The Good

• New defensive coordinator Paul Haynes is off to a good start.  The Arkansas defense, holding a decisive advantage in team speed, tackled better and stopped the run as well as we’ve seen them all season.
• Bill Snyder, why in the world would you kick it to Joe Adams?  The senior put on another show, taking a line-drive punt back 51 yards giving the Hogs an early second quarter 10-0 lead. The return broke Lance Alworth’s 49-yard Cotton Bowl record (1961), and solidified Adams’ legacy as the best punt returner in school history.
  
• Honorable Mention:  In his final game as as Razorback, Broderick Green came in and finished off the Wildcats in the fourth quarter.  Green had 60 yards on seven carries in the second half.  ….  Bobby Petrino’s early third quarter decision to punt on fourth-and-2 from the Wildcat 41 might have been his best call of the night.  After a timeout, Dylan Breeding’s sand wedge checked-up at the 2-yard line, putting the Wildcats in a horrible hole.  Had to be a tough call for Petrino after…

The Bad

• …Watching the Wildcats take the ball and drive 60 yards for an easy touchdown to start the second half.  The score, which made it 19-16, was aided by Zach Hocker’s kickoff out of bounds that gave a short field to a struggling K-State offense.
• Even though it was great to see them go out on a high note, it’s going to be tough to replace these 17 seniors.  Adams, Bequette, Childs, Franklin, Nelson, Thomas, J. Wright…what a great run.  The foundation and level of success that this senior class has established will set the bar high in the coming years.
• Honorable Mention:  The struggles out of the gate by the offense — no first downs and only 37 total yards in the first quarter — manifested again versus K-State.  After the first quarter sack/fumble recorded by Jake Bequette and Tenarius Wright, the Hogs went three-and-out, settling for a Zach Hocker 26-yard field goal.

The Ugly

• Allowing K-State’s Raphael Guidry to block an extra-point was disappointing.  It was Guidry’s fifth blocked kick of the season, something that the Razorbacks and new special teams coordinator Steve Caldwell should have been more than prepared for going into the game.  Credit Guidry for making a great play…but it was yet another special teams snafu in a big game for the Hogs.
• The number of construction zones in and around Dallas and Arlington is absolutely staggering.  Exiting the stadium southeast on Division Street took well over an hour just to get to a freeway.  Maybe it’s for the best that the A&M game is (likely) moving to a home-and-home series…at least until some of the orange barrels are picked up.

Of course, we can’t possibly mention everything that was “Good, Bad and Ugly.”  What did we leave out?

ESPN.com: Arkansas matches school record 11 wins with victory in Cotton Bowl

Joe Adams had his fourth punt return for a touchdown this season and No. 6 Arkansas defeated No. 8 Kansas State 29-16 in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.

Also:

• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Arkansas wins Cotton Bowl over Kansas St., Game Stats (PDF), Post-game Notes (PDF)
• ESPN.com: Instant analysis, Hogs give K-State a taste of its medicine, Slow start on offense hurts KSU
• ArkansasRazorbacks.com (Video): Game Highlights, Post-game Press Conference
• ESPN.com (Video): Highlight Of The Night, Tenarius Wright
• WholeHogSports.com (Video): Paul Petrino, Paul Haynes, Joe Adams
• Matt Jones: Arkansas wins with defensive speed
• Chris Bahn: Senior Playmakers Celebrate Cotton Bowl Victory, Program Transformation, Two-Minute Drill
• Jim Harris: Bequette, Arkansas Deliver On Defense To Stifle Kansas State, Win Cotton Bowl
• Robbie Neiswanger: Razorbacks capture 11th win in Cotton Bowl victory
• Scott Faldon: Arkansas Defense Makes Stand In Finale
• ArkansasNews.com: Adams Does It Again; Wilson, Bequette MVPs, Cotton Bowl Post-game Page (PDF)
• Dallas Morning News: Photo Gallery
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Arkansas rolls over Kansas State to remain unbeaten at Cowboys Stadium, Razorbacks’ win marks milestones

[Show as slideshow]

123►

A good stat to reference, Jeff.  Unfortunately, the Hogs didn’t turn out to be stiff competition for the Bayou Bengals this year.  But either way…congrats on the closest pick.  Like the rest of us, I’m sure you’re ready for the Hogs to get back on the field and put that game behind us.

