Kansas football grades: Analysis of KU Jayhawks’ bowl game victory over UNLV Rebels

The Kansas Jayhawks ended their season with a dominant win on Tuesday.

The Jayhawks (9-4. 5-4 Big 12) beat UNLV 49-36 in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field. Kansas finished with its best record since 2007.

One year removed from a crucial bowl mistake against Arkansas, Kansas quarterback Jason Bean was grateful to end his college career with a win.

“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.”

Here are the grades for all three KU units against UNLV, plus our Kansas player of the game.

Offense: A-

KU’s offense had itself a day.

Bean completed 19 of 28 pass attempts for 449 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. In the process, he tied Todd Reesing’s Jayhawk record of six passing TDs in a game.

Bean had a spectacular game for the most part. He composed himself after the interceptions and added three more touchdowns in the second half. Plus, two KU wideouts (Luke Grimm and Lawrence Arnold) had three touchdowns each — for the first time in KU history.

KU’s running attack wasn’t at its best, but it still finished with 142 yards on the ground.

Outside of the picks, the only real negative for Kansas’ offense was the record amount of penalties, including some holds by the new-look offensive line.

Defense: B+

After giving up a first-drive touchdown, KU’s defense settled down in the first half.

Kansas only allowed three more points to the Rebels heading into the halftime break. The Jayhawks led 28-10 at that point.

Overall, KU’s defense did an excellent job of making big-time plays when needed. Whether it was Cobee Bryant’s sack, his interception or Craig Young’s interception, Kansas had multiple momentum-shifting plays.

The Jayhawks also only allowed 95 yards on the ground.

That said, KU’s defense had plenty of penalties — so it wasn’t a perfect outing. But the Jayhawks also were put in bad spots a few times by the turnovers.

Special Teams: B+

After an up-and-down year for KU’s special teams, the Jayhawks finished the season on a high note.

Jayhawk kicker Seth Keller didn’t attempt any field goals but made all of his extra-point attempts.

Meanwhile, punter Damon Greaves punted the ball twice for an average of 33.5 yards with a long of 38 yards.

The Jayhawks were, however, pinned deep by punts on a pair of occasions. That said, Devin Neal recovered a late pooch-style onside kick to help preserve the win.

Player of the game: Jason Bean

No other KU player came close to deserving this honor.

In the last game of his college career, Bean left KU fans with a memory that they will never forget.

He put on a passing clinic vs. the Rebels, finishing with a 68% completion percentage. When he did make mistakes (three interceptions), he’d rectify them later with touchdowns that put the game out of reach.