Liberty Bowl: Arkansas 53, Kansas 51
(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
By PHIL STUKENBORG
Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - KJ Jefferson passed to Rashod Dubinion for a 2-point conversion in the third overtime and Arkansas held off a furious second-half rally by Kansas for a 55-53 win the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
The Jayhawks had rallied from 25 points down in the second half to force overtime, but a failed on a 2-point conversion pass from Jason Bean to Lawrence Arnold, ending a four-and-a-half hour bowl marathon.
"We got lucky at the end, but we're Liberty Bowl champs and I'm pretty excited," Arkansas coach Sam Pittman said.
Arkansas (7-6) celebrated the win prematurely in the second overtime after stopping Kanas quarterback Jalon Daniels just shy of the goal line on a 2-point conversion try. But a targeting call on Arkansas' Quincey McAdoo gave the Jayhawks another try and they converted.
Jefferson passed for 287 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 130 yards and two more scores to lead the Razorbacks.
Arkansas and Kansas met for the first time in 116 years, and the Razorbacks used an old-school rushing attack to prevail. Arkansas gained 394 of its 681 total yards on the ground. Rashod Dubinion added 112 yards for the Razorbacks.
Kansas (6-7) played in its first bowl game since 2008, but was unable to stop a late-season streak in which they lost seven of their last eight games. Kansas quarterback Daniels passed for 544 yards and five touchdowns. He set Liberty Bowl records for passing yards, touchdown passes, completions (37) and total TDs scored (6).
Arkansas was dominating despite playing with a roster thinned out opt-outs and transfer portal departures. The Razorbacks dressed only 51 scholarship players.
After leading 31-13 at halftime, Arkansas pushed its advantage to 38-13 midway through the third quarter on a 2-yard run by Dubinion. The TD ended an 80-yard drive.
The 25-point deficit ignited the Jayhawks.
THE TAKEAWAY
During a span of eight seconds in the first quarter, Arkansas scored twice to erase a 7-3 deficit and take a 17-7 lead. An Arkansas interception about two minutes later near the Razorbacks' 10-yard line ignited a 73-yard scoring drive that ended on a short touchdown run by Jefferson for a 24-7 lead. Arkansas led 38-13 late in the third before Kansas rallied.
December 28, 2022
| Scoring Summary |
| First Quarter |
Kansas | Ark |
| Ark |
FG |
11:12 |
Cam Little 37 yard field goal |
0 |
3 |
| Kansas |
TD |
8:40 |
Ky Thomas 29 yard TD pass from Jalon Daniels (Owen Piepergerdes Extra Point) |
7 |
3 |
| Ark |
TD |
6:05 |
Matt Landers 59 yard TD pass from KJ Jefferson (Cam Little Extra Point) |
7 |
10 |
| Ark |
TD |
5:57 |
Ty Washington 17 yard TD pass from KJ Jefferson (Cam Little Extra Point) |
7 |
17 |
| Ark |
TD |
0:23 |
KJ Jefferson 3 yard TD run (Cam Little Extra Point) |
7 |
24 |
| Second Quarter |
Kansas | Ark |
| Ark |
TD |
5:02 |
AJ Green 20 yard TD run (Cam Little Extra Point) |
7 |
31 |
| Kansas |
TD |
1:18 |
Mason Fairchild 24 yard TD pass from Jalon Daniels (Mason Fairchild 2pt conversion attempt is NO GOOD) |
13 |
31 |
| Third Quarter |
Kansas | Ark |
| Ark |
TD |
8:43 |
Rashod Dubinion 2 yard TD run (Cam Little Extra Point) |
13 |
38 |
| Kansas |
TD |
3:15 |
Ky Thomas 2 yard TD run (Owen Piepergerdes Extra Point) |
20 |
38 |
| Fourth Quarter |
Kansas | Ark |
| Kansas |
FG |
14:07 |
Owen Piepergerdes 36 yard field goal |
23 |
38 |
| Kansas |
TD |
1:05 |
Douglas Emilien 10 yard TD pass from Jalon Daniels (Owen Piepergerdes Extra Point) |
30 |
38 |
| Kansas |
TD |
0:41 |
