MEMPHIS — After blowing a 15-point lead in the final two minutes of regulation, the Arkansas Razorbacks survived a triple overtime thriller by defeating the Kansas Jayhawks 55-53 in the Liberty Bowl.
After Kansas took a 7-3 lead on a Jalon Daniels touchdown pass to Ky Tomas, the Hogs controlled the game, especially in the first half.
KJ Jefferson hit Matt Landers for a 59-yd touchdown strike to give Arkansas a three point advantage. The Hogs then took advantage of a botched kick-off return by Kansas, as tight end Ty Washington scored his first touchdown to give the Razorbacks a 17-7 lead with 5:57 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Arkansas defense came up with a turnover to halt the Jayhawks ensuing drive, as Dwight McGlothern picked off Daniels deep Arkansas territory.
The Razorbacks responded with an 11-play, 73-yard drive that was capped off by a three-yard run from Jefferson to extend the Arkansas lead to 24-7 after one quarter of play.
Arkansas held on to that momentum the rest of the half and took a 31-13 lead into the break.
Arkansas (7-6) scored on their opening drive of the second half, Rashod Dubinion scored on a 2-yard run to finish another long touchdown drive and give the Hogs a 38-13 lead.
But those would be the last points the Razorbacks would score in regulation as Kansas would cut the lead to 38-20.
With just under three minutes to go in the game, Landers would fumble the ball back to Kansas as the Hogs tried to run the clock out.
The Jayhawks (6-7) would score in just 98-seconds off a Daniels touchdown pass to Douglas Emilien to make the score 38-30.
Kansas would then recover the ensuing onside kick and score again as Daniels would throw his x touchdown pass of the game to Luke Grimm to make the score 38-36.
Lawrence Arnold would corral Daniels' pass on the two-point play to tie the game at 38 and send the game into overtime.
After trading score in the first two overtime frames, Jefferson would give the Hogs the lead on a two-point pass play to Rashod Dubinion to make the score 55-53.
Kansas would get a chance to answer on a two-point try, but a reverse pass play went awry and sailed out of bounds letting Arkansas come away with a thrilling win.
Kansas 7 6 7 18 15 = 53
Arkansas 24 7 7 0 17 = 55
Holiday Bowl
Oregon 28, North Carolina 27
Bo Nix tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Chase Cota on fourth down with 19 seconds left and Camden Lewis' extra point banked in off the left upright to lift No. 15 Oregon over North Carolina in a 28-27 victory in the Holiday Bowl on Wednesday night.
The Tar Heels (9-5) grabbed a 27-21 lead on a 44-yard field goal by Noah Burnette with 2:34 remaining in the game.
Nix and the Ducks (10-3) responded by driving 79 yards in eight plays for winning score, a pass interference call helped aid Oregon on their final drive.
Cota made the catch at about the 1 and managed to stretch across the goal line as he was being tackled by Don Chapman. Lewis then rattled the PAT kick in to give the Ducks the win.
North Carolina managed to one final heave, but Drake Maye's desperation pass fell incomplete in the end zone.
Nix was 23 of 30 for 205 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception.
Texas Bowl
Texas Tech 42, Ole Miss 25
Tyler Shough threw for 242 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores to lead Texas Tech to a 42-25 win over Ole Miss in the Texas Bowl.
Shough, also ran for a career-high 111 yards as the Red Raiders took advantage of three early turnovers by Ole Miss to build a 26-7 lead at halftime.
Tahj Brooks also ran for 90 yards on 14 carries as Texas Tech (8-5) piled up 242 yards on the ground.
Ole Miss (8-5) managed touchdown scores on consecutive drives to get within 35-25 with three minutes remaining in the game. But an onside kick attempted backfired, as Texas Tech's Loic Fouonji snagged the ball and returned it 44 yards to push Texas Tech's lead back to 42-25.
Jaxson Dart finished with 361 yards through the air, two touchdown throws and a rushing score. But, the Ole Miss quarterback accounted for three of the Rebels' turnovers in the first half to put this team in a huge hole.
Texas Tech 10 16 0 16 = 42
Ole Miss 7 0 6 12 = 25
Military Bowl
Duke 30, UCF 13
Riley Leonard ran for two touchdowns and threw for 173 yards, and the Duke Blue Devils breezed by the UCF Golden Knights 30-13 on Wednesday in the Military Bowl.
The win gave the Blue Devils (9-4) four-straight bowl victories, although their last appearance came in 2018.
UCF (9-5) limped in the game losing three of its final four games this season. But despite scoring first, UCF struggled for most of the game.
Duke outscored UCF 13-0 in the second frame to take a commanding 20-7 lead at halftime. The key play came when the Blue Devils recovered a fumble by Plumlee at their own 42. Duke drove 58 yards in seven plays, and Leonard scored on 1-yard run.
Trailing 23-7, the Knights had an opportunity to get back in the game after a field position battle gave them the ball at the Duke 32, but the Blue Devils forced UCF to turn the ball over on downs.
The Knights finally managed to score on 2-yard run by Isaiah Bowser with 9:03 remaining in the game, but a trick play on a 2-point conversion failed badly.
John Rhys Plumlee managed just 28 yards passing in the first half and 182 for the game.
UCF 7 0 0 6 = 13
Duke 7 13 3 7 = 30
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