If nothing else, Missouri is not Nebraska and it is not Texas A&M.

The Tigers won their final Big 12 game over Kansas, 24-10, even after a frustrating start full of turnovers and a 10-point deficit. The final Border Showdown for the foreseeable future was played in front of an unimpressive 47,059, an all-time low for the recent series at Arrowhead Stadium.

Two years ago, attendance was 70,072 before dipping to 55,788 last season. Perhaps this rivalry won't be missed as much as we think, but I'd attribute that drop more to Kansas' five wins over the past two seasons than any indicator of the way fans view the rivalry.

Either way, the end of a rivalry that's been fought 120 times, more than just one rivalry, is nothing but sad for all involved. Fans are robbed. Egos of those preventing it from continuing make everyone involved look bad, and players that grew up in Missouri and Kansas facing each other in high school likely won't get the chance to do it in college. There's nothing good about discontinuing this rivalry.

Missouri took care of business and heads to a bowl game with a seven-win season, reaching a bowl game for the seventh consecutive season. Despite struggling with three interceptions in the first half, James Franklin threw two touchdown passes and one incompletion in the second half. Exactly what Missouri needed to get out of Kansas City with a big win.

The on-field season is over for Kansas, but the off-field season may be heating up. Turner Gill's status will be the main topic of conversation for the future, and deservedly so.

As a general rule, I believe coaches deserve three years. But Gill won two games this season after winning three a year ago, and finished 2011 on a 10-game losing streak. Six of those losses came by at least 30 points.

If the Kansas administration, featuring a new athletic director in Sheahon Zenger who didn't hire Gill, decides it's time to go in a new direction, what, exactly, is the argument to the contrary?

I'm struggling to find one.

The Jayhawks were young this year, loaded with true and redshirt freshmen, but were not a better team. Statistically, the Jayhawks fielded one of the worst defenses of all-time, though coordinator Carl Torbush retired after an offseason cancer diagnosis. Offensively, the Jayhawks rank ninth in the Big 12, but the only team below them, Kansas State, has nine wins with one game left to play. The 344 yards of offense entering today's game ranked 96th nationally.

Gill recruited well in 2011, but his 2012 class is far from extraordinary, with seven commitments featuring none higher than three stars and just one Kansas native.

The Jayhawks took a clear step back in 2011, and there's no question Gill has to bear the brunt of the blame for those failures. Saturday's attendance signifies one of the worst things that can happen to a program: apathy.

In Lawrence, it's basketball season, and a Kansas team that all too often looked hopeless in 2011 is the reason why. Now, the time has come to decide if the KU administration still believes Gill is the man who can fix it.