MEMPHIS, Tenn. -– Arkansas and Kansas, the two teams in this year’s AutoZone Liberty Bowl, held their first workouts in Memphis on Monday.
Thanks to the weather, both the Hogs and Jayhawks had to practice in the same place: the U of M’s indoor facility on south campus.
This may not be the college football playoffs but don’t tell that to the Jayhawks, a Kansas team that hasn’t played in a bowl game in over a decade. 14 years to be exact with a win in the 2008 Insight Bowl.
That’s a fact not lost on the Jayhawks or the Razorbacks.
Arkansas knows what this game means to Kansas. The Hogs know they must match that intensity come Wednesday afternoon.
“I know they haven’t been in a bowl game in so long, so I feel like they’re going to come in with a lot of energy, you know?” says Arkansas running back Rocket Sanders. “Knowing we’re an SEC team, I feel like they’ll come with a lot of energy and I feel like we got to bring the same energy.”
“We know they’re going to come out fired up just from them not being able to go to a bowl in so long. So we know this is going to be like their Super Bowl to them,” said Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson. “So just being able to come out and match their energy.”
“It means a lot. But you know, we’re still working. This is still the ground level for what we want to do,” said Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels. “We have a higher expectation next season so we’re going to try to end this year off with a bang. Go into the offseason with that mentality.”
With MLGW working to fix water issues around the city, the Autozone Liberty Bowl released the following statement on Monday.
“There have been significant weather challenges throughout the country, including here in Memphis. We can assure you that the 64th AutoZone Liberty Bowl between Kansas and Arkansas will be played on Wednesday, December 28th with kickoff at 4:30 p.m. The weather forecast at game time is for temperatures in the 50s.”
