Wednesday Walkthrough: Liberty Bowl Week
The wait is finally over. After 13 years, 12 games this season and over seven weeks since bowl eligibility was achieved in a win over Oklahoma State, the Kansas Jayhawks are finally going bowling.
And they'll get a fun, unique matchup, to boot. It's Kansas versus the Arkansas Razorbacks at the 64th annual Liberty Bowl. It's the first meeting between the two programs since 1906, and it's KU's first appearance in the Liberty Bowl since a loss to North Carolina State in 1973.
The Jayhawks are underdogs to the SEC's Razorbacks, but there's reason to believe, maybe even be confident, that this will be a competitive matchup and one that Kansas certainly has a chance to win.
LISTENING IN ON LANCE
"I'm extremely proud of where we're at, proud of the guys and how they've handled the situation and everything, so I'm excited to get out there and go and I know they are too."
Kansas coach Lance Leipold would be the first to tell you that for as memorable and impressive as this season has been for the Jayhawks, the program still has a long way to go. With that in mind, they're fortunate to get several extra weeks of practice with the full roster thanks to bowl eligibility. Between that and the experiences that come with traveling for a bowl game, KU has had a lot on its plate this week, but Leipold espoused confidence in how the team has handled it all.
"I've always heard great things about him. Excellent football coach but better person, and that really resonated pretty quickly."
As is typical of Leipold, he was highly complimentary of Arkansas coach Sam Pittman on Tuesday. That was part of a trend for the two head coaches, with Pittman calling Leipold "a freaking great football coach."
"When you're playing a program like an Arkansas from the SEC that's able to recruit at a high level, there's talented guys waiting for their opportunity. And it's not like a one-week situation, it's been multiple weeks and the guys are going to get a lot of reps and I'm sure their anxious to show that some of those snaps or targets maybe could have come sooner."
Leipold was asked about facing an Arkansas team that will be missing numerous players due to opt-outs or transfer portal entries. He pointed out that even with those missing players from the Arkansas depth chart, Kansas will still be facing a talented group. And there's data to back up that assertion: According to 247Sports, the Razorbacks rank 25th nationally in total roster talent based on recruiting rankings.
"He's anxious to play ... I think there's some other guys that were kind of banged up late in the year that are moving around a lot better. Again, I keep saying I hope that shows itself tomorrow."
Quarterback Jalon Daniels was the focus of the question that elicited the above response from Leipold, but the chance to spend the better part of the last month getting as many players healthy as possible is a plus for KU's entire roster. Based on what Leipold said, it sounds like Kansas has been able to maximize both its recovery time and practice time ahead of the Liberty Bowl.
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
When: Wednesday, Dec. 28 at 4:30 p.m. CT
Where: Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Spread: Kansas +2.5
While Kansas opened the year as hot as anyone before taking a sharp downturn midway through the season, Arkansas got to its 6-6 record via an up-and-down path. The Razorbacks started the year 3-0, then lost to three straight ranked opponents. They won their next two games, both on the road, then went just 1-3 over their final four contests of the year. Most of those six losses were narrow defeats for Arkansas. Its final three losses came by a combined seven points, and its loss to Texas A&M on Sept. 24 was decided by a missed field goal.
Starting quarterback K.J. Jefferson racked up nearly 2,900 of offense (2,361 passing, 510 rushing) this season despite missing a Nov. 12 loss to LSU. He won't have four of his top six receiving targets in the Liberty Bowl, however, with Jadon Haselwood opting out, and Trey Knox, Ketron Jackson and Warren Thompson all leaving the program through the transfer portal.
Bill Connelly's SP+ metric at ESPN has Arkansas ranked 29th in the country while Kansas is ranked 60th. Stats Perform's TRACR metric, meanwhile, has the Razorbacks one spot lower at No. 30 and the Jayhawks slightly higher at No. 56. That outlet also gives Arkansas a 75.5% chance to beat Kansas.
JAYHAWK TO WATCH
It feels like the easiest possible answer, but Daniels is the pick for the Liberty Bowl. For one, you need your best players to step up in the biggest games. Daniels was the catalyst for much for the Jayhawks' success all season long, so if they're going to pull off the upset win in Memphis you would expect that it would have a lot to do with him.
Additionally, the expectation is that Wednesday's matchup will be a high-scoring affair. Just ask Vegas about that, with the total currently set at 68.5 points. If KU is going to pull its weight in a game with that many points then the likes of Devin Neal and the rest of the skill position players will need to have big games. But Daniels is one of the country's most dynamic quarterbacks and if Kansas is going to bring home hardware this week, it will need that dynamism in spades.
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