MEMPHIS -- The University of Arkansas had its highest-scoring quarter and half in 44 bowl games in beating Kansas 55-53 in triple overtime on Wednesday night in the Liberty Bowl.
The Razorbacks scored 24 points in the first quarter, including three touchdowns in a 5:42 span with the help of two Kansas turnovers.
Arkansas' previous high for points in a quarter in a bowl game was 21 in the fourth quarter of the Razorbacks' 31-10 victory Georgia in the Jan. 1, 1976, Cotton Bowl to cap the 1975 season.
Arkansas' 31 points in the first half broke its previous mark of 28 when the Razorbacks beat Tulane 34-15 in the 1980 Hall of Fame Classic played in Birmingham, Ala., which Arkansas led 28-0 at halftime.
Arkansas also set a Liberty Bowl record for most points in a quarter.
The previous high was 21 points scored six times, most recently by Oklahoma State in 2018 when the Cowboys beat Missouri 38-33.
Arkansas scored more than 20 points in a quarter for the fifth time this season, including 23 in the fourth vs. South Carolina, 21 in the fourth vs. Missouri State, 24 in in the second at BYU and 21 in the second vs. Ole Miss.
Sanders grounded
Arkansas lost its leading rusher, sophomore Raheim Sanders, to a left ankle injury in the first quarter.
Sanders had 3 carries for 12 carries before his injury. He finished the season with 212 carries for 1,438 yards.
Another bowl TD
When Arkansas senior Matt Landers broke wide open for a 59-yard touchdown catch from KJ Jefferson in the first quarter, it marked the third different bowl in which he has scored.
Landers had a 16-yard touchdown catch for Georgia against Baylor in the Sugar Bowl to cap the 2019 season and had a 90-yarder for Toledo against Middle Tennessee State last season in the Bahamas Bowl.
Pancake sack
Arkansas defensive linemen Jordan Domineck and Terry Hampton were awarded a combo sack of 3 yards against Jalon Daniels in the second quarter, which was just the 10th allowed by Kansas this season.
What made the play notable was Domineck was the victim of a pancake block by Kansas running back Ky Thomas just off the snap of the ball.
Domineck recovered and jumped Daniels from behind, almost getting him to the ground before Hampton finished him off. The half-sack gave Domineck 8 on the season and Hampton 1.5.
Flag for fun
Arkansas junior cornerback Dwight McGlothern was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct when he did a little dance move after intercepting a pass by Jalon Daniels in the second quarter.
It was the fourth interception this season for McGlothern, a transfer from LSU.
O-line shuffle
With Ricky Stromberg opting out of the bowl game to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft, Beaux Limmer moved from right guard to center.
Ty'Kieast Crawford, who had one previous start this season at right tackle against LSU, started at right guard.
When Crawford went out with a leg injury in the first quarter, true freshman E'Marion Harris played right guard the rest of the game.
First for SEC
Arkansas became the first SEC team to win a bowl game this season after Oregon State beat Florida 30-3 in the Las Vegas Bowl and Wake Forest defeated Missouri 27-17 in the Gasparilla Bowl.
Bowled over
Arkansas improved to 17-24-3 in bowl games, including 2-0 under Coach Sam Pittman.
The Razorbacks beat Penn State 24-10 in the Outback Bowl last season.
Arkansas was scheduled to play TCU in the Texas Bowl in 2020, but the Horned Frogs had to pull out of the game because of roster issues related to an outbreak of covid-19 on the team.
Harper who?
With Arkansas lacking numbers at wide receiver, Harper Cole, a redshirt sophomore walk-on from Aurora, Ill., made his first start.
On the game's third play, Cole caught a KJ Jefferson pass for a 10-yard gain for a first down that kept alive a drive that ended with Cam Little's field goal.
Later in the first quarter, Cole recovered a fumbled kickoff by Sevion Morrison at the Kansas 17 to set up Jefferson's touchdown pass to tight end Ty Washington.
Remembering Leach
Arkansas wore a sticker on its helmets in remembrance of Mike Leach, the Mississippi State coach the past three seasons who died on Dec. 12 from a heart condition.
The sticker featured the word "MIKE" with a cowbell a the "I" including a pirate's skull and cross bones.
Leach was known for his affinity for pirates and wrote a book titled "Swing Your Sword."
Vs. Kansas
It took more than 115 years, but Arkansas finally got some payback against Kansas on the football field.
The Razorbacks beat the Jayhawks for the first time in three meetings after Kansas won 6-0 in Fayetteville in 1905 and 37-5 in Lawrence, Kan., in 1906.
