Who are the Kansas Jayhawks? Introducing UNLV’s bowl opponent

A UNLV-Kansas postseason matchup seems more typical of March Madness.

The two schools aren’t meeting on the hardwood this December, however. The Rebels (9-4) and the Jayhawks (8-4) will instead face off on the gridiron at 6 p.m. Dec. 26 at the Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix.

It’s an important game for both programs. A win validates the progress both made during the regular season for two fan bases starved for football success.

“No one expects Kansas to be a football school,” said Shreyas Laddha, the Kansas football beat reporter for the Kansas City Star. “And they’re showing they can be a football and basketball school.”

Kansas enters the Guaranteed Rate Bowl with a chance to make history. It hasn’t won a bowl game since 2008, when it beat Minnesota 42-21 at the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. This season marks just the second time in program history the Jayhawks are going to a bowl game for the second straight year.

Kansas had a chance to end its bowl-win drought last season, coach Lance Leipold’s second with the program, but fell 55-53 in a triple-overtime shootout against Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl. The Jayhawks lost despite scoring 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to tie things up by the end of regulation.

Laddha said Kansas believes that second-half rally against the Razorbacks gave the team momentum heading into the 2023 season. The Jayhawks started the campaign with four straight wins, including a 31-24 victory against UNR.

Leipold’s team dropped two of its next three. That stretch includes losses to eventual Big 12 champions Texas and conference runner-up Oklahoma State.

Kansas bounced back with a 38-33 win against then-No. 6 Oklahoma on Oct. 28, which ended with students tearing down a goal post and tossing it in a nearby lake.

The Jayhawks faded near the end of the season. They lost two of their final three games, including a 31-27 defeat in the Sunflower Showdown to rivals Kansas State on Nov. 18. Laddha said a key reason for the second-half slump was quarterback injuries.

Starting signal caller Jalon Daniels, the preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, played in just three games this season because of back injuries. Daniels already announced he’s returning to Kansas for 2024, but Laddha doesn’t expect him to be available for the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

Jason Bean, Kansas’ sixth-year backup quarterback, was the Jayhawks’ primary passer with Daniels injured. Bean completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 1,681 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also rushed for 259 yards and added three scores on the ground.

Bean, like Daniels, missed time this season as well. He was out two weeks with a head injury, which was a major reason why Kansas lost to Texas Tech and Kansas State down the stretch. Bean did return for the regular-season finale against Cincinnati. He had four total touchdowns — two passing and two rushing — in a 49-16 win Nov. 25.

Bean seems like the presumptive starter in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. That means the main question surrounding Kansas is who’s calling plays for him.

Jayhawks offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki left to take the same position at Penn State on Dec. 1. Leipold hired Jeff Grimes from Baylor on Thursday to be his assistant head coach/offensive coordinator and also promoted quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski to co-offensive coordinator.

Kansas can alleviate any concerns about the coaching turnover with a win against the Rebels.

“They’re big about not skipping steps,” Laddha said. “And I think this year was a big step in the right direction for the program.”

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.