Jason Bean rewrote his Kansas football legacy with historic bowl game performance
As Kansas quarterback Jason Bean sat and reflected on his journey in Lawrence, a sly grin formed.
He’d done it. He’d led Kansas (9-4, 5-4 Big 12) to its first bowl victory since 2008, a 49-36 win over UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
He’d etched his name into the Kansas history books by tying Todd Reesing’s Jayhawk record of six passing TDs in a game. He completed 19 of 28 pass attempts for 449 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.
And how’s this ... Bean became the first FBS quarterback to throw for 425-plus yards and six-plus touchdowns in his final collegiate game since Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes did it with Texas Tech, according to OptaSTATS.
But most importantly, Bean earned his redemption. It was a storybook ending to a tumultuous college career. A full-circle moment.
Last season, Bean drew criticism following a 55-53 triple-overtime bowl defeat to Arkansas. While Kansas starter Jalon Daniels led a furious comeback, it was Bean who got the ball on the final play of the Liberty Bowl, and he sailed a pass while attempting a game-tying two-point conversion.
Amid speculation he wouldn’t return — coach Lance Leipold even suggested Bean was likely to move on — Bean returned for a sixth and final year of college football.
What an important decision that was for the Jayhawks.
Daniels suffered a back injury and played in only three games in 2023. Bean led the team through unsteady waters, culminating in one of Kansas’ best-ever seasons.
A season after quarterbacking KU’s sixth victory for 2022 bowl eligibility, Bean led KU to six wins as the Jayhawks’ starter in 2023.
Some two years prior, Bean, who started the 2021 season in charge of the offense, first lost that position to Daniels. But he didn’t transfer, nor did he move on from football following a crushing bowl defeat in 2022.
“You’ve heard me say it many times about Bean: (He) was probably one of the most improved football players on our team in the last two fall camps,” Leipold said. “To see it come together and him have that opportunity — never once ... did he ever have bad body language and mope around that (he) didn’t get an opportunity or come into my office and talk (about) why he doesn’t get a chance or something like that.
“There’s a special place in your heart for someone that you’re pulling for. And for him to have this opportunity in this bowl game, to be up on that stage and be one of the players of the game and everything else, you could see the joy that his teammates had again.”
Bean put together a special performance on Tuesday. He made difficult and accurate throws, didn’t make too many mistakes and kept KU’s lead safe after UNLV roared back.
Even when he threw two interceptions in the first eight minutes of the third quarter — on a day Kansas made plenty of errors all around — he didn’t panic.
“I think that’s kind of the attitude of this whole season,” Bean said. “We’ve had our ups and downs. It’s just a credit to our attitude and how we stayed even-keeled, not let the bad things really get to us and the good things either. I think the team handled the negativity very well.”
For Bean, it was a sign of growth. Last year, he might have unraveled after throwing those interceptions.
Not this time. Not this version of Bean.
This was his redemption arc — a chance to rewrite his story after last season’s nightmarish ending.
He did just that by throwing three touchdowns after the interceptions to secure KU’s victory. It was a fitting end to his college football career.
“It’s a lot better ending than last year,” Bean said. “Thankful for the way this team played tonight. They played their guts off. I’m just thankful.”
Or as Leipold put it...
“His legacy is going to be (not just) as a player,” Leipold said, “but a great teammate as well.”