(Oh…by the way Jeff…we still need to get your email address.  Contact us so we can get your RBN T-Shirt out to you.)

As we prepare to make our final picks of the season, here’s how our own little predictions contest finished up:  HogBaller won 5 games, HogBlogger won 2.5 games, Sunshine won 2 games, and yours truly (TipsterHog) won 1.5 games.  Congrats HogBaller…you pretty much lapped the RazorBloggers field and ran the score up on us!

So here we go:

Walking on Sunshine:  When they defeated Missouri earlier in the season, the K-State fans laughingly mocked the Tigers by chanting “S-E-C, S-E-C” (see video).  After the Hogs keep Collin Klein in check, we’re sure the 40,000 Hog fans in attendance will serenade the Wildcats accordingly.  Wilson has a record-setting night.  Arkansas 44, Kansas State 34.

HogBaller:  This Arkansas team needs to show up on a big stage and play big.  A Cotton Bowl victory will likely mean a preseason top 5 ranking next season and prove that the Razorback program is not only on the rise, but turning into a top 10 program annually.  Both teams get off to a slow start early, but the Razorbacks have too much offense for the Wildcat defense.  The Hog receivers run wild and the Razorback D-line makes it tough on K-State.  Arkansas 31, Kansas State 14.

HogBlogger:  It’s showtime for Coach Petrino on the national stage.  Hopefully anyway.  Arkansas 42, Kansas State 31.

TipsterHog:  This Kansas State team has earned the nickname “Cardiac Cats” for their heart-pounding, tight victories this season.  But this one won’t be that close.  Arkansas 38, Kansas State 20.

Leave a comment with your name, e-mail address and pick.  And feel free to add your own take like “When did Bill Snyder learn how to use a cell phone?” or “Reggie Herring ain’t coaching this Cotton Bowl.  Hogs roll.”

In part one of our Kansas State preview, we took a look at the offensive side of the ball for the Wildcats.  Trying to figure a way to stop quarterback Collin Klein is going to keep the Arkansas defensive coaches awake at night.  Not so much though for newly hired coordinator Paul Petrino and the offense.

If there is a weakness in this Wildcats team, it is on the defensive side of the ball.  K-State ranks 73rd nationally in total defense (398.8 yards/game), primarily because it has been very vulnerable against the pass.

Kansas State ranks 104th in Passing Defense (267.3 yards/game).  The Hogs rank 13th in Passing Offense (307.8 yards/game).  You see where we’re headed here?

When you look at it, though, it’s not all on the KSU secondary.  The Wildcats have only recorded 18 sacks on the year (90th nationally), and one guy — defensive end Meshak Williams (6-2, 245) — has seven of those.

So just how much trouble have the Wildcats had in stopping passing offenses in 2011?  We went back and took a look at the five teams that K-State played that could really throw it.  Like Arkansas, the Big 12 is full of some pass-happy teams.

The A&M game is a bit deceiving given it was a four overtime game, but it was a 31-31 game at the end of regulation.  You could also argue the Aggies weren’t really a passing team — with Michael and Gray running the ball, they were pretty balanced most of the time.

If these numbers hold true Friday night, we could see Tyler Wilson holding a bunch of Cotton Bowl passing records.  Currently Graham Harrell of Texas Tech holds the records for attempts (58), completions (36), passing yards (364), and passing touchdowns (4).

The Wildcats aren’t totally void of playmakers on defense though.  Miami (Fla.) transfer linebacker Arthur Brown (6-1, 223) leads the team with 95 tackles.  Cornerback Nigel Malone leads the secondary with seven interceptions on the year.

