Arkansas had to sweat it out and then some against Kansas Wednesday night, winning the Liberty Bowl behind a record-breaking first half, terrifying 2nd half and somehow even crazier triple overtime period. “Unbelievable” doesn’t begin to describe it – Arkansas has now won 2 straight bowl contests, downing Kansas 55-53 in triple OT.

The Razorbacks led the Jayhawks 31-13 at the end of the 2nd quarter and 38-13 at the start of the 3rd, benefitting from ample field position and taking advantage of Kansas’ struggling defense and inability to protect the football early. The Jayhawks would tighten up as the game wore on.

And it didn’t look good for Arkansas in the opening minutes. The Razorbacks lost starting right guard Ty’Kieast Crawford and star running back Rocket Sanders to injury right off the bat, leaving freshman E’Marion Harris to pick up the slack from Crawford. As for Sanders, who did not return following his ankle injury, offensive coordinator Kendall Briles took care of that vacant spot in the lineup.

KJ Jefferson connected with wide receiver Matt Landers for the first true strike. He found Landers streaking down the sideline virtually uncovered and made the easy throw for Arkansas’ first touchdown of the game.

Kansas started to melt down after that. The Jayhawks fumbled the ball right back to Arkansas, which made Kansas pay just 1 play later. Just like that, it was 17-7 after a 7-3 Kansas lead to start things off.

KJ Jefferson already had 2 touchdowns at this point and was eager for a hat trick. He used his legs to do the job the next time around, making the score 24-7 just before the end of the 1st quarter.

Arkansas’ 24 points is the most points scored in a single quarter in Liberty Bowl history. And it seemed everyone was getting in on the fun as the game soldiered on. Rashod Dubinion punched it in from within 5 yards out within the first few minutes of the half.

Wednesday was easily the best game of the freshman running back’s young career. He totaled 112 yards and 2 rushing touchdowns by the time the final horn had sounded.

Jalon Daniels started to put a few scores on the board to make things interesting late. He finished with 544 passing yards, 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on the evening. He also rushed for a touchdown in overtime.

But still, it seemed Jefferson was the difference in the end despite Daniels’ masterclass of a performance. He just kept doing incredible things all evening with his arm and his legs. At the start of the 4th quarter, Jefferson passed the 100-rushing yards threshold, marking the 2nd straight time he has rushed for more than 100 yards in a bowl game. He totaled 110 rushing yards with 1 touchdown in Arkansas- 24-10 Outback Bowl victory over Penn State last year.

He surpassed that total Wednesday night, totaling 130 yards on the ground with 2 touchdowns. This time, he was even better with his arm, torching Kansas’s secondary for 287 yards on 19 of 29 completions for 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

And Landers was his favorite target. The 6-foot-5 senior only caught 3 passes, but totaled 121 receiving yards for 1 touchdown on the afternoon to aid in edging the Jayhawks.

Landers did miss recovering a crucial onside kick late, however. The Jayhawks did the improbable and had a chance to tie things up late, seeing Daniels connect on the touchdown and 2-point conversion to tie things up. Reminder, Kansas trailed by as much as 25 points in the 2nd half, but entered overtime 38-38 regardless.

But the show was far from over. Overtime was somehow even wilder than regulation, seeing a targeting call give Kansas an extra life after a seemingly failed conversion attempt. The 2 teams went to triple OT with Arkansas finally winning on a “2-point shootout.”

With the agonizing win, Arkansas finalizes their season at 7-6, the Razorbacks’ 2nd straight winning season following 4 straight losing seasons prior.