Kansas set a Guaranteed Rate Bowl record for flags. Coach Lance Leipold wasn’t happy
Kansas football players might see the dreaded yellow penalty flag in their sleep Tuesday night.
It was a record-setting night for the Kansas Jayhawks, and not just because quarterback Jason Bean tossed a program-record-tying six touchdown passes in the 49-36 win over UNLV.
Kansas tied the Guaranteed Rate Bowl record with 18 penalties, plus set a record with 210 penalty yards in the win over UNLV.
The game featured 27 accepted penalties, including four personal fouls (all against KU) and six unsportsmanlike conduct penalties (four against UNLV, two against KU)
The Jayhawks came into the game having committed just 55 penalties, the second-fewest in the Big 12 and No. 14 nationally. That’s an average of 4.6 penalties a game.
Well, KU had tripled that number by midway through the third quarter. Kansas had 15 penalties for 180 yards at one point.
Naturally, Kansas coach Lance Leipold wasn’t too pleased when asked about fixing the penalty issues at halftime. He even took a shot at the officiating crew.
“I don’t know if we can get a new crew or not in time,” Leipold told the Jayhawk Radio Network at halftime. “I tell you what, we have no rhythm in this thing, no (rhythm) whatsoever. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t even know what to tell my team right now.”
The ESPN broadcast crew reported Leipold remained on the field for part of halftime to address the officials. He has not been shy about calling out officials when he feels the correct call hasn’t been made.
Leipold also appeared to allude to KU’s penalty issues when praising his team postgame, though he was not specifically asked about the officials.
“I’m really proud of this football team for a lot of reasons,” Leipold said. “(We) overcame a lot tonight and persevered. It wasn’t our prettiest performance, but we found a way to make plays and stops when we needed too.”
This story was originally published December 27, 2023 at 1:40 AM with the headline "Kansas set a Guaranteed Rate Bowl record for flags. Coach Lance Leipold wasn’t happy."
