Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. â Making their first postseason appearance since the 2008 season, the Kansas Jayhawks have accepted an invitation to play the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 64th AutoZone Liberty Bowl on December 28. The game will take place inside Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium at 4:30 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN.
It will be Kansasâ second appearance in school history at the Liberty Bowl, with the first coming on Dec. 17, 1973, when Kansas fell to NC State, 31-18. Head Coach Lance Leipold has Kansas making its first Bowl appearance since the 2008 Insight Bowl and Kansasâ 13th all-time Bowl appearance. The Jayhawks enter this yearâs AutoZone Liberty Bowl with a 6-6 record in Bowl appearances all-time.
Kansas and Arkansas will meet for the third time in their history, with Kansas leading the all-time series at 2-0. The two teams last met in 1906 in Lawrence (37-5), with the first meeting coming in 1905 in Little Rock (6-0).
Kansas enters the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at 6-6 on the season, after racing out to a 5-0 start, its best start since 2009. Kansas opened the season with a 56-10 victory over Tennessee Tech, before claiming its first win in program history at West Virginia, 55-42 (OT), on Sept. 10.
The Jayhawks carried their momentum on the road to Houston on Sept. 17, where Kansas defeated the Houston Cougars, 48-30. Kansas returned home for a three-game homestand, defeating Duke (35-27) and Iowa State (14-11), leading to their first AP Top-25 ranking since the 2009 season, ranking No. 19.
With an undefeated Big 12 matchup coming to Lawrence between Kansas and TCU, ESPNâs College GameDay came to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium for the first time on Oct. 8.
Kansas officially clinched Bowl eligibility with a 37-16 victory over No. 18 Oklahoma State on Nov. 5, marking Kansasâ first win against a ranked opponent since 2010. Kansas enters the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on a three-game slide.
âWeâre thrilled to welcome back the Kansas Jayhawks to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl for the first time in nearly 50 years. Weâre impressed with the new enthusiasm and excitement around the Kansas Football program created by head coach Lance Leipold and director of athletics Travis Goff,â said Steve Ehrhart, Executive Director of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. âWe fully recognize that Kansas has not participated in a bowl game since 2008 and Jayhawk fans are eager to celebrate their teamâs return to the post season and follow them on their bowl trip to Memphis.â
Arkansas enters the AutoZone Liberty Bowl with a 6-6 record, including a 3-5 record in SEC play to rank fifth in the SEC West. The Razorbacks are Bowl Bound for the second-straight season after defeating Penn State, 24-10, in the 2022 Outback Bowl. Arkansas is 15-24-3 in Bowl appearances all-time and are making their sixth appearance in the Liberty Bowl, where they are 2-3 all-time.