Kansas offensive lineman Earl Bostick Jr. (68) lies in the turf after the team's three-overtime loss to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl NCAA college football game Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. Arkansas won 55-53. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Memphis, Tenn. — The lasting image of the Kansas football team’s first bowl appearance in 14 years will be back-up quarterback Jason Bean sailing a pass out of the back of the end zone on a two-point conversion try that gave Arkansas a wild and crazy 55-53 triple-overtime victory.

But for those who battled, the Jayhawks who erased a 24-point deficit and found a way to believe they weren’t dead in the water when the rest of the world not only thought they were but knew it, the lasting image will be the scene in the locker room after the loss.

Tears were present. Emotions ran hot. And words of encouragement and heartache became synonymous. No one in there cared about Jalon Daniels’ seven Liberty Bowl records or the 24 Liberty Bowl records that Kansas and Arkansas combined to set or tie in the wild game at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

“It was definitely a fun game to play,” said Daniels, who also set KU’s single-game passing record with 544 passing yards and five touchdowns. “To be able to go into that many overtimes means that it’s a hell of a game. I’m sure right after that first half a lot of people counted us out. So, to be able to come back the way we did shows that we have a lot of grit on our team. But we didn’t get the outcome we wanted.”

It was close. And you can be sure that the Razorbacks (7-6) walked out feeling pretty fortunate that they escaped with the win.

Trailing by 15 points with as few as four minutes to play and Arkansas in possession of the ball, the Jayhawks improbably rallied to tie the game in regulation and send it to overtime.

All of this after Arkansas’ 24-point first quarter started the game out with a Liberty Bowl record for most points in a single quarter.

Cobee Bryant recovered a fumble and returned it into Arkansas territory to set up Doug Emilien’s touchdown with 1:05 to play. The extra point pulled Kansas within eight.

Then, on the ensuing kickoff, KU safety Kenny Logan Jr., scooped up a perfectly executed kick by Tabor Allen to give the Jayhawks (6-7) even more hope. Four plays later, after a 21-yard touchdown pass to Luke Grimm (10 catches for 167 yards and a touchdown) and a 2-point conversion pass to Lawrence Arnold (8 for 119), the Jayhawks had tied the game.

“When the overtime hit, there was a sense of confidence about this group, especially with Jalon,” Leipold said.

Even then, as the fans on the Kansas side of the stadium exploded like it was Mass. Street after a national championship win in basketball, Daniels remained calm. No jumping up and down. No chest bumps with teammates. Just a single fist in the air and a slow and steady walk toward the sideline that reminded everyone who saw it that there was still work to be done.

“The whole second half I played calm,” Daniels said. “I felt like in the first half there were a few times where I played outside of myself.”

Added KU coach Lance Leipold: “Jalon had a really nice first series and then after he kind of bobbled that snap he tried to press a little bit. … We’ve battled back early in some games this year, but nothing like this in the second half.”

The teams matched scores in the first OT, with KU actually taking a lead on a familiar connection. On fourth-and-goal from the 2, Daniels hit Jared Casey all alone in the end zone to put Kansas ahead 45-38 after the extra point. Like Daniels throughout Wednesday’s game and the entire season, Casey stayed cool, too, smoothly tucking the ball away after he caught it following the reception.

In the second OT, the two quarterbacks canceled each other out with rushing touchdowns and 2-point conversion passes, with KU’s also coming from Daniels to Casey.

From there, the teams moved to the third overtime, where college rules dictate that it’s nothing but 2-point conversions the rest of the way.

Arkansas converted theirs on a 2-yard pass from KJ Jefferson to Rashod Dubinion, and that set up Kansas with a chance to go for the tie. KU ran a version of the famed “Philly Special,” which the Philadelphia Eagles won a Super Bowl with in 2018.

But rather than converting, Bean, who filled in admirably for Daniels during the games he missed with a shoulder injury, ran hard to the right and fired a pass out of the back of the end zone.

Game over.

As soon as the ball landed, Bean walked directly toward the locker room. A couple of teammates ran him down and made sure he didn’t walk away feeling like Wednesday’s loss was on him.

“Jason feels terrible,” Leipold said. “Everybody always looks at the last play, but there’s going to be plenty of plays that we could’ve performed better on that maybe didn’t even put us to that point.”

Added linebacker Rich Miller when asked if he had talked to Bean since the game ended: “Yeah. He’s good.”

The reason there was a sense of pride among the heartache that was most prevalent was the same for everyone in the Kansas locker room. From Daniels and Leipold to Athletic Director Travis Goff and every single member of KU’s support staff, this was a game they were proud to be a part of. And it’s because this team believes it showed a national audience what Kansas football in this new era is all about. Toughness. Fight. Fire. Finesse. And most of all togetherness.

After getting manhandled for a while by a bigger, faster, stronger team from the mighty SEC, the Jayhawks stood tall and nearly completed an improbable comeback for the ages.

The best illustration of how they nearly pulled it off came during the second overtime, when Logan walked over to Miller for a quick conversation. Their words then were a reminder of a similar conversation they had earlier, when it looked as if Arkansas might run Kansas out of the stadium.

“I’m never done until the game’s over,” Miller said. “I don’t care if we’re down by 100. He came over and said, ‘We said we were going to give our all until the game’s over.’ And I said, ‘And it still ain’t over. We’ve got more to give.’ And we tried to go out there and give our best.”

It’s that mindset and approach, win or lose, that has turned this Kansas program from a laughingstock to a bowl contender that believes it can compete with anybody, anywhere.

While Leipold has said dozens of times how proud he is of this group, he’s not about to let anyone get too comfortable.

Safety O.J. Burroughs explained exactly why.

“We didn’t get the outcome we wanted,” he said. “But I’m proud of all my brothers. We fought back.”

Added Leipold: “That whole group battled and I think people got their money’s worth today. … I’ll never be satisfied. Even if we were on the right side of the score tonight, there’d be plenty I’d want us to get better at, and I think anyone who’s competitive and wants to build a program for sustainable success would feel the same way.”