The Arkansas Razorbacks won their second bowl game in as many seasons with a triple overtime victory over Kansas on Wednesday night and broke a slew of Liberty Bowl records in the process.
After the Hogs went up by as many as 25 points, and 15 points with less than three minutes in the game, the Jayhawks stormed back to force overtime off the play of quarterback Jalon Daniels, who threw for 544 yards and five touchdowns.
Some heroic play by Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson, though, helped seal the 55-53 win for Arkansas. Here are the Liberty Bowl and program bowl records the Razorbacks broke in the win.
Liberty Bowl records:
Most points scored in one quarter
Arkansas' electric offense scored 24 points in the first quarter of the game, coming on a 37-yard field goal by Cam Little, a 59-yard touchdown pass from Jefferson to Matt Landers, a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jefferson to true freshman Ty Washington, who was only able to play in the game because of a rule passed by the NCAA to allow those who redshirted to play in the bowl game and retain their redshirt status, and a three-yard touchdown run by Jefferson with 23 seconds to go in the first quarter.
Most points scored in Liberty Bowl
The previous record for the most points scored in the Liberty Bowl, was Colorado in 1969, scoring 47 points. On Wednesday, Arkansas scored 55 total points — 24 in the first quarter, seven in the second, none in the fourth, and 17 in the three overtime periods to break the record.
Arkansas' 55 points scored, combined with the 53 that Kansas scored, also breaks the record for total points scored by two teams combined at 108. The high was previously 84, set in 2004 when Louisville beat Boise State, 44-40.
Most touchdowns scored by a team
This record, while broken, was actually tied by Arkansas and Kansas. Both teams found the end zone seven times in the game, with Arkansas coming away with the win in the third overtime after the teams started alternating two-point conversion plays.
The 14 touchdowns scored between both teams also broke a Liberty Bowl record of total touchdowns scored in one game.
Most total offense by one team
Arkansas was able to gain a total of 681 yards throughout the course of the game, which breaks the previous record of 575 by Indiana in 1988. The Hogs rushed for 394 yards and passed for 287 yards in the game.
The Razorbacks rushed the ball 52 times in the game and Jefferson was 19-of-29 through the air, and the team averaged 7.6 yards per rush and 9.9 yards per pass in the game.
Kansas also succeeded on offense, putting up 603 yards of total offense. The combined total offense of both teams — 1,284 yards — was also a Liberty Bowl record.
Team bowl records:
Team rushing yards
Arkansas' 394 rushing yards set a team bowl record for most in a single bowl game in program history.
Jefferson accounted for 130, Dubinion had 112, AJ Green ran for 99, Bryce Stephens had 21, Rocket Sanders recorded 17 and Landers added 15.
Most total offense yards
Arkansas' 681 yards of total offense is a program-best for a bowl game. The previous high was set in the 2016 Liberty Bowl against Kansas State (569)
Most points scored
Arkansas' 55 points were enough for the new program-best mark. The previous high was also set in the 2016 Liberty Bowl, when the Hogs scored 45 against Kansas State.
Most touchdowns scored - KJ Jefferson
Jefferson's four total touchdowns — two rushing, two passing — were good enough to break Alex Collins' record of three, which he set in the 2016 Liberty Bowl.
Most total offense yards - KJ Jefferson
Jefferson also set the individual record for most yards of total offense gained in a bowl with 417 (130 rushing, 287 passing). Bill Montgomery previously held the record after recording 360 yards of total offense in the 1970 Sugar Bowl.
*This list is not limited to these records. These are just the ones that HawgBeat recorded.*
