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Both the Hogs and Cats put together BCS-worthy seasons, but a date in Dallas ain't so bad. SI.com: Cotton Bowl FAQ
The Arkansas Razorbacks have completed their first 11-win season since 1977 and the most successful year of their SEC tenure, downing the Kansas St. Wildcats, 29-16, in the 2012 Cotton Bowl. It wasn't technically a BCS game, but it was one of only a handful of bowls to pair two top-10 teams, something not even the Orange Bowl could claim.
This should make for the fourth top-five poll finish in program history.
SI.com: Cotton Bowl box score and Cotton Bowl FAQ
With Tyler Wilson likely sticking around, Paul Petrino coming back, and a rearranged defensive staff -- along with the potential of a Knile Davis return -- a top-five start for 2012 is in the cards as well.
Though Wilson posted only 216 yards on a subpar (347) night by Razorbacks standards, a superb effort by the Hogs defense limited the ground-adept Cats to only 92 yards worth of rushing. The Arkansas D added six sacks and two turnovers to boot. It's not often we get to tout Arkansas' defense, but there you have it.
Let's not overlook the season enjoyed by K-State, which bolted together double-digit wins of their own thanks to guile and spare parts and craft. Bright futures all around?
For now, we'll just trust this gentleman will be spotted throughout each and every avenue of Dallas at one point or another this evening:
For more on the 2012 Cotton Bowl, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats and Kansas State blog Bring on the Cats, plus SB Nation Kansas City and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
Because it was told nobody could actually cross a road this congested without aid of sonar. Pretty weird thing to tell a pass. Nobody usually even talks to passes at all.
Count all the things that could've gone wrong with this many hands in the vicinity:
SI.com: Live Cotton Bowl box score and Cotton Bowl FAQ
For more on the 2012 Cotton Bowl, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats and Kansas State blog Bring on the Cats, plus SB Nation Kansas City and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Tyler Wilson is having a solid game, considering he's playing the Kansas St. Wildcats, who tend to render everything on the field entirely stats-averse. He now has two touchdowns and 148 yards on 24 attempts, plus 33 on scrambles.
The latest score: a nine-yard zipper to a slanting Cobi Hamilton, coming after a couple of other end zone attempts were caught out of bounds. The score is 26-16, Razorbacks.
SI.com: Live Cotton Bowl box score and Cotton Bowl FAQ
The Hogs are all the way up to 239 total yards worth of offense. They averaged 446 per game on the season. K-State gets the ball back with about 18 minutes to go, having gotten the ball moving a little bit on their own as of late.
For more on the 2012 Cotton Bowl, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats and Kansas State blog Bring on the Cats, plus SB Nation Kansas City and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
D.D. Jones already looks terrifying. The Arkansas defensive lineman is huge, has a massive lumberjack beard, can probably squat your house, and looks to be at least 15 years older than everyone on the team. His presence across from you in a three-point stance is already its own horrific fight-or-flight scenario.
When he loses his helmet, though? There may no words for the horror that is D.D. Jones, unconcerned for his own welfare or yours, running into you and finishing with a helmetless piledriver.
Kansas St. Wildcats junior defensive end Meshak Williams has movement in his extremities following a scary collision in the second quarter of Friday's Cotton Bowl, Curtis Kitchen of WCSP in Kansas City reports.
Williams had helmet-to-helmet collision with teammate Emmanuel Lamur while attempting to tackle Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Tyler Wilson. Lamur was able to leave the field on his power, but medical personnel removed Williams' helmet and stabilized his neck before he was carted off the field on a stretcher and transported to Arlington Hospital.
Kitchen adds that Williams could be cleared to leave the hospital tonight.
A JUCO transfer from Hutchinson Community College, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Williams had 27 tackles, including 10 for a loss and a team-high seven quarterback sacks on the season.
For more on the 2012 Cotton Bowl, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats and Kansas State blog Bring on the Cats, plus SB Nation Kansas City and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
The Kansas St. Wildcats are like that sometimes. You look up and the team that had only 60 yards a minute ago is now within three points of the SEC's best offense. Nobody can explain it. Thanks to Collin Klein's latest rushing touchdown, which ties Ricky Dobbs' Division I-A record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, the score is now 19-16 in favor of the Arkansas Razorbacks.
