No. 8 Kansas State and No. 6 Arkansas are set to collide on the gridiron tomorrow night in the 76th annual Cotton Bowl. Friday night’s meeting the Wildcats and Razorbacks is scheduled to kickoff at 8:00pm ET at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas; the game will be broadcast live on FOX. The latest bowl game odds have Arkansas listed as a -7.5 against the spread favorite and the game total set at 63 points. Before making your 2012 Cotton Bowl Picks on tomorrow’s game get the latest Kansas State vs Arkansas Spread available now.
Few saw Bill Synder’s Wildcats as any sort of threat this season, but the wily veteran coach and his hard-nosed squad proved early on that they would be a handful to deal with. Kansas State went 3-0 in non-conference play and then opened up its Big 12 schedule with wins over Baylor, Missouri, Texas Tech, and Kansas.
The Wildcats then faltered in back-to-back weeks, losing to Oklahoma and No. 3 Oklahoma State before regrouping in the stretch run with three consecutive wins to finish 10-2 overall and 7-2 in league play.
Kansas State’s offense, while not as prolific as the Razorbacks, was one of the most efficient units in the country, averaging 10.2 yards per point with hard nosed junior Collin Klein at the controls. While Klein, who rushed for 1099 yards and 26 touchdowns, lacks the passing skills of Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson, his toughness, leadership, and running ability are far superior to most FBS quarterbacks.
Like Kansas State, Arkansas had an excellent season, going 10-2 overall with its only two setbacks coming against the nation’s top two teams, LSU and Alabama. The Razorbacks, for the most part, dominated the rest of their competition, whipping bowl teams like Auburn, South Carolina, and Mississippi State by an average of 22.3 points per game.
The aforementioned Wilson was impressive in his first season as a starter, leading Arkansas’ 15th ranked offense (37.4 ppg) with 3,422 pass yards and 22 touchdowns.
Bobby Petrino also saw his defense make strides this season as it limited opponents to a 22.8 points per game average, a development that proved instrumental in the Hogs 6-2 SEC record.
While the Wildcats have been against the spread gold this season, posting a 9-3 record opposite the number (Arkansas 7-5), recent history would suggest this is the Razorbacks game to lose. Arkansas is 10-0 straight up in its last 10 games as a favorite with a total of 54.5 or more points. Given those trends, the smart play is Kansas State to cover and Arkansas to win.
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Kansas State vs Arkansas 2012 Cotton Bowl Point Spreads: Provided by JustBet.cx
Kansas State Wildcats +7.5 (-110), Over 63 (-110), +247 (Moneyline)
Arkansas Razorbacks -7.5 (-110), Under 63 (-110), -295 (Moneyline)
