2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl
The 2023 Guaranteed Rate Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 26, 2023, at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. The 34th annual Guaranteed Rate Bowl featured 2023 [Kansas Jayhawks football team|Kansas] of the Big 12 Conference and 2023 [UNLV Rebels football team|UNLV] of the Mountain West Conference. The game began at approximately 7:10p.m. MST and was aired on ESPN. The Guaranteed Rate Bowl was one of the 2023–24 [NCAA football bowl games|2023–24 bowl games] concluding the 2023 [NCAA Division I FBS football season|2023 FBS football season]. The game's title sponsor was residential mortgage company Guaranteed Rate.
Kansas won the game 49–36. Kansas quarterback Jason Bean, who won offensive MVP, set the Guaranteed Rate Bowl record for passing touchdowns with 6, split between receivers Luke Grimm and Lawrence Arnold who both had 3, tying former Jayhawk Dezmon Briscoe's record for receiving touchdowns.
Teams
The game featured the Kansas Jayhawks football team|Kansas Jayhawks] of the Big 12 Conference and the UNLV Rebels football team|UNLV Rebels] of the Mountain West Conference.The game was the third meeting between Kansas and UNLV with the all-time series tied at 1–1 prior to the game. The teams' had previously met in 2003 with the Jayhawks winning 46–24.
Kansas Jayhawks
The Jayhawks entered the game with an 8–4 record, tied for seventh place in their conference.This was Kansas' second Guaranteed Rate Bowl; they previously won the 2008 Insight Bowl when the bowl was known by that name. It was the Jayhawks' second consecutive season playing in a bowl game, something only accomplished once before in program history.
UNLV Rebels
The Rebels entered the game with a 9–4 record. Winning the three-way tiebreaker for first place in their conference, the Rebels hosted the 2023 [Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game|2023 Mountain West Championship Game], losing to 2023 [Boise State Broncos football team|Boise State], 44–20.This was UNLV's first Guaranteed Rate Bowl. It was also the Rebel's first bowl appearance since the 2014 [Heart of Dallas Bowl (January)|2014 Heart of Dallas Bowl], following the 2013 season.