SI.com: Live Cotton Bowl box score and Cotton Bowl FAQ
Shouldn't be a surprise to see K-State posting all of these points, as they're all the way up to 120 yards on the game. Whoa! Slow down, there!
Klein has 53 yards passing and 44 on the ground. If the Wildcats defense can get a stop on this Hogs drive, we could have a mighty, mighty interesting game in the third quarter of the Cotton Bowl.
For more on the 2012 Cotton Bowl, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats and Kansas State blog Bring on the Cats, plus SB Nation Kansas City and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
The Kansas St. Wildcats are on a nine-point run that began with 4:10 left in the second quarter of the 2012 Cotton Bowl. Nine-point runs are rare, so let's walk through this one. Nigel Malone ran back a blocked extra point for two, and then a Tyler Wilson fumble turned into a sweet misdirection toss from Collin Klein to Andre McDonald at the goal line. The score is 19-9, Arkansas.
SI.com: Live Cotton Bowl box score and Cotton Bowl FAQ
K-State has 60 yards worth of offense, yet is very much hanging in there against the SEC's most explosive offense. This is so K-State. Credit the Cats defense, which had limited the Arkansas Razorbacks to only 146 yards before some late-half milling around.
An unpleasant moment occurred on a Wilson scramble at the end of the period, when Meshak Williams and Emmanuel Lamur banged helmets. Lamur was hurt, but was able to make it off the field, while Williams was down for a long time with what appears to be a concussion. He was alert while being carted off the field, raising a K-State hand sign for the crowd.
Here's the hit, followed by Williams' salute:
For more on the 2012 Cotton Bowl, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats and Kansas State blog Bring on the Cats, plus SB Nation Kansas City and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
We've finally reached the most beautiful score in all of college football: 19-2. What in the world! 19-2! The Arkansas Razorbacks lead the Kansas St. Wildcats thanks to a 45-yard chuck from Tyler Wilson to Jarius Wright, but the real excitement came on the next play, when K-State blocked its fifth kick of the year and ballhawk Nigel Malone ran it back for two.
SI.com: Live Cotton Bowl box score and Cotton Bowl FAQ
Did you know defenses get two points for running back PATs? If you didn't, you should thank the Cotton Bowl for today's football education.
Fun fact: Arkansas now has only four first downs, yet is winning by 17 points. If K-State hadn't just run back an extra point for two points, we'd say Arkansas is still more K-State than K-State is, but nothing's more K-State than that.
For more on the 2012 Cotton Bowl, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats and Kansas State blog Bring on the Cats, plus SB Nation Kansas City and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
Arkansas Razorbacks kick returner Joe Adams, SEC All-Purpose Player of the Year, brought back his fourth kick for a touchdown in the first quarter of the 2012 Cotton Bowl. Be not embarrassed, Kansas St. Wildcats, as this sort of thing happens all the time, even though it was your first sacrificed punt return touchdown of the season.
SI.com: Live Cotton Bowl box score and Cotton Bowl FAQ
It was a 46-yarder, set up by a number of outstanding blocks and at least one block in the back:
It's far from his best effort of the year, however. That honor goes to this sidewinding defrocker against the Tennessee Volunteers.
Fun fact: Arkansas is now up 10-0 without notching a single first down. It's like they're Kansas State or something!
For more on the 2012 Cotton Bowl, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats and Kansas State blog Bring on the Cats, plus SB Nation Kansas City and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
After a run of swift-scoring bowl games that culminated in the highest single-team bowl effort ever, sitting through 10 scoreless minutes in the 2012 Cotton Bowl was a little bit jarring. The Arkansas Razorbacks have ended the great drought, making something of a Collin Klein fumble that came on a Kansas St. Wildcats second-and-33.
SI.com: Live Cotton Bowl box score and Cotton Bowl FAQ
K-State held strong, forcing Zach Hocker to knock home a 26-yard field goal. We were promised more points than this.
