QB Jalon Daniels shattered Kansas football records in Liberty Bowl ... but wanted a win
Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels had no idea he set multiple Liberty Bowl game records until teammate Luke Grimm told him postgame.
And frankly, the QB didn’t care.
As Daniels sat at the postgame presser, the QB lacked his typical ear-to-ear grin and usual jovial nature.
Instead, he had a stoic, blank expression on his face.
Daniels didn’t hide his disappointment after KU’s 55-53 triple-overtime loss to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on Wednesday.
The QB passed for 544 yards and accumulated 565 yards of total offense, both KU records. In addition, his six total touchdowns and passing-yardage total were new Liberty Bowl records.
Even Kansas legend Todd Reesing never eclipsed 500 passing yards total for a game.
“Like I said, we didn’t end the game how we wanted to end the game,” Daniels said. “Those statistics really do not matter because at the end of the day, the only statistic that matters is that win/loss column. Sadly we weren’t able to get to the win column.”
Daniels played like two completely different players in each half.
He led the Jayhawks (6-7, 3-5 Big 12) on a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive on their first possession to take a 7-3 lead, but he had an erratic rest of the half.
Daniels came into the game having thrown just two interceptions in 175 pass attempts, but he threw two in his first 14 attempts. It was evident he had a bit of nerves. He forced passes into tight windows and made uncharacteristic mistakes.
“In the first half, there was a few times where I played outside myself,” Daniels said. “So second half, I tried to come and just stay calm no matter what the situation was.”
That calmness paid off.
Daniels led the comeback effort when the Jayhawks trailed by 25 points (38-13) midway through the third. When KU needed him most, Daniels delivered a drive that rivaled a vintage Tom Brady comeback.
After Kansas recovered an onside kick, Daniels orchestrated a four-play, 50-yard touchdown drive over 24 seconds of game time. He found Grimm for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 41 seconds left to play.
On the ensuing two-point attempt, he found wide receiver Lawrence Arnold to make it 38-all, leading to overtime.
Daniels threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.
“To be able to go into overtime means that it is (one) hell of a game,” Daniels said. “I’m sure after that first half, a lot of people watching counted us out.
“So to be able to come back the way we did shows we have a lot of grit on our team, but like we said we didn’t get the outcome we wanted. So we’ve just got to get back into the film room and get back to work.”
Daniels’ improved play in the second half didn’t go unnoticed by KU coach Lance Leipold.
“I thought Jalon had a really nice first series; I thought then after he bobbled that snap, I think he tried to press a little bit, but then he settled in and really battled,” Leipold said.
Coming back from large deficits isn’t anything new for the Jayhawks. Daniels has helped KU erase multiple deficits throughout the season, including 14-0 holes against West Virginia and Houston.
“I feel like the coaching staff does a great job of trying to put us through adversity through our practices so that when it comes to game time, the game time slows down for us,” Daniels said. “It’s not so much pressure. I feel like it just goes hand in hand with how we prepare for certain situations.”
Daniels could easily focus on the good instead of the bad, but this loss left a sour taste in his mouth. That very mentality and, of course, his talent may very well lead KU to prominence moving forward — if it hasn’t already.
“I feel like it’s a lot of stuff that I wanted to take back from the first half and a few mistakes that I made that put our team in a bad situation,” Daniels said. “Those are just things I wish I had back. Now, I feel like we are going to hit the ground running when we get back and keep that chip on our shoulder from this game.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 12:28 AM with the headline "QB Jalon Daniels shattered Kansas football records in Liberty Bowl ... but wanted a win."
