About the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix
The 34th edition of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Chase Field, bringing together the Kansas Jayhawks (8-4) and UNLV Rebels (9-4).
Here’s what to know about the game, which will be broadcast live on ESPN.
Kansas, UNLV football histories
Head to head: Kansas and UNLV have met twice, a home-and-home series in 2002-03. The Rebels won the first meeting in Las Vegas 31-20, and the Jayhawks took the rematch 46-24 in Lawrence, Kansas.
Bowl record: This is the 14th bowl for Kansas (7-6) and a second consecutive bowl appearance after a 55-53 loss to Arkansas last year in the Liberty Bowl. Kansas played in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in 2008 (then known as the Insight Bowl), a 42-21 win over Minnesota. UNLV has four previous bowl appearances (3-1), the last coming in the 2013 Heart of Dallas Bowl. The Rebels haven’t won a bowl game since beating Arkansas in the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl coaching matchup
In his first season at UNLV, Barry Odom guided the team to a share of its first Mountain West regular-season title and first appearance in the conference championship game, which the Rebels lost to Boise State. Odom was named Mountain West Coach of the Year after leading UNLV to its first winning season since 2013 and the most wins since 1984.
Lance Leipold, in his third year at Kansas, also led his team to a historic season, finishing with at least eight regular-season wins 11th time in program history and earning its first appearance in the College Football Playoff ranking (No. 21 in week 10).
As for assistant coaches, Kansas lost offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to the same job at Penn State, and was replaced by Jeff Grimes, a former offensive line coach at Arizona State (2001-03) who was hired away from Baylor. … UNLV OC Brennan Marion, who was ASU’s quality control coach in 2015-16, is being courted for many head coaching and coordinator jobs thanks to his “Go-Go” offensive philosophy that’s gotten a lot of national attention.
Kansas, UNLV signature wins in
2023
Kansas rocked the college football world with its 38-33 home win over then-No. 6 Oklahoma on Oct. 28, a game that saw five lead changes in the final 18 minutes, capped by Devin Neal’s 9-yard touchdown run with 55 seconds left. It was KU’s first win over a top 10 team since 2008. UNLV’s best win was a come-from-behind 31-27 win at thenNo.
17 Air Force on Nov. 18 in which the Rebels scored the game’s last 17 points.
Story lines for 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Kansas has a strong, balanced offense that will pose a significant challenge to the UNLV defense, especially when it comes to stopping the run. Neal, the Jayhawks’ junior running back, led the team with 1,209 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. UNLV allowed more than 300 rushing in yards in two of its final three games.
Both teams made quarterback changes in midseason. Jalon Daniels led Kansas to a 3-0 start before a back injury cost him the rest of the season. Jason Bean took over as starter and guided the Jayhawks to four wins, including the upset over Oklahoma, but he, too, was injured and gave way in two games to freshman Cole Ballard. The Rebels also changed quarterbacks and inserted freshman Jayden Maiava into the starting role for Week 3, and he went on to be named Mountain West Freshman of the Year with a 7-2 record as starter.
Players to watch in 2023
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
UNLV: Maiava passed for 2,794 yards and 14 touchdowns with eight interceptions, and ran for 261 with 3 more scores. … All-Mountain West first-team wide receiver Ricky White III (81 receptions, 1,386 yards, seven touchdowns) led the conference in receiving yards per game and is No. 6 in the country in receiving yards … Vincent Davis led UNLV in rushing (722 yards and 6 touchdowns). … Defensively, first-team All-MWC linebacker Jackson Woodard paced the Rebels in solo (52) and total tackles (113). … Kicker Jose Pizano was named the MWC Special Teams Player of the Year for going 25-for-27 on field goals, seventh in FBS.
Kansas: Bean threw for 1,681 yards and 12 TDs. … Neal led the rushing attack with 1,209 yards and 15 TDs; he was the third player in KU history to top 1,000 rushing yards in consecutive seasons. … Lawrence Arnold led the team with 650 yards on 38 receptions. … Safety Kenny Logan Jr. led Kansas with 86 total tackles, followed by defensive lineman Austin Booker (56), who earned Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year and first-team All-Conference.