Nothing much has happened, box score-wise, worth noting. Tyler Wilson has already thrown seven passes, so that's kind of something. We have 38 yards worth of penalties already, which explains how the Cats ended up backed up like this in the first place:
Talk about the Great Plains!
For more on the 2012 Cotton Bowl, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats and Kansas State blog Bring on the Cats, plus SB Nation Kansas City and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
It's early yet in the Cotton Bowl, but if rabid enthusiasm combined with rockin' ponytails were points, the Razorbacks would already be up by three touchdowns.
The Arkansas Razorbacks opened the 2012 Cotton Bowl -- after what felt like an eternity's worth of intro videos and montages and guest speakers and object lessons and Stone Cold's music and a screening of Tombstone and Trace Adkins with a horse at some point (only two of these did not occur; this game is on FOX) -- with a nice kick return. They followed with a four-and-out.
All that for a four-and-out.
SI.com: Live Cotton Bowl box score and Cotton Bowl FAQ
In response, the Kansas St. Wildcats threw the ball around a lot, which isn't really their thing. We'll update further when things actually happen, so stay tuned right here! In the meantime, here's an important screen grab of Trace Adkins and his horse, so that you're all caught up:
For more on the 2012 Cotton Bowl, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats and Kansas State blog Bring on the Cats, plus SB Nation Kansas City and SEC blog Team Speed Kills.
The No. 8 Kansas St. Wildcats take on the No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks in the 76th annual AT&T Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Friday night.
Before they do, the fan frenzy leading up to the game is already at a fever pitch.
Kansas State fans showed up 15,000 strong to a pep rally Thursday night, just in case you were wondering how hyped up they are.
Arkansas might be Jerry Jones' alma mater but Kansas State fans expect to take over JerryWorld.
"This is awesome," Heaton said about the Cotton Bowl atmosphere. "I got to represent with the purple nation, this stadium will definitely be flooded with purple."
Students like, Kris Fitzgerald, marketing major at K-State, traveled to the Cotton Bowl in high excitement to attend the prestigious game.
"I am literally more excited than having a child right now, this is my baby right here, I love the Cotton Bowl and I love K-State."
The roof is expected to be closed at Cowboys Stadium, so this already loud crowd is only going to be louder.
For the latest updates on the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For more on Kansas State, visit Bring On The Cats. For updates on Arkansas, visit Arkansas Expats.
The Rootability Index helps you, the uninvested neutral viewer, who to root for in bowl games. The last big bowl before the Fais-Do-Do in Quarter is upon us: the Cotton Bowl, featuring Kansas State and Arkansas, is tonight. The sponsor's name, however, will not appear in this column since they seem happy dropping us whenever they please during phone calls, and because turnabout is fair play.
ROOTABILITY FACTORS. A matchup of top 25 teams would normally end up all over ESPN, and receive its own Musburgerian sobriquet.
The No. 8 Kansas St. Wildcats take on the No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks in the 76th annual AT&T Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Friday night.
Both schools finished 10-2 during the regular season, the second consecutive 10-win season for Bobby Petrino's Razorbacks, who are led by quarterback Tyler Wilson, who passed for an SEC-high 3,422 yards with 22 touchdowns against just six interceptions on the season. A talented Razorbacks receiving corps is led by senior Jarius Wright, who caught 63 passes for 1,029 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wright is 154 receiving yards away from 3,000 in his career.
The Wildcats take the opposite approach on offense, ranking 27th on the ground. Junior quarterback Collin Klein leads the Wildcats with 1,099 yards and 26 rushing touchdowns, with sophomore running back John Hubert adding 933 yards and three touchdowns on 188 attempts. Arkansas will need to beware of Wildcats freshman wide receiver Tyler Lockett, who led the nation with a 35.2 yard kick return average this season.
Big Ten officials have been assigned to the game, which will be played for $7.25 million. $3.75 million will go to the Big 12 Conference, $3.5 million to the SEC.
Game date, time: 8:32 p.m. ET, Friday, January 6, 2012
Location: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TV channel: FOX
Odds: Razorbacks favored by 7 1/2 points
For the latest updates on the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For more on Kansas State, visit Bring On The Cats. For updates on Arkansas, visit Arkansas Expats.