In the return game, the kidney injury to freshman wide receiver Tyler Lockett (son of Kevin Lockett, K-State’s all-time leading receiver) during the Oklahoma State game was a big blow.  Lockett had taken two kickoffs back for touchdowns, and while his replacement, speedster Tramaine Thompson (5-7, 165) has been good, he’s not shown so far to be that breakaway threat.

Kicker Anthony Cantele (17-22 FG, Long 54) and punter Ryan Doerr (40.5 yard average) have been serviceable, however the Wildcats have suffered three blocked kicks this year.

All in all, this game comes down to the Razorback defense and their ability to stop Klein.  The Hogs are poised to score a lot of points on the fast track in Arlington as long as K-State doesn’t possess the ball (see first half of the Ole Miss game for reference), and keep Tyler Wilson on the sideline.

It should be a fun one…the RBN crew will be there to witness it.  Arkansas is favored by 7 1/2 points.

After ringing in the New Year down in “Big D”, the Razorbacks are back at practice this week, finalizing their preparations for the Cotton Bowl.  The January 6th matchup against the Kansas State Wildcats will kickoff at 7:00 and be nationally televised on Fox.

We have to say, this is one of the more intriguing bowl outings the Hogs have had in years.  While the matchup with the Wildcats is not all that flashy, the subplots are many.

• What will the loss of all three coordinators mean for Arkansas’ preparation?
• Will new Defensive Coordinator Paul Haynes be able to step in and be effective calling plays for a defense he knew nothing of three weeks ago?
• Can the Hogs defense do what they’ve had little success doing the past few seasons — stop a mobile, dual threat quarterback?

There are several things that stand out right away when scouting Kansas State — the first is how well-coached the Wildcats are.  Bill Snyder (159-82-1, 20th year) is truly a marvel — still going strong at the age of 72.  Not many people could turn around a program like K-State once, let alone twice, but Snyder has.  They are fundamentally sound in all three phases in 2011.

Kansas State is definitely multiple on offense.  What you will see is option from a lot of different formations.  From the spread formation, they will run a ton of zone read plays — and quarterback Collin Klein is reading it most of the time. From under center, in the single back or I-formation, you’ll get a combination of mid-line and speed option.

We spent some time last week detailing Klein’s gaudy numbers this year (3,122 total yards, 38 total TDs).  What grabbed our attention was the eye-popping percentage of plays (66%) that he directly participates in as a rusher or passer.

When you watch Klein (6-5, 226) play, he is a very physical runner.  And despite not being a burner, he is elusive in the open field.  As a passer, he has the ability to move in the pocket and extend the play.  The Hogs’ defense will have its hands full trying to slow him down.

When Klein does decide to hand it off, most of the time it’s to sophomore running back John Hubert (933 yards, 3 TDs).  Hubert is smallish at 5-7, but has good speed and has proven to be hard to tackle in space.  There are no Jordy Nelson‘s on this team — no wide receiver averages more than 45 yards per game.  Oregon transfer Chris Harper (536 yards, 5 TDs) is probably the best of the bunch.

If the Hogs are going to win this game, they’ve got to show they can defend the option, and not let the Wildcats possess the football.  Running quarterbacks have killed this defense in recent seasons, and minus Cam Newton, Klein might be the best runner they’ve faced.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at how the Wildcats stack up on defense and special teams.

Despite having a 12-23-3 all-time record in bowl games, and even after losing all three coordinators off of Bobby Petrino’s staff since the end of the regular season, confidence seems high among the faithful.

Why is this?  Well, it could be because the Hogs have been installed as a 7 1/2 point favorite. Or it might be the fact that Kansas State ranks 104th nationally in passing defense (267.3 yards per game).  That’s 104th out of 120 FCS teams.  Yikes!

For Hog fans thinking this game is going to be a walk in the park, though, think again.  Allow us to take a few moments and introduce you to Wildcat quarterback Collin Klein.

Klein (6-5, 226) will remind many Arkansas fans of former quarterback Matt Jones with his length, but not necessarily his speed.  After splitting time with Carson Coffman a year ago, the fourth-year junior has exploded this year and put up some staggering numbers.

