photo by: Jonathan Mouer/Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Kansas coach Lance Leipold, center, is greeted on the tarmac in Phoenix on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023.

Kansas linebacker Rich Miller approached every game this season with the mentality that he and his teammates had to “do what we needed to do from the jump.”

That instinct, he said, originated from the 2022 Liberty Bowl, in which “we fought hard but we waited too late to do it.” The Jayhawks, playing in the postseason for the first time since 2008, fell behind Arkansas 38-13 in the third quarter before mounting a sensational comeback, only to lose 55-53 in triple overtime.

“I remember how it felt,” Miller said. “I never forgot how it felt.”

Unlike many of his predecessors at KU, Miller will get a chance for immediate redemption. His team is headed to the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix to face UNLV on Dec. 26 at 8 p.m. Central Time.

This year’s Jayhawks are just the second group in school history to go to back-to-back bowl games — and the first to return to a second after losing their first, because KU managed to win the Orange Bowl and Insight Bowl in consecutive seasons in 2007 and 2008.

Miller, a fifth-year senior playing in his final game, is determined to keep a streak going that dates back to his farewells to Little League and to high school.

“I never left off a loss,” he said.

But the significance of this second straight appearance goes beyond Miller’s record, and beyond the result of one football game, set in an atypical locale, named after a mortgage group.

“It just tells everyone just how special this group is, and it’s really unique just to be a part of this team, and be a part of this program, and really flip this around,” said junior running back Devin Neal, a Lawrence native. “For years to come, we’re going to be a team that’s respected. And now we’re just going to be a team that is playing in different bowl games and hopefully playing in the big one one day too.”

Much like their upset win over Oklahoma earlier this year (paired with their appearance on Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show), the bowl appearance will bolster the Jayhawks’ brand. Not only does KU get its name recognition strengthened in a state it has aggressively recruited recently, led by newly minted co-defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson, with four commitments coming in next season. It also gets another chance at a national stage.

“When you start playing in games like this and there’s not as many games on in time slots, you have a chance for a lot more eyeballs on you,” head coach Lance Leipold said. “And it does wonders for your program and gives a chance for you to talk about your program a little bit in different ways. Young men get a chance to see if they fit.”

What about the young men currently in the program? Teams that go to bowl games get weeks and weeks of extra time to work together.

For veterans, that can mean a chance to rest briefly after a grueling three months, then return refocused.

“When you get away from what you do every day, and then come back to it, you will probably be better,” Miller said.

For young players, it can be a rare opportunity for increased reps that doesn’t come along during the game-week grind. Some may even get the chance to play in the bowl game without affecting their redshirt status if the NCAA issues another waiver as it did last season.

When KU made its return to the postseason for that fateful Liberty Bowl, Leipold said the benefits of going to a bowl game “won’t even be seen completely this year or maybe even next year” and that those who reap the rewards are the “teams that have been able to stack that year in and year out.”

After just one bowl season, Leipold said earlier this month, “It was a huge difference. You could see it right away in the spring as you go, the retention level, especially (of) your younger players.” So the underclassmen who have gotten two seasons’ worth of extra winter work may be ready to emerge fully formed when called upon to contribute.

Indeed, Leipold added later that young players like safety Taylor Davis and linebacker Logan Brantley had already shone in the early days of bowl practice.

Every aspect of the postseason process draws KU closer toward becoming what Leipold believes it can be as early as next season: “We keep this nucleus of this team together and what we have returning, this team could be mentioned in preseason as a conference contender.”

He did note, though, that he tries to maintain some perspective.

“I was at a function last night, I had one of our key boosters saying that we could have been 10-2,” Leipold said on Dec. 3. “I had to remind him we were 2-10 two years ago and they’re already talking about what you should have been already. It was a good laugh. But it still shows that there’s potential here.”

The consecutive wins KU will try to channel — and the loss it hopes to avenge

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas University running back Brandon McAnderson hams it up for the cameras with defensive end James McClinton after KU’s 24-21 victory Thursday at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

2008 Orange Bowl (Jan. 3, 2008)

Mark Mangino had already taken the Jayhawks to a pair of bowl bids in his first five seasons at the helm, but what KU did throughout the 2007 season was on another level entirely, emblematic of the chaos that defined that entire season in college football.

