The Cotton Bowl Classic: Kansas State vs. Arkansas
By Ty Duffy
Twelfth Night. The Feast of the Epiphany. A Potentially Charming Bowl Rendered Irrelevant by Bowl Fatigue. Kansas State and Arkansas will be motivated to show they belonged in the BCS. Both offenses are poised perfectly to attack the opposing defense. This could be fun.
[via VladimirCrouton]
Kansas State Wildcats [SRS 22]
Best Wins: Texas A&M (11), Baylor (14), Missouri (19), Texas (21)
Losses: Oklahoma State (2), Oklahoma (6)
Famous Alum: Kirstie Alley
No discredit to Mike Gundy, but with what Bill Snyder accomplished at his age with the talent at his disposal, he was coach of the year. The Wildcats had a barely bowl-worthy roster, but somehow eked out six Big 12 wins within a score. Their only losses came in a blowout to Oklahoma and a shootout at Oklahoma State. Some have argued this may be the best Kansas State team ever.
Kansas State wins with controlled offense. They run the ball. They don’t turn it over. They get out-gained, but maximize the value of the yardage they can gain. Quarterback Collin Klein is no polished passer, but the kid can run. He scored 26 touchdowns on the ground and breached the thousand yard barrier. They have another near 1,000-yard back in John Hubert. Arkansas, without defensive depth, can be worn down on the ground.
Arkansas Razorbacks [SRS 12]
Best Wins: Texas A&M (11), South Carolina (20), Vanderbilt (33)
Losses: LSU (1), Alabama (3)
Famous Alum: Pat Summerall
The Razorbacks lost Knile Davis, but managed a quite decent season nonetheless. The only losses came to the two teams playing in the BCS title game, though those were emphatic and the rest of their schedule was fairly pedestrian. The breakthrough expected this year, may come next year.
Arkansas is an anomaly in the SEC. They’ve mastered the forward pass. Tyler Wilson is among the conference’s best quarterbacks throwing to three excellent receivers. Those fellows are uniquely positioned to torment an underwhelming Kansas State secondary. If Arkansas’ offensive line holds up, this could look like the Oklahoma game where the Wildcats got boat-raced off the field.
For Recreational Purposes: Arkansas (-9)
[Photo via Getty]