Bowl season is here, and that can only mean the weird and wacky are upon us.
Tuesday night, the Kansas Jayhawks beat the UNLV Rebels in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix, and did so in convincing fashion, 49-36. While Kansas put up 591 yards on offense, what won't show up in the box score is the historic number of penalty yards the Jayhawks racked up.
Kansas was flagged for 18 penalties, accumulating 216 yards. It was the most penalty yards in a single bowl game ever. EVER. That prestigious honor was previously held by the Miami Hurricanes, who in the 1991 Cotton Bowl earned 16 penalties for 202 yards.
And as Through The Phog noted, Kansas nearly broke the all-time NCAA record. Kansas had 176 penalty yards with 11 minutes left in the third quarter, and it seemed well on the way to surpassing Arizona's record 238 penalty yards against UTEP in 1961. For what it's worth, San Jose State owns the record for most penalties in a game with 24 in 1986.
This is what I?ve got for most yards in a game, FYI. From the NCAA FBS record books. pic.twitter.com/nQ66yCqJHz
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) December 27, 2023
LETS GOOOO
KANSAS SMASHES MIAMI?S 202 YARDS OF PENALTIES IN THE ?91 COTTON BOWL pic.twitter.com/VbvZispfBy
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) December 27, 2023
The list of penalties was as followed, per the team box score: five holdings (a sixth holding call was declined), three personal fouls, three pass interferences, two unsportsmanlike conducts, two face masks, one unnecessary roughness, one false start and one illegal shift. Eight of the penalties came in the second quarter alone.
That Kansas still won despite what the referees thought is a credit to quarterback Jason Bean, who threw for 449 yards and six touchdowns.
"It wasn't our prettiest performance, but we found a way to make plays and stops when we needed to," Kansas head coach Lance Leipold said after the game. "This gentleman (Jason Bean) next to me played lights out. The receivers and the plays that we made when we needed them was a big part of things."
RT for our WR room tonight ?@lukegrimm25 @LjArnold318 @qskin_10 pic.twitter.com/BCgxvekLRt
— Kansas Football (@KU_Football) December 27, 2023
We can only hope that the rest of the college football bowl schedule brings chaos like this.