Old team
Wednesday marked Sam Pittman's eighth game against his former teams in 36 games as Arkansas' coach since 2020.
Pittman was Kansas' offensive line coach in 2001 when the Jayhawks finished 3-8.
"Loved it. Short," Pittman said Tuesday of his time at Kansas. "Terry Allen was the coach. We'd gotten fired at Missouri."
Pittman joked he was a gas station getting chewing tobacco for his wife, Jamie, when he got a call from Allen, the Kansas coach at the time.
"Terry said, 'Come on over,' " Pittman said. "And I went over there and interviewed with him. And I had never had a two-year contract, and I asked for one. And he gave it to me.
"I mean, it was a shock, you know, and he gave it to me. And he told me the money, and I asked for more. Now, that's how dumb I am. I didn't have a job, you know, so I shouldn't have done any of those things. And he gave it to me.
"And we really like it in Lawrence. They've got a beautiful campus, and we were there, and as soon as we got bowl ineligible, we got whacked.
"I mean like, tick, tick, one, zero boom, whacked. And I think we played our last three games maybe. But Kansas was very good to me."
Pittman is now 4-4 against teams where he previously was an assistant coach, including 1-0 vs. Kansas, 1-0 vs. Cincinnati, 1-0 vs. Tennessee, 1-2 vs. Missouri and 0-2 vs. Georgia.
Specialist changes
With Reid Bauer's transfer to Memphis, the Razorbacks had a new holder, Max Fletcher, for field goal and extra point attempts.
Fletcher, who had shared punting duties with Bauer during the season, kicked all of Arkansas' six punts against Kansas.
Redshirt junior John Oehrlein handled deep-snapping duties for Arkansas for the second consecutive game in place injured true freshman Eli Stein.
Bowl bonus
The Razorbacks broke a tie with Mississippi State to become the team with the most appearances in the Liberty Bowl with six.
Arkansas has played in three bowls at least a half dozen times, with 12 appearances in the Cotton Bowl and six appearances in the Sugar Bowl.
The Razorbacks are 3-3 in the Liberty Bowl. They lost their first three appearances to Tennessee in 1971, Auburn in 1984 and Georgia in 1987 and have won their last three, including victories over East Carolina in 2009 and Kansas State in 2015.
Familiar face
Taylor McGregor, a 2015 University of Arkansas graduate, served as the sideline reporter during ESPN's broadcast of the Liberty Bowl.
It was McGregor's first time to serve as a sideline reporter for a game involving the Razorbacks. She joined the network in 2019 following a stint as a sports reporter for KTHV-TV in Little Rock.
McGregor is also a host for Marquee Sports Network in Chicago, where she is an on-field reporter during Cubs baseball games. She previously served in a similar role for Colorado Rockies games on AT&T SportsNet in her hometown of Denver.
McGregor's father, Keli, was a former associate athletics director at the UA from 1989-93. He left Arkansas for Colorado, where he spent 17 years with the Rockies' organization, including nine years as president until his death in 2010.
Overlapping
Wednesday was the fifth time in 13 years that Arkansas' football team played a bowl game on the same day the Razorbacks' basketball team played, including the third time including the Liberty Bowl.
Arkansas played its SEC basketball opener at LSU on Wednesday night.
In January 2010, Arkansas' football team defeated East Carolina 20-17 in overtime at the Liberty Bowl hours following a buzzer-beating 73-72 loss by the basketball team to Alabama-Birmingham in Fayetteville.
In January 2011, the Arkansas football team lost 31-26 to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. That game was played simultaneously to a 79-46 loss by the basketball team at Texas.
In January 2016, the football team defeated Kansas State 45-23 at the Liberty Bowl and the basketball team lost 92-69 at Texas A&M.
In December 2016, Arkansas' football team lost 35-24 to Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, N.C., just before tipoff of the Razorbacks' 81-72 loss to Florida at Bud Walton Arena.
Arkansas has had a bowl game and a men's basketball game on the same day 11 times since New Year's Day 1955. Prior to Wednesday, the football team was 3-7 and the basketball team was 4-6 on those days.
Vs. Big 12
Arkansas is 12-6 against Big 12 teams since moving to the SEC, including 6-2 in bowl games.
The Razorbacks' 2020 Texas Bowl game vs. TCU was canceled.
Arkansas has at least seven games scheduled vs. Big 12 teams in future years, beginning with the 2023 game against BYU. The Razorbacks are also scheduled to play four games against Oklahoma State and two games against Texas Tech.