Amid a flurry of fans pouring onto the field at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, Jason Bean made sure to find time for his teammates.
After Kansas upset No. 6 Oklahoma 38-33 on Saturday afternoon, Bean spoke in front of his teammates in the locker room. The sixth-year quarterback said “it means everything” to earn the win “against that school in that fashion.”
“I’ve been through so much,” Bean said. “First of all, I wanted to thank them because without them I wouldn’t be here and I think that’s the main thing is that I’m just proud to be in this situation.”
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The win represents a point of culmination for Bean and the Jayhawks. From 2009-21, the program went 28-125 and missed the postseason.
Under head coach Lance Leipold in his third year, Kansas is bowl eligible for the second-straight season.
“From where I came and where this team has come, those tough days, those tough L’s are the reason that you live for days like this,” Bean said.
Kansas knocked off Oklahoma using a valiant rushing effort, going for four touchdowns on the ground and 225 yards which were the most Oklahoma has given up in a game this season.
The Jayhawks ran for at least 47 yards in all four quarters and had five rushes for more than 10 yards. They ran it in twice during the fourth quarter as running backs Daniel Hishaw and Devin Neal lifted Kansas to victory.
“We got an excited locker room,” Leipold said. “For me, I’m just processing everything: the ups and downs, the emotion, how proud I am of this football team for so many reasons. So many today, but so many as we lost two of our last three against some good football teams and played an excellent team today, and to find a way to keep battling and come up with stops when we needed them and executing plays on top of that.”
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Bean has done most of his work this season from the backup spot in the Kansas quarterback room.
The Jayhawks expected Jalon Daniels to quarterback them this season, but back and shoulder injuries have kept him sidelined for some competition. Daniels has missed the past four games due to injury.
But Bean has been the confident veteran leading the Jayhawks in Daniels’ absence. It’s something that means a lot to Bean, someone who has been part of college football for more than a half-decade and had opportunity to explore elsewhere.
“He just kept fighting, and that’s all we can ask for him,” Leipold said. “And to see him make some plays like he did today, I thought it was really special.”
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Kansas conjured something special on Saturday: their first top-10 win since 2008.
After seven lead changes including five in the second half, Kansas clinched its first win over Oklahoma since 1997.
“We got a lot of football to play, and now we’ve got to continue to take steps,” Leipold said. “And that’s the way I am. I’ll probably talk more about the things we didn’t do quite as clean as we want but at this moment, though, I’m so proud, so proud of them and happy for them.”