In what figures to be a highly competitive Cotton Bowl, the Arkansas Razorbacks of the SEC will do battle with the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 Conference at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Kansas State closed out the regular season with three consecutive victories to improve to 10-2 overall, and the club nearly knocked off the Big 12's best team, Oklahoma State in early November. The Wildcats' 10 regular season victories were their most since 2003, and just one shy of the school record. K-State is set to play in its 15th bowl game in school history and 13th under Bill Snyder, who is in his second tenure as head coach of the program. The 'Cats are 6-6 all-time in bowls under the legendary coach. Following 11 straight bowls from 1993-2003 under Snyder, KSU has now gone bowling in each of the last two seasons following last year's berth in the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl in New York City.
Speaking of the Razorbacks, they have reason to be proud of their performance this season, as the only two losses came against Alabama and LSU, the two teams that will square off in the BCS Championship Game. Arkansas is no stranger to the Cotton Bowl, as it will make its 12th appearance in the game, yet just three victories have been earned in the 11 showings to date. Last season, coach Bobby Petrino led the program to its first-ever BCS game, a Sugar Bowl battle with Ohio State that resulted in defeat. Arkansas is making its 39th postseason appearance and owns a 12-23-3 record all-time.
Kansas State has won three of the four previous meetings with Arkansas, but the teams haven't met since 1967.
For the latest updates on the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For more on Kansas State, visit Bring On The Cats. For updates on Arkansas, visit Arkansas Expats.
When I took the [Arkansas] job I was surprised that it wasn't in the BCS. ... The way we have been treated here and the move to Cowboys Stadium, I certainly think it will be.
Sounds like surprises all around when Bobby Petrino took the Arkansas job, am I right? Despite its quality and history, the Cotton almost certainly will never be a BCS game, since the 2014-and-onward BCS contract is likely to exclude the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta and Orange.
When the Cotton Bowl lucked into hosting the Kansas St. Wildcats and Arkansas Razorbacks for its 2012 edition, it was just the latest in a long line of good fortune for the college football classic.
Two years ago the game moved from the stadium named for it to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas and last year the game left its usual daytime time slot for primetime.
Last year's matchup between LSU and Texas A&M was BCS-quality and so is this year's, meaning the bowl game expects to see big numbers once again.
"Moving our game to Friday night has been a huge success, and last year, we had record numbers both at Cowboys Stadium and with our national television ratings on FOX," bowl chairman Tommy Bain said in a release. "With our great matchup of Arkansas against Kansas State this year, we expect great numbers again. It just makes sense for us to lock in our date now."
It might not be a BCS bowl game but many would argue the Cotton Bowl is better than many of them.
For the latest updates on the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For more on Kansas State, visit Bring On The Cats. For updates on Arkansas, visit Arkansas Expats.
You've heard of teams piping in crowd noise during practices to prep for loud stadiums. Here's what that looks and sounds like in advance of the Cotton Bowl:
via r/cfb
The 2012 Cotton Bowl will be the 39th bowl appearance for the Arkansas Razorbacks, who take on the Kansas St. Wildcats. While Arkansas has found major success in recent seasons and has a solid history of bowl game appearances, it's season-ending wins that seem to be lacking (via ArkansasSports360.com):
If Arkansas manages to beat Kansas State in the AT&T Cotton Bowl on Jan. 6, the Razorback football program will still need 10 additional wins in a row to reach a .500 win percentage in bowl game victories.
Such a statistic standing 12-23-3 all-time in post-season bowls — is unheard of not just among among the college football elite, but for anyone fancying themselves as a Top 25 power.
To put it in even starker perspective, Arkansas is 4-14 in bowl games since 1982.
If they truly want to be considered among the elite programs in the SEC and the nation, the Raorbacks need to start winning games in December and January. A Cotton Bowl victory here would be a good start.
For the latest updates on the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For more on Kansas State, visit Bring On The Cats. For updates on Arkansas, visit Arkansas Expats.
