Kansas State, Arkansas In Cotton Bowl Clash

A pair of teams that exceeded expectations in 2011 will try to get 2012 off to a positive start when the Kansas State Wildcats face the Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday in the AT&T Cotton Bowl.  The Wildcats and Razorbacks both went 10-2 in tough conferences yet did not get selected for a BCS bowl despite finishing in the Top 8.

Game time is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. (ET) with television coverage provided by FOX.  Arkansas is a 7½-point favorite according to the Don Best odds screen with the total opening at 64 and moving down to 62½.  The Razorbacks closed the regular season ranked No. 7 in the Don Best Linemakers Poll while Kansas State finished at No. 20.

The Wildcats are riding a three-game winning streak into the Cotton Bowl, with all three wins decided by a touchdown or less.  By the time this game is played, their only two losses will have taken place more than two months ago, as they fell to Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in consecutive weeks.

Kansas State surrendered a combined 110 points in those losses to the Cowboys and Sooners, and the total has gone ‘over’ in six of the team’s last seven games along with eight of 10.  The Wildcats have covered the spread in three of their past four games and went 9-3 against the line overall.

Arkansas saw its seven-game winning streak end with a 41-17 loss at No. 1 LSU on November 25.  In fact, both losses for the Razorbacks came against the top two teams in the country, who will be meeting for the BCS title on January 9.  They did not cover against the Tigers or No. 2 Alabama, losing to them by 24 points each and failing to score more than 17 points against either.

In between those two losses, Arkansas went 5-2 against the spread during the winning streak and averaged nearly 40 points per game.  The ‘over’ has cashed in each of the team’s last five games and went 8-2 in the past 10.  However, the total has gone ‘under’ in the last eight bowl games for the Razorbacks.  They are 8-2 ATS in their past 10 against Big 12 opponents.

Neither team has played well in bowl games recently.  Kansas State has lost dropped three in a row, including a 36-34 loss to Syracuse in last year’s inaugural Pinstripe Bowl.  Arkansas fell to Ohio State 31-26 in last year’s Sugar Bowl and is 3-7-1 all-time in the Cotton Bowl.

It's the fifth time these two schools have hooked up on the gridiron, but first meeting since 1967. Arkansas took that contest after Kansas State won the first three matchups in 1910, 1911 and 1926.

The weather forecast for Arlington on Friday calls for a high temperature of 68 under partly cloudy skies, cooling down to 45 at night.