One of the most entering and chaotic games of this entire college football season went down at the Liberty Bowl on Wednesday as Arkansas held off Kansas for a 55-53 triple overtime victory.
Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson stole the show in Memphis. He completed 19 of 29 passes for 287 yards and two scores (one interception).
This 59-yarder to Matt Landers in the first quarter gave Arkansas a 9-7 edge.
On the ground, Jefferson rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. He also authored one of the most eye-popping plays of the evening with this 32-yard run that could have easily ended as a sack before Jefferson pinballed off/dragged defenders.
Arkansas scored 24 first-quarter points early and held a 38-13 third-quarter lead thanks largely to Jefferson, but Kansas closed regulation with 25 straight points to force overtime.
KU quarterback Jalon Daniels threw for more than three-tenths of a mile (544 yards) and five touchdowns. He found Douglas Emilien for 10 yards with 1:05 remaining, and the ensuing extra point cut the Arkansas lead to 38-30.
A successful onside kick put the ball back in Jefferson's hands, and Daniels went back to work.
Four plays later, Daniels hit Luke Grimm for a 21-yard touchdown before hitting Lawrence Arnold for the two-point conversion and the 38-all tie.
Both teams matched each other in the scoring department in the first and second overtimes. Daniels hit Jared Casey for a touchdown in the first overtime before running in for a two-yard score in the second OT. He then passed to Casey for a two-pointer and a 53-53 tie.
But Jefferson was simply too good on this day. In the second OT, he ran for a 20-yard touchdown and connected with Jaedon Wilson for a two-point conversion. He also started the third OT, which kickstarted a series of two-point tries, by finding Rashod Dubinion for two points.
In response, KU threw an incomplete pass on its two-point try, and that was the ballgame.
One of the best games of the season ended with both Jefferson and Daniels starring, but in the end, the former earned the Liberty Bowl MVP award.
He also received plenty of praise on Twitter for his sensational performance.
Arkansas finished its season with a 7-6 record. The Razorbacks have now posted back-to-back winning campaigns after going 11-35 from 2017-20.
Kansas finished 6-7, but it's an impressive accomplishment for a team that hadn't won more than three games in any single season since 2009. KU also posted victories against a trio of teams with winning records in Duke, Houston and Oklahoma State.
