2022 Liberty Bowl

The Liberty Bowl featured the Kansas Jayhawks from the Big 12 Conference and the Arkansas Razorbacks from the Southeastern Conference. The Jayhawks and Razorbacks had previously only met twice, in 1905 and 1906, with the Jayhawks winning both games. Both teams became bowl eligible by beating a ranked team: Kansas beat No. 18 Oklahoma State and Arkansas beat No. 14 Ole Miss. Previews of the game viewed the teams similarly, with both offenses generally praised and expected to do well against each other's defenses. CBS Sports said that quarterback play would be a high point for each team, with Jalon Daniels and KJ Jefferson each performing well over the course of the season. Further, they gave Kansas the advantage in momentum despite the disappointing end to both teams' seasons, since the Jayhawks' appearance ended their bowl drought of 14 years. Overall, Arkansas was favored to win the game by 2.5 points. They started the season with a 5–0 record and were ranked for the first time since 2009, but fell out of the rankings after losing back-to-back games. The Jayhawks made their first bowl game appearance since the 2008 Insight Bowl and their second all-time appearance in the Liberty Bowl, with the first in 1973. Sports Illustrated praised Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels for his performance early in the season, but he suffered an injury during the Jayhawks' game against TCU and missed four weeks before returning to action. Athlon Sports, in their preview of the game, said that he had been one of the best quarterbacks in the country prior to his injury, and he finished the regular season having totaled nearly 1,500 passing yards and 400 rushing yards in addition to 19 total touchdowns. Athlon Sports further wrote that Daniels' ability to run and pass would be an advantage over an Arkansas defense that entered the game ranked 13th of 14 in their conference in pass efficiency defense, 13th in yards per play allowed and 11th in overall scoring defense. This was the Razorbacks' sixth appearance in the Liberty Bowl, with their last coming in the January 2016 edition against Kansas State. Running back Raheim Sanders finished in second place in the SEC for total rushing yards during the season. On defense, linebackers Bumper Pool and Drew Sanders did not play due to injury and draft preparation, respectively, while tackle Isaiah Nichols opted to transfer. ==Game summary==

before the game The Liberty Bowl was televised by ESPN, with a commentary team of Dave O'Brien, Dan Mullen, and Taylor McGregor. The ESPN Radio broadcast was commentated by Clay Matvick, Rocky Boiman, and Tera Talmadge. (blue, No. 6) after gaining a first down during the second quarter Kansas began the second quarter with a pass completed from Daniels to Arnold that reached the Kansas 49-yard line, and Daniels rushed for a first down on the next play. After moderate gains on the next few plays, Daniels was intercepted by Dwight McGlothern at the Arkansas 35-yard line, though he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct back to the Arkansas 15-yard line. The Razorbacks started their next drive with a 12-yard pass from Jefferson to Green but they stalled from there and punted after gaining five yards on their next three plays. The punt was downed at the Kansas 45-yard line, though the Jayhawks were similarly unproductive as Daniels rushed for a loss of 5 yards on first down and was sacked by Jordan Domineck and Terry Hampton, losing 3 yards, on third down. Grayden Addison punted for the Jayhawks on fourth down, and the kick was fair caught on the Arkansas 22-yard line. Dubinion rushed for 2 yards before Jefferson passed for 17 yards to Bryce Stephens, earning a first down; Dubinion gained 26 yards on a rush several plays later to reach Kansas territory at the 35-yard line. After a timeout, Jefferson passed to Green for 10 yards and Green scored on a 20-yard rush on the next play; Little's extra point made the Arkansas lead 24 points. The ensuing kickoff by Bates went out for a touchback and Daniels completed an 11-yard pass to Arnold to convert a third down after a pair of short rushes by Neal. Grimm was the recipient of a 17-yard pass from Daniels later in the drive, and the Jayhawks found the end zone four plays later with a 24-yard pass to Mason Fairchild. Kansas opted to try a two-point conversion, which was unsuccessful. Arkansas started their next drive with 78 seconds left in the half at their own 25-yard line; Dubinion rushed for 13 yards on the first play of the drive and for 12 yards two plays later. On the next play, Jefferson rushed for 32 yards and advanced the ball to the Kansas 9-yard line with a personal foul after the play, though his pass into the end zone was intercepted by O.J. Burroughs for a touchback. Kansas took a knee to end the half on their next play. Daniels then passed to Casey, tying the game again and sending it to a third overtime. In the third overtime and beyond, teams have one play each, a two-point conversion from the 3-yard line, rather than full possessions from the opponents' 25-yard line; Arkansas scored theirs, with a Jefferson pass to Dubinion, to take the lead again and force Kansas to convert theirs in order to stay in the game. They failed, on an incomplete pass by backup quarterback Jason Bean, and the game ended after three overtimes with Arkansas defeating Kansas, 55–53. The total duration of the game was four hours and sixteen minutes. Scoring summary ==Statistics==

As a result of the game, Arkansas finished with a winning season and a final record of 7–6, while Kansas finished a losing season with a final record of 6–7. Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels set a Liberty Bowl record and a Kansas program with 544 passing yards, Kansas drew the game even from an 18-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, and they would have become the second team to overcome a deficit of 18 points or more during the 2022 season, after Houston did so against Memphis on October 8, had they won the game. Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson was named the game's most valuable player, The conclusion of the review was that the play by McAdoo was not targeting and that he should not have been disqualified for the remainder of the game; additionally, he did not have to sit out the first half of Arkansas' 2023 opener against Western Carolina. ==References==