| 2022 AutoZone Liberty Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64th Liberty Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The stands and press boxes prior to kickoff | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | December 28, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Memphis, Tennessee | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | KJ Jefferson (QB, Arkansas)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Arkansas by 2.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Matthew Richards (Pac-12)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 52,847 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$4,700,000[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Dave O'Brien (play-by-play), Dan Mullen (analyst), and Taylor McGregor (sideline) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2022 Liberty Bowl (officially known as the AutoZone Liberty Bowl for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2022, at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The 64th annual Liberty Bowl, the game featured the Kansas Jayhawks from the Big 12 Conference and the Arkansas Razorbacks from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game began at 4:35 p.m. CST[4] and was aired on ESPN.[5] It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season.
Both teams entered having started the season well but finished poorly: Kansas won their first five games and were ranked in the AP Poll for the first time since 2009, but finished 6–6 after losing their last three games and six of their final seven. Arkansas received a preseason ranking of No. 19 and started the year 3–0 before losing three straight and finishing the year 1–3 in their final four games. Kansas made their first bowl appearance since the 2008 Insight Bowl while Arkansas made their second straight after playing in the 2022 Outback Bowl. Previews praised both quarterbacks, as Jalon Daniels returned from injury to a productive end to the season and KJ Jefferson ranked highly in the SEC in passing yardage. The Razorbacks saw some personnel changes leading up to the game: defensive coordinator Barry Odom became the head coach at UNLV and both sides of the ball saw departures and opt-outs, including Drew Sanders, Bumper Pool, and Jadon Haselwood.
After the teams traded touchdowns to begin the game, Arkansas scored four unanswered touchdowns, two passing and two rushing, to give themselves a 31–7 lead with five minutes remaining in the second quarter. Kansas scored a second touchdown of their own a minute before halftime, cutting the Razorbacks' advantage to eighteen points. After Rashod Dubinion opened the scoring in the third quarter for Arkansas the momentum shifted and Kansas scored 25 unanswered points, finishing with a Luke Grimm reception and a subsequent two-point conversion that tied the score at 38 points apiece with 41 seconds remaining. The game went to overtime where each team scored a touchdown and made their extra point; in double overtime, each team scored again and successfully converted their two-point try. Under NCAA overtime rules, starting in the third overtime period teams only alternate two-point attempts rather than playing entire drives starting from the opponents' 25-yard line. Arkansas scored theirs but Kansas was unable to do the same after Jason Bean's pass fell incomplete, giving the Razorbacks a 55–53 triple overtime victory.
- ^ "Arkansas 'got lucky at the end,' tops Kansas in Liberty Bowl". ESPN. December 28, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
- ^ Austro, Ben (December 4, 2022). "2022–23 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Bowl Schedule". College Football Poll. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
finalstatswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "2022 College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.