A look back at Kansas football’s 12-game bowl history

By Staff     Dec 4, 2022

Nick Krug
Kansas University running back Brandon McAnderson hams it up for the cameras with defensive end James McClinton after KU's 24-21 victory Thursday at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

The 13th bowl appearance for the University of Kansas football program will take place Dec. 28, 2022 at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.

It will mark the Jayhawks’ second appearance in the bowl that has been played since 1959.

Kansas has won five of its last six bowl games, with the only loss coming to NC State and Philip Rivers during former KU coach Mark Mangino’s first trip to a bowl game, the 2003 Tangerine Bowl.

Here’s a quick look at the rest of KU’s bowl history.

• 2008 Insight Bowl

Kansas 42, Minnesota 21 – Dec. 31, 2008

Kansas receiver Dezmon Brisoce earned bowl MVP honors af-ter setting Insight Bowl records for receptions (14) and touch-down catches (3), and the Jayhawks won consecutive bowl games for the first time ever with a 42-21 thumping of Big Ten opponent Minnesota.

Quarterback Todd Reesing completed 27 of 35 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns, the most memorable coming on the game’s first play from scrimmage, when he connected with Briscoe for an 80-yard score.

• 2008 Orange Bowl (2007 season)

Kansas 24, Virginia Tech 21 – Jan. 3, 2008

Playing in their first BCS bowl game, the Jayhawks concluded their best season in school history with a 24-21 victory over Virginia Tech on Jan. 3 in the 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl.

Cornerback Aqib Talib was named the game’s most valuable player, leading a defense that forced three interceptions and four total turnovers. His pick-six touchdown, which later in-spired him to utter the now-famous quote “I felt like Deion,” was a turning point in the game that the Kansas offense and defense controlled throughout.

Todd Reesing threw for 227 yards and a touchdown while running for another, Brandon McAnderson ran for 75 yards and Dexton Fields caught seven passes for 101 yards.

After the victory, KU’s players celebrated on the field with real oranges, with several of them biting into them like apples or squeezing them into orange juice that fell onto the grass.

• 2005 Fort Worth Bowl

Kansas 42, Houston 13 – Dec. 23, 2005

The Jayhawks achieved their first winning season in 10 years, beating Houston, 42-13, in the Fort Worth Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas.

The teams got off to a sluggish start offensively, but KU got the jolt first when Brian Murph muffed a punt, scampered back five yards to pick up the loose ball, then turned and returned it 85 yards for the first score of the night.

Kansas (7-5) led just 14-10 at halftime, but outscored the Cougars 28-3 in the second half to win by a landslide.

Jason Swanson threw for 307 yards and three TDs to earn MVP honors and Jon Cornish ran for 101 yards and a score to lead the Jayhawks to the first of three bowl wins under Mark Mangino

• 2003 Tangerine Bowl

N.C. State 56, Kansas 26 – Dec. 22, 2003

KU’s defense had been a sore spot all through the 2003 sea-son, but the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla., took it to another level.

North Carolina State quarterback Philip Rivers picked apart the Jayhawks’ defense, passing for 475 yards and five touch-downs in the 56-26 victory.

KU’s offense, led by quarterback Bill Whittemore, wasn’t bad. It piled up 463 total yards.

• 1995 Aloha Bowl

Kansas 51, UCLA 30 – Dec. 25, 1995

If it’s possible to overshadow a bowl victory such as the 51-30 pounding KU gave the UCLA Bruins in the 1995 Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day in Honolulu, then head coach Glen Mason surely did it.

The day before departing for Hawaii, Mason announced he was leaving to take the head-coaching job at Georgia. Hours before the game, the coach told his players he’d reconsidered, inspiring not only a decisive victory but also several bowl rec-ords, including most points scored by a single team at the Alo-ha Bowl.

KU QB Mark Williams was a big part of that, throwing for 288 yards, rushing for 48 more and earning game MVP honors.

The Jayhawks led 17-0 at halftime and 37-7 before letting up a little in the fourth quarter with the win well in hand.