Led by a memorable group of players including quarterback Todd Reesing, running backs Brandon McAnderson and Jake Sharp and defensive backs Darrell Stuckey and Aqib Talib, the Jayhawks won their first 11 games of the season — including 30-24 at Kansas State and 76-39 at home against Nebraska — and climbed all the way to No. 2 in the nation, setting up a showdown with No. 3 Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium. The one-loss Tigers went up three touchdowns early and held on for a 36-28 win over KU, but then lost in the following week’s conference title game, allowing the Jayhawks to secure a somewhat controversial at-large bid from the Bowl Championship Series and take on Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

The Hokies, who avenged a prior defeat against Boston College to win their conference championship, featured future NFL talent like quarterback Tyrod Taylor (who split time in 2007 with Sean Glennon), receiver Eddie Royal, cornerback Brandon Flowers and safety Kam Chancellor.

KU missed an early chance to take the lead in Miami when Scott Webb sent a 44-yard field goal wide left, but Talib jumped a pass from Taylor for a 60-yard interception-return touchdown in what became perhaps the most memorable play of the game. VT’s Jud Dunlevy then came up short on a long attempt of his own that Talib returned to KU’s 39.

The Jayhawks extended their lead all the way to 17-0 on a Webb kick and a touchdown pass from Reesing to Marcus Henry set up by a fourth-down conversion by the two players moments earlier.

However, KU did not score on any of its next six drives. The Hokies relied on a heavy dose of running back Branden Ore, who scored a touchdown to break the shutout, then Royal fielded a punt and lateraled to Justin Harper for an unconventional punt-return touchdown.

The Jayhawks maintained a slim 17-14 lead when Joe Mortensen blocked a short field-goal try by Dunlevy. At the end of the third quarter, Reesing threw a red-zone interception to D.J. Parker, but KU was able to force a punt.

It was the Jayhawks’ defense that made another massive play when Justin Thornton picked off Glennon to set up a Reesing rushing touchdown. VT mounted a lengthy 15-play, 78-yard drive to get back within 24-21 with three minutes to go, but KU recovered a Dunlevy onside kick and successfully killed the clock. With the win, it avenged past Orange Bowl defeats in 1947 and 1968, and finished the season an outstanding 12-1.

Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing takes off on a long run past the Minnesota defense during the fourth quarter of the Insight Bowl Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The play set up a final Jayhawk touchdown for running back Jake Sharp.

2008 Insight Bowl (Dec. 31, 2008)

The next season was not quite as charmed for KU. Reesing, Sharp and wide receivers Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier (a converted quarterback) led the way on offense, while Stuckey, linebacker James Holt and a young corner named Chris Harris Jr. stood out on defense. But despite their talent, both new and returning, the Jayhawks regressed to a 7-5 regular-season record.

KU sustained an early-season loss in a nonconference battle of ranked teams against South Florida, but bounced back to win its next three games. It wasn’t until midseason matchups against top 10 teams Oklahoma and Texas Tech, both blowout losses, that the Jayhawks began to spiral. They became bowl eligible by beating K-State again but lost to Nebraska and Texas, only claiming some small consolation in the form of a season-ending victory over Missouri to avenge the previous year’s Border Showdown. The banged-up Jayhawks returned to Arrowhead and escaped with a 40-37 win after Reesing hit Meier for a game-winning score with 27 seconds left and Phillip Strozier blocked a last-second long field goal try.

KU got picked for the Insight Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona (which later evolved into the modern Guaranteed Rate Bowl), against Minnesota.

The Golden Gophers had gone 1-11 a year earlier in their first season under Tim Brewster. They won seven of their first eight games with a lone loss to Ohio State, but slumped down the stretch in conference play to finish 7-5. That team featured players such as future longtime NFL wide receiver Eric Decker and defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg, who totaled 10.5 sacks that year.

In the Insight Bowl — which was broadcasted on the NFL Network as one of its earliest forays into non-pro programming — the two teams traded touchdowns in an entertaining 14-14 first quarter. Reesing tossed touchdowns to Briscoe and Meier, while Jon Hoese punched it in twice for the Gophers.

The Jayhawks seized control when their defense forced consecutive three-and-outs to open the second quarter and their offense responded with two touchdown drives that took a combined 12:34 off the clock. By halftime, Reesing had thrown for four scores after he found Briscoe again and then sophomore wideout Johnathan Wilson.

Minnesota was able to get a stop in the second half, but Mike Rivera forced a De’Leon Eskridge fumble that Mortensen recovered deep in Gophers territory. On the next play, it was Meier who threw a touchdown pass to Briscoe to extend the lead to 35-14.

After a fourth-down pass-interference call on Strozier, Adam Weber found Decker for a touchdown late in the third quarter, but the Gophers never scored again. Reesing and Meier led one last touchdown drive that culminated in a score for Sharp to set the result at 42-21.

