Cotton Bowl Pick
Kansas State
vs.
Arkansas
1/6/12
Kansas State takes on Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl on Friday January 6th at Cowboys Stadium. The 10-2 Razorbacks are -7.5 point favorites over the 10-2 Wildcats with a total of 62.5 at 5 Dimes Sportsbook.
As often happens this time of year here at Bettorsworld, we simply run out of time with a few of the Games and can’t devote the time they deserve to a lengthy write up. But don’t mistake the short write up for a lack of interest in this Game. It has the potential to be one of the highest scoring shootouts of the bowl season, so if you like scoring, tune in! We’re certainly looking forward to watching it.
Arkansas’ claim to fame this year is that their only two losses came to the teams that will be playing for the national championship next week. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that both of those losses were blowouts and the Razorbacks had their share of close Games against not so tough opponents such as Troy, Ole Miss and Vandy. You’d have to look at those 3 teams and come away feeling if they can play with Arkansas, so too can Kansas State.
If those 3 teams aren’t enough, how about the one common opponent these teams had, Texas A&M. A&M held a 35-17 lead at the half but couldn’t hold on. Arkansas, like Kansas State, won by 3. Both Arkansas and Kansas State piled up the yardage, with Kansas State GAining 411 yards and Arkansas a whopping 581. Now, Kansas State had the benefit of overtime, which makes the Arkansas offensive performance look much more impressive, but check out the defensive stats. Kansas State GAve up 482 yards while the Razorbacks GAve up 628! That’s without OT folks!
While Arkansas lost to the two best teams in the country, Kansas State’s losses didn’t exactly come against the little sisters of the poor. They lost to Oklahoma State, barely, 52-45 and were blown out by Oklahoma 58-17.
No reason to think Kansas State can’t go toe to toe with Arkansas. Coach Bill Snyder will play up that underdog angle for sure, as he should. This team really hasn’t gotten any respect all year long. They were only favored 4 times this year. Meaning they took the field as underdogs 8 times this year. The results? They went 7-1 against the spread and 6-2 straight up as underdogs. Kansas State +7.5