The 2022 Liberty Bowl features the 6-6 Kansas Jayhawks against the 6-6 Arkansas Razorbacks. Here is the 2022 Liberty Bowl preview.
Kansas Jayhawks (6-6)
What a year it’s been for the Jayhawks program and what a turnaround by second year head coach Lance Leipold. The six win season was the most since 2008. Kansas started off on a five game winning streak including wins against bowl eligible Houston and Duke. They notched another win against Oklahoma State later in the year. All six losses came against bowl eligible teams as well.
Kansas averages 34.2 points per game which ties for 27th. They average 230.2 passing yards per game (ranked 66th) and 194.7 rushing yards (ranked 34th).
The offense won’t be impacted by any opt outs or new injuries. Quarterback Jalon Daniels will be in his 3rd game back since getting injured in the middle of the hot start. He’s protected the ball very well with 13 touchdowns to just two interceptions while also providing a threat with his legs. Runningback Devin Neal averaged 6.2 yards per carry in his 1,000+ yard campaign this season. He had some breakout games late in the season and will be hoping for another.
Kansas’s defense was arguably the worst in the power five. They allowed 33.83 points per game which ranked 119th. They allowed 257.9 yards through the air (ranked 104th) and 193.7 rushing yards (ranked 114th). Some small consolation is the defense also isn’t affected by any opt outs or injuries. The strongest unit is in the secondary for the Jayhawks. 1st Team All-Big 12 Cobee Bryant led the team with three interceptions. And 2nd Team All-Big12 Ra’Mello Dotson followed him with two interceptions.
Arkansas Razorbacks (6-6)
It was a disappointing season for Arkansas who was expected to build off a strong 2021 season. They had some nice wins against bowl eligible Cincinnati, South Carolina, BYU and Ole Miss. But the losses piled up with all but one (Texas A&M) coming against bowl eligible teams. The home loss to Liberty was a particular road bump during the up and down season.
Arkansas’s offense averages 30.7 points per game which ties for 48th. They pass for 230.3 yards per game (ranked 65th) and were outstanding on the ground with 223.4 yards per game (ranked 9th).
The rushing game should be in okay shape but 1st Team All-SEC Ricky Stromberg has opted out. Raheim “Rocket” Sanders was second in the SEC with 1,426 yards along with 10 touchdowns. Quarterback KJ Jefferson also provides a lot for the rushing attack with his 6’3″ 240lbs+ frame. The bad news is he will be without most of his targets. Four of the top six receiving leaders are opted out for this game. That leaves just Matt Landers and Rocket Sanders remaining with more than 9 receptions on the season.
Arkansas’s defense was nearly as bad as Kansas’s this year. They allowed 28.75 points per game which ranked 91st. They allowed 273.9 passing yards per game (ranked 118th) and 179.8 yards on the ground (ranked 103rd). To make matters worse, they will be heavily impacted by opt outs. The defense’s two leading tacklers are out for the game in linebackers Drew Sanders (1st Team All-SEC) and Bumper Pool (2nd Team All-SEC). Starting defensive tackle Isaiah Nichols is also out. Khari Johnson who played significant time in the secondary will also be out.
Prediction
With so many opt outs and such poor defenses this game is sure to be whacko. Fitting for Kansas’s first bowl game in nearly 15 years. It’s hard to imagine Arkansas can make up for missing so many pieces on an already bad defense, not to mention not having any targets for Jefferson. They will be highly reliant on the running game which bodes poorly for a potentially high scoring game.
Kansas 27 Arkansas 17
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