The Jayhawks have not won a bowl game since, nor had they even managed a winning season until this year.

Kansas tight end Jared Casey (47) lunges for a 2-yard touchdown reception against Arkansas in overtime during the Liberty Bowl NCAA college football game Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. Arkansas won in three overtimes, 55-53. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

2022 Liberty Bowl (Dec. 28, 2022)

This game is a lot fresher in everyone’s minds.

KU started 5-0 but lost quarterback Jalon Daniels to a shoulder injury in a close loss to eventual College Football Playoff runner-up TCU. With Jason Bean at the helm, the Jayhawks lost five of their remaining six games, though he was able to lead the team to a 37-16 victory over Oklahoma State that clinched KU’s return to a bowl game for the first time since, of course, 2008.

The Jayhawks lost running back Daniel Hishaw Jr. to a season-ending injury but got a 1,124-yard season from then-sophomore Devin Neal. The defense struggled to keep them in games for most of the year but still got solid performances out of players like cornerback Cobee Bryant and safety Kenny Logan Jr.

Arkansas, KU’s eventual opponent in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee, had been ranked as high as No. 10 early in the season before losing three straight games to ranked teams from Texas A&M, Alabama and Mississippi State. The Razorbacks beat BYU and Auburn on the road but in the greatest indignity of their season lost 21-19 to Liberty, the Flames’ first-ever win over a Southeastern Conference opponent.

Still, Arkansas nearly pulled an upset over LSU before following through and beating No. 14 Ole Miss to earn bowl eligibility.

The Razorbacks got huge seasons from quarterback KJ Jefferson and running back Raheim Sanders, who accounted for nearly 2,000 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns entering the bowl game.

The game itself saw a touchdown pass from Daniels to backup running back Ky Thomas go down as the lone highlight for KU in a first quarter that Arkansas otherwise dominated. The Razorbacks got a field goal on their opening drive, then a deep touchdown pass from Jefferson to Matt Landers, then recovered a fumbled kickoff for another Jefferson touchdown pass. Daniels drove the Jayhawks straight back into Arkansas territory but threw an interception to Quincey McAdoo; 11 plays and 73 yards later, Jefferson had punched in another rushing score to make it 24-7.

Daniels threw a second pick to open the second quarter and the two teams ended up trading scores, an AJ Green rushing touchdown and a touchdown strike from Daniels to Fairchild. Arkansas threatened to go up four scores before halftime but O.J. Burroughs picked off Jefferson to hold the margin at 31-13 entering the break.

The Jayhawks didn’t immediately come out of the half rejuvenated. They punted on the first two drives and the Razorbacks embarked on a run-heavy series that culminated in another rushing touchdown, this time for Rashod Dubinion. Finally, KU came alive at the end of the third quarter, using a 45-yard completion from Daniels to Grimm to set up a Thomas touchdown run. Even so, the Jayhawks still trailed by 18.

They made that all up in the final period, though it didn’t come easy. Arkansas punted on three straight drives, but KU managed just a field goal, a punt and a turnover on downs with 3:52 to go. Down two scores, the Jayhawks needed a miracle, which they got in the form of a fumble. KU had already expended all of its timeouts and was on the brink of defeat when Marvin Grant knocked the ball loose from Landers and Bryant brought it back into Razorbacks territory.

A sack and a holding call nearly quashed the Jayhawks’ desperate drive, but Daniels found Kevin Terry for 30 yards on a second-and-29 down to the 10-yard line, then hit Doug Emilien to cut the margin to 38-30. Then Logan recovered a Tabor Allen onside kick and KU promptly got the ball right back. Daniels needed just 24 seconds to hit Grimm for a touchdown and Lawrence Arnold for a two-point conversion to send the game to overtime.

The extra period was a struggle for the Jayhawks as they stalled at the goal line, but Daniels managed to buy time and find Jared Casey for a score. The teams traded touchdowns without incident from then on, and both made two-point conversions in the second period — after Arkansas got called for targeting when it appeared to have stopped Daniels short.

But when the game went to a third-overtime conversion shootout, Jefferson hit Dubinion on a wheel route, but KU called a reverse pass to the backup quarterback Bean, who missed an open Fairchild. Arkansas got the 55-53 victory as Daniels’ 544-yard, five-touchdown performance went to waste.

Both quarterbacks returned for 2023 — as did most other players who featured prominently in the Liberty Bowl — but Daniels has played just three games due to a nagging back injury. It will likely be Bean who gets a chance at redemption in Phoenix.