Phoenix — Luke Grimm initially celebrated his third touchdown Tuesday night, the dagger in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, by running across the end zone holding up three fingers. Appropriate, if a bit predictable.
Then, just as he slowed to a stop and was joined by his fellow two starting receivers Lawrence Arnold and Quentin Skinner, he switched to another gesture: a sort of Spider-Man “thwip.” The three stood in a triangle and fired imaginary webs in a kind of homage to the superhero cartoon meme of Spider-Men pointing at each other.
“We all can catch, so it’s like we all got sticky hands,” Arnold said postgame.
Arnold said the celebration had been Skinner’s idea, and one the group had been thinking about bringing to life since September.
Grimm said that he and Arnold were waiting for Skinner to score, but on a night where he and Arnold were scoring at will, Skinner’s improbable leaping catch over UNLV’s Ricky Johnson only brought him down to the 1-yard line.
“So we just decided after the sixth one between us two, we should just do it,” Grimm said.
It was a fitting gesture on a superhuman kind of night for the receiving corps, which rarely gets the attention of KU’s formidable running-back duo or its resurgent quarterback Jason Bean. But it seized the limelight on Bean’s final night in a Jayhawk uniform, and helped send him out with the No. 2 spot on the school’s all-time career touchdowns list, and a pretty impressive single-game stat line: 449 passing yards (including 160 to Grimm, 132 to Arnold and 80 to Skinner) and six touchdowns with three interceptions.
“It’s always a competition between us to see who can get the most touchdowns, who can get the most yards,” Arnold said.
When Grimm had two touchdowns to Arnold’s one, Arnold said, he went to his teammate and said he wasn’t going to be the only one with two scores. By the time Arnold had three, Grimm came back and returned the favor. And so they got their three each, a feat that had never been accomplished in program history. In doing so they both matched Dezmon Briscoe’s three-touchdown night at the 2008 Insight Bowl, which had also been KU’s most recent bowl victory.
“We’re just having fun competing with each other,” Grimm said. “But at the end of the day, we’re scoring touchdowns for KU.”
There were the highlight-reel one-on-one grabs — Skinner’s over Johnson, and Arnold’s against Cameron Oliver in the back corner of the end zone early on.
Kansas’ Quentin Skinner goes up for a catch over UNLV’s Ricky Johnson in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.
Kansas wide receiver Lawrence Arnold goes up for a catch over UNLV’s Cameron Oliver at the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023.
But there were also dynamic runs after the catch, as the group delivered on its emphasis from preseason training camp back in August on one play to Arnold in particular.
Bean found him out wide to the left at his own 42-yard line on a quick screen and Grimm and Skinner were immediately out in front throwing blocks on Oliver and Jaxen Turner. Arnold used his speed to stretch the play down the sideline, then cut back inside to force a missed tackle by Jerrae Williams. Skinner knocked down one more UNLV defender, Johnathan Baldwin, for good measure, as Arnold crossed the goal line.
The touchdown couldn’t have come at a better time, with the Rebels having drawn back within one score just two plays earlier.
The play exemplified the role KU’s wideouts have had to play all season — frequently supporting actors in their teammates’ highlights. Skinner and Arnold are No. 12 and No. 31, respectively, in Pro Football Focus run blocking grades among wide receivers nationwide. Tuesday night, though, they took center stage, with one of them running free on a deep ball on what felt like every possession.
“We just don’t know sometimes which night which guy’s going to get the opportunity,” head coach Lance Leipold said, “but they all have the capability.”
All three wide receivers will be back next year, too, as seniors hoping to team with quarterback Jalon Daniels and offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes to form another dynamic passing offense.
Kansas wide receiver Lawrence Arnold (2) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against UNLV during the second half of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl NCAA college football game Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, in Phoenix. Kansas won 49-36. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Kansas wide receiver Lawrence Arnold (2) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against UNLV during the second half of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl NCAA college football game Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, in Phoenix. Kansas won 49-36. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Kansas wide receiver Luke Grimm (11) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against UNLV during the second half of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl NCAA college football game Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, in Phoenix. Kansas won 49-36. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
