The Cottom Bowl Preview pits the Wildcats of Kansas State against the Arkansas Razorbacks, and SportsOptions.com offers up a brief look at the players, team stats and some unique trends.
(263) KANSAS ST vs. (264) ARKANSAS (-7.5, 62.5) 8:00 PM – Cotton Bowl – Cowboys Stadium – Arlington, TX
Kansas State (10-2 SU/9-3 ATS) ended the regular season with 10 wins, the most since 2003 and one shy of the school record, including home wins over No. 15 Baylor, Missouri and Texas A&M and road victories at Miami, No. 23 Texas and Texas Tech. K-State also kept the Governor’s Cup trophy in Manhattan for the third straight season under coach Bill Snyder with a 59-21 win over in-state rival Kansas.The Wildcats were picked to finish eighth in the conference this season, but Snyder led them to their most wins since an 11-4 finish in 2003 and was the runaway pick for Big 12 Coach of the Year. QB Collin Klein only threw for 1,745 yards and 12 TDs, but he rushed for 1,099 yards – a Kansas State quarterback record – and a school-record 26 TDs, which were second-most in the FBS behind the 32 by Heisman Trophy finalist Montee Ball of Wisconsin. The offense averaged 343 ypg, which only ranks 96th in the nation, while the defense gave up 398 ypg (# 73).
Arkansas (10-2 SU/7-5 ATS) finished the season ranked sixth in the BCS standings with both losses coming at the hands of No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama. Arkansas enters the game with a 10-2 mark after having won 10 games in the regular season for the just the ninth time in school history. The Razorbacks also went undefeated at home for the first time since 1999. UA enters the game leading the SEC in passing offense (307.8), total offense (445.8) and ranked second in the league in scoring offense (37.4). The Razorbacks are 3-0 all-time in Cowboys Stadium with victories over Texas A&M in the Southwest Classic each of the last three seasons. Leading the way for the Hogs this season were quarterback Tyler Wilson, wide receiver Jarius Wright and safety Tramain Thomas. Wilson led the SEC with 3,422 passing yards while completing 63.1 percent of his passes and throwing 22 touchdowns to six interceptions. His favorite target is Wright, who led the conference with 11 receiving TDs and was second with 63 catches and 1,029 yards. Thomas tied for 10th in the FBS with five interceptions. K-State’s trip to the Cotton Bowl will be the third in program history with the last appearance being in 2001 in a win over Tennessee. The Wildcats will be playing in their 15th bowl game in school history and 13th under Snyder. The Wildcats are 6-6 all-time in bowls under their legendary head coach. Following 11 straight bowls from 1993-2003 under Snyder, the Cats have now gone bowling in each of the last two seasons. Kansas State went 7-6 in 2010 and lost 36-34 to Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl, its first postseason appearance since falling 37-10 to Rutgers in the 2006 Texas Bowl. Arkansas is 12-23-3 in its bowl appearances, losing 31-26 to Ohio State in last January’s Sugar Bowl. Arkansas will be making its 39th bowl appearance and third straight under head coach Bobby Petrino. The bowl appearance will be the 11th in the last 14 years for the Razorbacks and will also be the 26th January bowl appearance in school history. The Razorbacks return to the Cotton Bowl for the 12th time, making it the most visited bowl in school history. Arkansas has appeared in the Cotton Bowl in 1947, ‘55, ‘61, ‘65, ‘66, ‘76, ‘89, ‘90, 2000, ‘02, and ‘08. Kansas State has lost three straight bowl games and is 6-8 all-time. The Razorbacks are 3-7-1 in the Cotton Bowl, while the Wildcats have split their two appearances.
Arkansas is 3-8 ATS in bowls games (0-4 ATS last four), while Kansas State is 4-9 ATS in bowls (0-5 ATS last five). Arkansas has been a steady chalk as of late (12-3 ATS), but K-State is 9-2 ATS lately and 7-1 ATS as an underdog.
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