• 1992 Aloha Bowl

Kansas 23, BYU 20 – Dec. 25, 1992

It took KU 11 seasons to make it back to another bowl game when it met Brigham Young in the 1992 Aloha Bowl on Christmas day in Honolulu.

The game got off to a less-than-stellar beginning when BYU’s Hema Heimuli ran back the opening kickoff for 94 yards and a touchdown.

The rest of the game went much better for Kansas, which went on to beat the Cougars, 23-20. MVP Dana Stubblefield sacked BYU’s Tom Young three times, and KU’s defense finished with six sacks.

• 1981 Hall of Fame Bowl

Mississippi St. 10, Kansas 0 – Dec. 31, 1981

New Year’s Eve 1981 marked the end of a six-year bowl-game drought for the Jayhawks when they met Mississippi State in the Hall of Fame Bowl in Birmingham, Ala.

The Jayhawks were humbled only 12 seconds into the game when return man Darren Green collided with a teammate, turning the ball over on the Kansas 17. On the first play from scrimmage, MSU quarterback John Bond rolled right on an op-tion and took the ball to the end zone.

The KU offense recorded just 277 yards of total offense and mounted just one scoring threat all game, on special teams. However, a clipping penalty that erased what would have been a first-and-10 at the MSU 22-yard line late in the game, ended the Jayhawks’ chances and finalized the shutout.

• 1975 Sun Bowl

Pittsburgh 33, Kansas 19 – Dec. 26, 1975

Jayhawk standout Laverne Smith’s 118-yard rushing game in the 1975 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, the day after Christmas couldn’t offset the three 100-plus yard performances posted by the Pittsburgh Panthers’ Tony Dorsett, Elliott Walker and Rob-ert Haygood.

Though Kansas scored first in the second half, it wasn’t enough to shift momentum following Pitt’s 19-0 first-half show-ing.

Kansas didn’t fold, however, scoring last on a 38-yard comple-tion from Scott McMichael to Skip Sharp.

• 1973 Liberty Bowl

N.C. State 31, Kansas 18 – Dec. 17, 1973

Going into the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tenn., the Jayhawks were modest favorites over the North Carolina State Wolfpack. N.C. State’s victory came despite a 10-all tie in the third quar-ter.

On fourth-and-six, N.C. State punted from its own 44-yard line. KU’s Bruce Adams was apparently tripped while calling for a fair catch, but no call was made. N.C. State recovered the ball and scored two plays later.

With momentum and emotion on their side, the Wolfpack scored twice more to close out the game.

• 1969 Orange Bowl

Penn State 15, Kansas 14 – Jan. 1, 1969

The Jayhawks’ second appearance in the Orange Bowl has long been known as the “12th man game,” a bitter loss that was very nearly a victory.

In the final seconds of the game, KU had seemingly stopped Penn State’s come-from-behind, two-point conversion attempt to hang on to a 14-13 lead. However, officials ruled, that KU had 12 men on the field, giving the Nittany Lions a second at-tempt, which they converted.

It was the final game for two Kansas All-Americans, quarter-back Bobby Douglass and defensive end John Zook.

• 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl

Kansas 33, Rice 7 – Dec. 16, 1961

KU’s second bowl game was played in mid-December, when the Jayhawks met Rice in the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston.

John Hadl’s fake punt with the team down 7-6 in the second quarter spurred the team past the Owls and onto a 33-7 victo-ry after dominating the second half.

Two Kansas players, Hadl and fullback Curtis McClinton, signed professional contracts on the field immediately after the conclusion of the game.

• 1948 Orange Bowl

Georgia Tech 20, Kansas 14 – Jan. 1, 1948

KU’s first ever bowl appearance, against Georgia Tech in the 1948 Orange Bowl, was a heartbreaker.

Trailing 20-14, the Jayhawks advanced the ball to the 1-yard line. But quarterback Lynne McNutt fumbled the ball on the 2-foot line to end KU’s hopes. After the play, debate raged about whether McNutt had actually fumbled or whether the ball was taken away from him after he was down.

The two teams were tied at 7 at halftime, but Georgia Tech outscored Kansas 13-0 in the third quarter to take control of the game.

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104120A look back at Kansas football’s 12-game bowl history