there will be plenty of questions about the Missouri forcing Memphis to move their matchup from Memphis to St. Louis.

Whether or not the Border War is renewed to end this season remains to be seen.

The Border War hasn’t been played since 2011, a victim of college football realignment when Mizzou left the Big 12 for the SEC. Missouri holds the all-time record in the series, 57-54-9, including winning the last three games between the two teams.

The series is set to be renewed in 2025 when Kansas travels to Missouri. In total, the two have four future non-conference games scheduled with two home games each, making the idea one would avoid the other seem odd.

Rivalry games renew in bowl season

The Border War isn’t the only bowl game that could renew a rivalry game this season. That includes the Keg of Nails Rivalry between Cincinnati and Louisville. This is a former Big East rivalry, lost when Louisville left for the ACC and Cincinnati stayed in what became the AAC. Now, the two will meet again in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl.

“Cincinnati will play Louisville in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 17 at Fenway Park in Boston, sources tell @TheAthleticCFB. Return of the Keg of Nails. Kickoff is at 11 am EST. #Bearcats,” Justin Williams tweeted.

On3’s Daniel Morrison also contributed to this article.