Luke Grimm 21 yard TD pass from Jalon Daniels (Lawrence Arnold 2pt conversion attempt is GOOD) |
38 |
38 |
| OT |
Kansas | Ark |
| Kansas |
TD |
|
Jared Casey 2 yard TD pass from Jalon Daniels (Owen Piepergerdes Extra Point) |
45 |
38 |
| Ark |
TD |
|
Rashod Dubinion 6 yard TD run (Cam Little Extra Point) |
45 |
45 |
| 2nd OT |
Kansas | Ark |
| Ark |
TD |
|
KJ Jefferson 20 yard TD run (Jaedon Wilson 2pt conversion attempt is GOOD) |
45 |
53 |
| Kansas |
TD |
|
Jalon Daniels 2 yard TD run (Jared Casey 2pt conversion attempt is GOOD) |
53 |
53 |
| 3rd OT |
Kansas | Ark |
| Ark |
|
|
KJ Jefferson OT Plus pass to Rashod Dubinion is GOOD |
53 |
55 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Kansas |
Arkansas |
| First downs |
30 |
30 |
| Rushing |
5 |
19 |
| Passing |
24 |
10 |
| Penalty |
1 |
1 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
9-17, 53% |
8-15, 53% |
| 4th down efficiency |
1-2, 50% |
0-0, -% |
| Rushes-Yards |
34-59 |
52-394 |
| Passing Yards |
544 |
287 |
| Return Yards |
7 |
58 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
37-56-2 |
19-29-1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
3-16 |
0-0 |
| Punts |
5 |
6 |
| Fumbles Lost |
3-1 |
1-1 |
| Penalties - Yards |
4-34 |
7-61 |
| Kansas Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| J. Daniels |
36 |
54 |
534 |
5 |
2 |
| J. Bean |
1 |
2 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
| Arkansas Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| K. Jefferson |
19 |
29 |
287 |
2 |
1 |
| Kansas Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| D. Neal |
9 |
29 |
3.2 |
0 |
| J. Daniels |
14 |
21 |
1.5 |
1 |
| K. Thomas |
10 |
11 |
1.1 |
1 |
| Arkansas Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| K. Jefferson |
14 |
130 |
9.3 |
2 |
| R. Dubinion |
20 |
112 |
5.6 |
2 |
| A. Green |
13 |
99 |
7.6 |
1 |
| B. Stephens |
1 |
21 |
21.0 |
0 |
| R. Sanders |
3 |
17 |
5.7 |
0 |
| M. Landers |
1 |
15 |
15.0 |
0 |
| Kansas Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| L. Grimm |
10 |
167 |
16.7 |
1 |
| L. Arnold |
8 |
119 |
14.9 |
0 |
| M. Fairchild |
6 |
80 |
13.3 |
1 |
| T. Locklin |
3 |
50 |
16.7 |
0 |
| K. Thomas |
2 |
35 |
17.5 |
1 |
| K. Terry |
1 |
30 |
30.0 |
0 |
| D. Neal |
2 |
23 |
11.5 |
0 |
| T. Scott |
1 |
20 |
20.0 |
0 |
| D. Emilien |
1 |
10 |
10.0 |
1 |
| J. Casey |
2 |
6 |
3.0 |
1 |
| Q. Skinner |
1 |
4 |
4.0 |
0 |
| Arkansas Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| M. Landers |
3 |
121 |
40.3 |
1 |
| J. Wilson |
2 |
47 |
23.5 |
0 |
| A. Green |
4 |
30 |
7.5 |
0 |
| R. Dubinion |
3 |
19 |
6.3 |
0 |
| B. Stephens |
1 |
17 |
17.0 |
0 |
| T. Washington |
1 |
17 |
17.0 |
1 |
| H. Henry |
2 |
13 |
6.5 |
0 |
| N. Bax |
1 |
11 |
11.0 |
0 |
| H. Cole |
1 |
10 |
10.0 |
0 |
| I. Sategna |
1 |
2 |
2.0 |
0 |
| Kansas Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| O. Burroughs |
1 |
0 |
| Arkansas Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| Q. McAdoo |
1 |
17 |
| D. McGlothern |
1 |
0 |
| Kansas Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| G. Addison |
4 |
158 |
39.5 |
| J. Daniels |
1 |
48 |
48.0 |
| Arkansas Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| M. Fletcher |
6 |
223 |
37.2 |
| Kansas Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Arkansas Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| R. Dubinion |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
| Kansas Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| S. Morrison |
1 |
7 |
7.0 |
| Arkansas Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| A. Green |
2 |
38 |
19.0 |
| Kansas Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Arkansas Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