The 2012 Cotton Bowl features two explosive offenses in the Kansas State Wildcats and the Arkansas Razorbacks. Both teams know how to put up tons of yards and points in bunches. The Razorbacks come in on the arm of quarterback Tyler Wilson, but Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder knows it's not all about passing for the Razorbacks.
"I don't know so much that it's just their offense or just their defense," Snyder told The Wichita Eagle. "I just see them as a well-balanced football team. They have strengths in all segments of the game. I think they are a very physical defensive football team, they're a very fast football team, they're a sound defensive football team. But I could say very, very positive things, which I have, about their offense and their kicking game. I just think they are a well-balanced football team."
The Razorbacks are 37th in the country in points allowed per game, giving up 22.8 per game. The Razorbacks high powered offense typically has teams playing catch up, which allows guys like defensive end Jake Bequette to pin their ears back and rush the passer.
For the latest updates on the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For more on Kansas State, visit Bring On The Cats. For updates on Arkansas, visit Arkansas Expats.
Newly hired Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Paul Haynes is looking forward to the challenge of turning around a unit that ranked 51st in total defense in 2011 and possibly relieving some pressure off head coach Bobby Petrino's offense, Robbie Neiswanger of the Arkansas News reports.
"We know our offense can put up points. We’ve got to take the pressure off of them in not having to win games 45-40," Haynes said. "Be an effective defense. Our goal — and we’re not going to sell ourselves short — is to be the best defense in the country."
Haynes replaces Wily Robinson, who was dismissed last week.
One might argue a better, more attainable goal would be becoming a better defense within the SEC, where the Razorbacks ranked ninth in 2011. Four SEC defenses allowed more than 100 yards less per game than Arkansas' 371.4-yard average in 2011.
Six schools, including Vanderbilt, ranked in the Top 20 nationally in total defense.
For the latest updates on the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For more on Kansas State, visit Bring On The Cats. For updates on Arkansas, visit Arkansas Expats.
Everyone knows The Honey Badger. But what about Optimus Klein?
When the Kansas St. Wildcats take the field against the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 2012 Cotton Bowl, they'll be featuring a secret weapon that might just "transform" the outcome of the game.
via Kansas.com, we learn how to properly refer to KSU quarterback Collin Klein:
The nickname, which plays off the beloved fictional leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime, popped up earlier this week on twitter and has gained a bit of momentum from fans since. A reader suggested yesterday Optimus Klein would look good on a T-shirt, and a fan sent in a humorous Optimus Klein question to ESPN’s Big 12 Mailbag as well. So it’s out there.
If Klein makes it to the NFL, we may just get the showdown we've all been waiting for. Optimus vs. Megatron (Detroit Lions' WR Calvin Johnson). I guess we'll save that for the sequel.
For the latest updates on the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For more on Kansas State, visit Bring On The Cats. For updates on Arkansas, visit Arkansas Expats.
The Cotton Bowl may not be as prestigious as it was during the pre-BCS days, but it might just be the biggest and best non-BCS bowl today. This year's game, which will be held on Jan. 6, will feature the top matchup outside of the BCS in the No. 6-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks and No. 8-ranked Kansas State Wildcats.
Cotton Bowl selection committee chairman Fin Ewing told the Associated Press that he had his eye on both teams for weeks leading up to their selection and just hoped both were still available when the time came.
"We’re really lucky," the Cotton Bowl selection committee chairman said. "We were looking at Arkansas really early on, and we were looking at K-State early on, and then we thought we were going to lose them, and then we got them back. We came down to the last second. We didn’t know what was going on until they came out with the BCS."
"I think I did a great job again," Ewing said with a laugh. "This is going to be an awesome football game. We’re all real excited about it. Coach Petrino has done an outstanding job at Arkansas, and Coach Snyder, he did such a good job the first time that he came back and did it all over again."
For the latest updates on the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow this StoryStream.
Back-to-back 10-2 seasons in the SEC have lead to coaching changes on Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Bobby Petrino's coaching staff.
On Monday, offensive coordinator Garrick McGee accepted the head coaching position with the UAB Blazers. The following day, special teams coordinator John L. Smith was named head coach at Weber State and defensive coordinator Willy Robinson announced his resignation, the Arkansas News reports.
