Liberty Bowl Gone Wild: Records fall in furious fashion during thrilling triple-OT battle between Kansas and Arkansas

By Matt Tait     Dec 28, 2022
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Kansas offensive lineman Earl Bostick Jr. (68) lies in the turf after the team's three-overtime loss to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl NCAA college football game Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. Arkansas won 55-53. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Memphis, Tenn. — In all, Wednesday’s 55-53, triple-overtime victory by Arkansas over Kansas in the 64th annual Liberty Bowl at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium featured 24 records that were tied or broken.

Everything from the game’s duration to individual passing records and everything in between was under assault on Wednesday night in a game that featured Kansas falling behind 31-7 but erasing that deficit to force overtime and actually taking a 45-38 lead at one point during the extra frames.

KU quarterback Jalon Daniels was one of the biggest record breakers in the game, and he put up some numbers that either broke decades-old records or are likely to stand for as long as they did prior to him breaking them.

Here’s a rundown of the records that fell, and a few other notes, from the wild win by the Razorbacks.

• This is the second OT game in Liberty Bowl history and both involved Arkansas. The Razorbacks defeated East Carolina 20-17 in one overtime in 2010.

• The Arkansas-Kansas game set a Liberty Bowl record for longest game in history with 3 overtimes.

• The 108 combined points between Kansas and Arkansas set a Liberty Bowl record, surpassing the 84 scored in the 2004 Liberty Bowl, Louisville 44, Boise State 40.

• The 55 points scored by Arkansas set a Liberty Bowl record, surpassing 47 scored by Colorado vs. Alabama in the 1969 Liberty Bowl.

• Kansas’ 53 points are now the second-most all-time in Liberty Bowl history.

• Kansas QB Jalon Daniels set a Liberty Bowl record with 565 yards of total offense (544 passing, 21 rushing). He surpassed Illinois’ Tony Eason (413 in 1982) and Missouri’s Drew Lock (403 in 2018)

• Arkansas KJ Jefferson is now second all-time in Liberty Bowl history with 417 yards total offense (287 passing, 130 rushing)

• Jalon Daniels’ 544 yards passing set a Liberty Bowl record and his 37 pass completions also set a Liberty Bowl record. His 55 pass attempts were tied for the most in Liberty Bowl history with Illinois’ Tony Eason.

• Kansas’ 544 yards passing and 37 pass completions both set new Liberty Bowl records.

• Jalon Daniels’ six TDs scored (5 passing, 1 rushing) set a Liberty Bowl record.

• Jalon Daniels’ 38 points accounted for set a Liberty Bowl record, surpassing Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott’s 30 in 2013 and Texas A&M’s Kyle Allen 30 in 2014.

• Jalon Daniels set a Liberty Bowl record with 5 TD passes.

• Kansas set a Liberty Bowl record with 5 TD passes.

• Arkansas’ KJ Jefferson’s 4 TDs (2 passing, 2 rushing) is tied for the fourth most in Liberty Bowl history.

• Kansas’ Luke Grimm’s 10 receptions tied a Liberty Bowl record with three others.

• Arkansas’ 681 yards total offense set a Liberty Bowl record, surpassing Missouri’s 637 yards vs. Oklahoma State in 2018.

• Kansas’ 603 yards total offense is the third most in Liberty Bowl history.

• Kansas’ 544 yards passing set a Liberty Bowl record, surpassing Illinois’ 423 yards passing in 1982.

• Arkansas’ 24 first quarter points set a Liberty Bowl record for most points scored by a single team in any quarter.

• Kansas’ 40 second half points (with OTs) set a Liberty Bowl record for most points scored by any team in a half.

• The 1,284 combined total yards by both Kansas and Arkansas set a Liberty Bowl record, surpassing 1,139 yards total offense in 2018 by Missouri and Oklahoma State.

• Arkansas’ 31 first half points tied a Liberty Bowl record by most points scored by any team in a half. Boise State in 2004 and Colorado in 1969 each had 31 first half points as well.

• The 64 combined second-half points (with OTs) by both Arkansas and Kansas also set a Liberty Bowl record for points in a half by both teams.

• The 31 combined total first quarter points by both Arkansas and Kansas are the second most combined first-quarter points in Liberty Bowl history, only surpassed by the 2014 Liberty Bowl with West Virginia leading Texas A&M 20-14 after the opening period.

• Kansas’ 90 plays are the second most plays in Liberty Bowl history, falling just shy of Baylor’s 91 plays in 1985.

• Both Arkansas and Kansas scored seven touchdowns apiece to set a Liberty Bowl record for most TDs by a team. Their 14 combined TDs also set a Liberty Bowl record.

• Kansas’ 32 first downs set a Liberty Bowl record, surpassing Ole Miss’ 30 in 1989 and Arkasnas’ 30 in 2015.

• Kansas’ 25 passing first downs set a Liberty Bowl record, surpassing Illinois’ 18 in 1982.

• The 55 pass attempts by Kansas are the second most all-time in Liberty Bowl history behind Illinois’ 58 in 1982.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.