Kansas Jayhawks Football

The Missouri Tigers had the opportunity to reignite their longstanding rivalry with the Kansas Jayhawks in the Liberty Bowl this year, but the team reportedly refused.

According to Brett McMurphy of Action Network, while the Jayhawks "were not opposed" to facing the Tigers for the first time since 2011, Missouri simply "didn't want to play Kansas."

Both Kansas and Missouri went 6-6 in the regular season. The Jayhawks will be making their first bowl game appearance since 2008, which was the last time the team had a record above .500. Kansas had opened the 2022 season with five straight wins before a tough 1-5 stretch to close the year.

Missouri had an up-and-down season but closed the year with back-to-back wins. The Tigers' 29-27 win over Arkansas in rivalry week punched their ticket to bowl eligibility.

The Kansas-Missouri rivalry dated back to 1907 and came to an end in 2011 when the Tigers departed the Big 12 to join the SEC. In 2020, it was announced that the two schools will resume their rivalry in the future, scheduling four games beginning in 2025.

The Liberty Bowl, which is one of three bowl games that features SEC vs. Big 12 teams, would have been a prime chance to give fans a preview of the series between Kansas and Missouri before it officially gets restarted. Thanks to the Tigers' decision, it now appears they will have to wait a few years to see themselves and the Jayhawks clash on the field.

The Kansas Jayhawks are 5-0 on the season following Saturday's win over the Iowa State Cyclones, and they're being rewarded with the College GameDay treatment.

ESPN announced Saturday night that its College GameDay broadcast is headed to Kansas for next weekend's game against the 4-0 TCU Horned Frogs. It marks the first time that College GameDay will be live from Lawrence, Kansas.

The Jayhawks are rolling with wins over Tennessee Tech, West Virginia, Houston, Duke and Iowa State. It is Kansas' first 5-0 start since 2009, when it finished 5-7 under head coach Mark Mangino.

Jayhawks quarterback Jalon Daniels is having a solid start to the season, completing 71 percent of his passes for 890 yards and 11 touchdowns against one interception. He has also rushed for 320 yards and four scores.

As for TCU, the Horned Frogs are off to a 4-0 start following an upset of No. 18 Oklahoma on Saturday. They have also defeated Tarleton State and SMU.

Next weekend's matchup between Kansas and TCU will mark the 39th all-time meeting between the two teams. The Horned Frogs lead the series 25-9-4, and they last beat the Jayhawks 31-28 on Nov. 20, 2021.

Kansas walk-on Jared Casey has signed multiple name, image and likeness (NIL) contracts since his game-winning catch on a two-point conversation in the Jayhawks' 57-56 upset of Texas on Saturday.

Jesse Newell of the Kansas City Star reported Thursday that Casey inked a deal with a local Applebee's, which included an $800 cash payout and $1,000 in gift cards for the restaurant.

"My go-to is just a regular bacon cheeseburger. My friends always make fun of me because wherever we go, I'm like, 'Yeah, I'll take a cheeseburger,'" Casey joked.

The freshman fullback/tight end told Newell he'll use a portion of the endorsement money to treat some of his teammates to a meal.

Casey is also working with the Lewis Automotive Group, which owns two car dealerships in Kansas. His brother, Justin, told ESPN's Chris Low any type of NIL deal that includes getting to use a new car would be a major help.

"He's put a lot of miles on that little Kia of his going back and forth from Plainville to Lawrence," Justin said.

In addition, Casey has been contacted about a potential shirt deal, per Low.

His sudden surge into the spotlight will include feature stories on both Fox's Big Noon Kickoff and ESPN's College GameDay before Saturday's college football slate kicks off, according to Newell.

Casey and the Jayhawks (2-8) visit TCU (4-6) for a 4 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday afternoon.

One of the biggest upsets of the college football season featured one of the most unlikely heroes.

Jared Casey caught the game-winning pass on a two-point conversion to help Kansas earn a 57-56 overtime win over Texas. This wasn't just the biggest catch of the fullback's career—it was the first:

Quarterback Jalon Daniels still found him in the biggest moment for a walk-off win:

Kansas entered the day with eight straight losses and just one Big 12 win since the start of the 2019 season.

The Jayhawks jumped out to a surprising 35-14 halftime lead before Texas stormed back to tie it 49-49 in the fourth quarter. The Longhorns scored the opening touchdown in overtime before Kansas responded with its own touchdown.

The 31.5-point road underdogs decided to go for two and the win, allowing Casey to come through with one of the biggest plays of the year.

He'll now be remembered for a long time in both Kansas and Texas.    

The Texas Longhorns were on the wrong side of history in a 57-56 overtime loss to the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday night, marking their fifth consecutive defeat. 

Texas had not lost five straight games since 1956, per Yahoo Sports College Football. 

With the loss, Steve Sarkisian also became the first Texas coach to start his career 4-6. Sarkisian was hired in January to replace Tom Herman. 

As for Kansas, it was the Jayhawks' first Big 12 road win since October 2008 and ended their 56-game conference road losing streak. 

While Texas scored a touchdown in overtime to take a 56-49 lead, the Jayhawks answered on their possession and went for a two-point conversion to win the game instead of settling for the extra point.

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels was impressive in the win, completing 21-of-30 passes for 202 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He added another 45 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Running back Devin Neal also had a great game, recording 169 total yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns.

As for Texas, quarterback Casey Thompson completed 30-of-43 passes for 358 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Xavier Worthy caught 14 passes for 152 yards and three scores in the loss. 

Saturday's win was just Kansas' second victory over Texas dating back to 2000. The only other time the Jayhawks had beaten the Longhorns came in 2016 when they won 24-21 in overtime.

Another interesting note: Texas has 52 players rated as four stars or higher as recruits. Kansas has one. In addition, only four teams have lost multiple games to Kansas since 2011: Central Michigan, South Dakota, Southeast Missouri State...and Texas. 

Kansas is now 2-8 on the season. The team's only other win this season came in September against South Dakota.  

The unranked Kansas Jayhawks held a surprising 17-14 lead over the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners entering the fourth quarter of Saturday's game at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

Kansas hadn't been in such a close game against Oklahoma for decades. The Jayhawks decided to waive the ticket requirement for most of the second half to encourage fans to enter the stadium and get loud:

Kansas also sent an email to the student body to encourage people to show up to support the team:

Jayhawks fans didn't disappoint. ESPN showed the stadium before and after the announcements, and there were significantly more fans.

The Sooners rallied, however, scoring 14 unanswered points to take a 21-17 lead with 12:35 remaining in the game.

Kansas hasn't beaten Oklahoma since October 1997.

University of Kansas linebacker Alonso Person was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery and kidnapping, according to Jesse Newell of The Kansas City Star.

He has since been suspended indefinitely by first-year head coach Lance Leipold and has yet to appear in any of the team's eight preseason practices. 

Person is currently being held without bond by the Douglas County Sheriff's Department. 

“Any allegations of this magnitude are not taken lightly,” Leipold told the Star, “and we will continue to gather the facts to determine the next appropriate steps.”

A redshirt freshman out of Harbor City, California, Person was arrested Thursday afternoon at a housing unit just off campus.

Person is a three-star recruit according to 247Sports and was ranked the No. 80 outside linebacker in the country for the class of 2020, holding offers from Arizona, Oregon, Illinois and Arizona State before signing with Kansas. 

The Jayhawks open the season Sept. 3 at home against the South Dakota Coyotes.