"I want to thank Willy Robinson for his role in helping our defense, which he leaves in better shape than when he arrived," Petrino said in a statement released by the university.
The Razorbacks ranked 46th in total defense in 2007, the year before Petrino & Co. arrived in Little Rock, allowing 365.6 yards per game. This year, the unit ranked 51st, allowing 371.4 yards per game.
Petrino's brother Paul has replaced McGee as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. No replacement has been identified for Robinson, who will not coach in the Cotton Bowl. Linebackers coach Reggie Johnson is an internal candidate for interim coordinator duties.
For the latest updates on the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow this StoryStream.
Arkansas and Kansas State is a matchup worthy of a BCS bowl game and being played in the country's grandest football stadium. Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that tickets for the Cotton Bowl Classic are more expensive than any bowl outside of the National Championship Game. Yes, that includes the other four BCS games.
The average ticket price on the secondary market for the Jan. 6 game is currently $442, according to SB Nation ticketing partner TiqIQ. Of the more than 4,000 tickets available, none are selling for less than $232.
As high as those ticket prices may be, though, they pale in comparison to prices of tickets for the National Championship Game between LSU and Alabama. The average price for a ticket to that game is an eye-popping $2,426 with the lowest priced tickets going for more than $1,300.
The best bargain among the BCS games appears to be Orange Bowl, whose matchup between West Virginia and Clemson is not exactly driving prices skyward. As of right now, you can get tickets for as cheap as $29 and the average prices is about $166.
Arkansas Razorbacks defensive coordinator Willy Robinson has resigned after four seasons on head coach Bobby Petrino's staff.
Petrino confirmed the news through a statement Tuesday afternoon (via ArkansasNews.com):
"I want to thank Willy Robinson for his role in helping our defense, which he leaves in better shape than when he arrived. I have the utmost respect for Willy Robinson as an individual who wants the best for the young men he coaches. I give Willy credit for his part in the building process the last four years and wish him future success."
Despite finishing the season 10-2, Arkansas struggled on defense all year. The Razorbacks finished 51st in the FBS in total defense and ninth in the SEC. Robinson's defense was seen as a point of weakness for the Hogs in three of his four seasons at the helm.
Robinson is the third coach to leave the Arkansas staff this week. Offensive coordinator Garrick McGee recently accepted the UAB Blazers head coaching position and special teams coach John L. Smith left to become the head coach at Weber State.
Petrino did not say who will run the defense for Arkansas in the upcoming Cotton Bowl.
For more on Razorback football, check out Arkansas Expats.
The Cotton Bowl may not be as prestigious as it was during the pre-BCS days, but it might just be the biggest and best non-BCS bowl today. This year's game, which will be held on Jan. 6, will feature the top matchup outside of the BCS. In No. 6-ranked Arkansas and No. 8-ranked Kansas State, Cotton Bowl chairman Tommy Bain thinks his game will be one of the best in the country (via the Kansas City Star).
"We consider ourselves just like a BCS bowl," Bain said. "This year we will have No. 6 vs. No. 8. That’s the third-best matchup outside of the national championship game. … I think fans are going to appreciate probably the finest stadium in the world. It will be a championship-type atmosphere. I think everyone will really enjoy it."
In recent years, the game has moved away from some of the traditions. The biggest is that it's no longer played at the actual Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas and is now played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. It's also no longer played on New Year's Day.
But the main tradition survives, as the game continues to pit top-quality teams from football-mad conferences against one another. Kansas State (10-2) has historically drawn some enormous crowds to past Cotton Bowls and Little Rock, Ark. is just about five hours away from the stadium. This will be the 12th time the Razorbacks (10-2) have played in the Cotton Bowl, but the first time since 2008.
On the field, Kansas State currently holds a 3-1 historical advantage, but the last meeting between these two teams was back in 1967.
The Razorbacks had been among the country's hottest teams before falling to No. 1-ranked LSU in their season finale, costing Arkansas a spot in the SEC Championship game. They had been riding a seven-game winning streak, with their only other loss coming against Alabama, who will face off against LSU in the National Championship Game.
During the winning streak, Arkansas beat Texas A&M, Auburn and South Carolina, all of whom were ranked in the Top 15 when the games were played. In contrast to Razorbacks teams of the past, this one does it mostly through the air. Their 307.8 yards passing per game is the 13th best average in the country and their 37.4 points scored per game is 15th best. Quarterback Tyler Wilson threw for 3,422 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Their wasn't necessarily much expected of Kansas State this year, but Bill Snyder managed to turn the program around faster than most expected. After going just 13-12 in his first two seasons after being rehired, the Wildcats went 10-2 this year and nearly snuck into the Sugar Bowl.
Snyder got the Wildcats out to a 7-0 start this year before dropping back-to-back games to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, both of whom were ranked in the Top 10 at the time. Kansas State rebounded to win their final three games, including a four-overtime win over Texas A&M and at Texas, who was ranked No. 23 at the time.
Kansas State is led by quarterback Collin Klein, who passed for 12 touchdowns and ran for 26 more. He actually led the team in rushing with 1,099 yards.
For the latest updates on the Cotton Bowl, be sure to follow this StoryStream.
The Cotton Bowl will retain its traditional SEC vs. Big 12 pairing, matching up the Arkansas Razorbacks against the Kansas State Wildcats. Arkansas finished third in a stacked SEC West this season, going 10-2 with losses against LSU and Alabama, the top two teams in the final BCS rankings. Kansas State edged Oklahoma and Baylor as the Big 12's representative in the Cotton Bowl. The Wildcats went 10-2, thanks to 2,844 total yards from quarterback Collin Klein.
The Cotton Bowl is annually regarded as one of the largest non-BCS bowl games of the season. Traditionally, the game has pitted the second-place team in the Big 12 against he third- or fourth-place team in the SEC. The game used to be played in its namesake stadium in Dallas, TX. Since 2007, the game has been played in the renovated Cowboys Stadium, however.
The SEC has won seven of the last eight Cotton Bowl matchups, including LSU's 41-24 win over Texas A&M last season. The Aggies, of course, will be joining the Tigers in the SEC starting next season. This year's iteration of the Cotton Bowl will receive the NFL treatment, with Kenny Albert and Daryl Johnston set to call the game.
Game date, time: 8:00 pm ET, Friday, January 6th
Location: Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX
TV channel: FOX
2010 winner and loser: LSU, Texas A&M
For more on each bowl game as it’s announced, stay tuned to SB Nation’s 2011 college football bowl game bids coverage. And visit our many college football blogs.
Arkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator Garrick McGee has been hired as the new head coach of the UAB Blazers, Hogs boss Bobby Petrino confirmed in a statement. McGee had been one of a cluster of coaches who'd reportedly interviewed for the gig, which became available upon the resignation of Neil Callaway.
From Petrino:
I want to congratulate Garrick McGee on becoming the head football coach at UA. I have enjoyed watching Garrick progress throughout his career and I am excited to see him get this opportunity. Garrick has been with me as a player and an assistant coach and I thank him for being a big part of everything we have been able to build here at Arkansas. The guidance he has provided our offense and quarterbacks the past four seasons has been immeasurable. Garrick grew up the son of a coach and is a natural teacher and leader. He will have a solid plan for the football program at UAB and the dedication to carry it out. Garrick, Tiffany and the entire McGee family leave with my gratitude for a job well done with the Razorbacks, and best wishes for continued success at UAB.
McGee was named Arkansas' OC before the 2010 season. He'd been linked with the once-available Tulsa job -- he's from Oklahoma -- but withdrew his name. He's coached at Northwestern, Toledo, and elsewhere.
For more on McGee, visit Arkansas blog Arkansas Expats.
Arkansas Vs. Kansas State Recap, Cotton Bowl 2012: The Numerical
by Bill Connelly
The stats that mattered in Arkansas' 29-16 win over Kansas State in last night's AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, from Arkansas' pass rush, to K-State's short span of wizardry, to two defenses living behind the line of scrimmage.Continue reading »
Jan 07 9:37a