Klein leads the team in rushing yards (1,377), and rushing touchdowns (26), on 293 carries.  That’s 24+ rushing attempts per game!  In addition, he’s thrown for 1,745 yards and 12 more touchdowns.

What got our attention though was the eye-popping percentage of plays in which Klein directly participates in, either as a rusher or a passer.  Of Kansas State’s 826 offensive plays, Klein has 544 of those (293 rush, 251 pass), a 66% rate.

That’s an incredible percentage for a running quarterback — truly off the charts.  Most guys cannot hold up to that kind of punishment over a full season.  By comparison, in 2011, Taylor Martinez at Nebraska was 52% of their offensive plays; Denard Robinson at Michigan was 56%.

You can tell Klein is hard-nosed and tough-minded.  That was never more evident than during the Wildcats epic four-overtime game against Texas A&M this year, when he accounted for six touchdowns.

With the Hogs’ inability to stop running quarterbacks over the last two seasons, Klein’s skill set could wreck havoc on what has turned out to be a very average Arkansas defensive unit — ranked 51st in total defense at 371.4 yards per game.

Even though he won’t be calling the defenses at the Coton Bowl, could new coordinator Paul Haynes ability to scheme have an immediate impact on how the coaching staff game plan to stop Klein?  Stay tuned.

A battle of Top-10 teams has been set as the No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks will meet the No. 8 Kansas State Wildcats in the 2012 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic on Friday, Jan. 6th at Cowboys Stadium.

Also:

• AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic: Official Site
• ArkansasRazorbacks.com: Arkansas to play in AT&T Cotton Bowl, Jeff Long Press Conference (Video)
• Matt Jones: Arkansas headed to Cotton Bowl
• Robbie Neiswanger: Cotton Gets Top 10 Matchup With Arkansas, Kansas State
• Chris Bahn: Arkansas Will Face Kansas State In Cotton Bowl

The Razorback defense gave up 21 points in three quarters…one touchdown per quarter.  I know you’re going to say I’m crazy, but I think the defense played well enough for three quarters to keep us in the game.  While obviously we would’ve all liked the defense to perform better, we had to expect Missouri would score over 30 points.

The Razorback offense was going to have to score early and often or Missouri was going to run off and leave us.  But it’s hard to stay in the game when your offense not only doesn’t score, but also loses two fumbles and has an interception returned for a touchdown.

Either way, I thought it was beyond obvious that Missouri was the better football team. Business-like…well-prepared…high intensity…confident…better overall talent…better schemes…better coaching…better mascot…cheerleaders…fan apparel — probably better pet fish, better dog, and better cat — there wasn’t one aspect I thought we were better in.

For the final game of the Houston Dale era, everything we’ve all loved to complain about made one last appearance.  Missed field goals…fumbles (after the running backs wore those ‘don’t hit me’ jerseys all month)…poor pass protection…limited play selection…overaggressive defense that allowed a clever opposing coach to turn our speed and schemes against us…fumbled punts…poor kickoff…poorly timed timeouts…no halftime adjustments…the opposing defense saying they knew exactly what was coming just by watching film — it was all on display.

Truth was…the game seemed over to me in the middle of the second quarter.  It was just a matter of time.

I should have known we were in trouble when we were talking during December about wearing black shoes.  Wearing red pants just topped it off.  Football is not a fashion sport.  When you’re thinking a lot about what you’re wearing in sports, your head is in the wrong place.  It would’ve been much better to honor Coach Broyles by focusing on winning the game rather than what you were going to wear.

Oh, well…no sense continuing to beat a dead hog.  A new coaching staff is coming in and things will be different.

Hopefully better…but definitely different.

Hogwired.com: Razorbacks Fall to No. 7 Missouri in Cotton Bowl, 38-7

In a match up of Heisman Trophy finalists, Darren McFadden and Chase Daniel, at the 72nd AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, it was Missouri tailback Tony Temple who put in a record-breaking performance in front of 73,114 fans.

The senior back tallied 281 yards on the ground and four rushing touchdowns, both Cotton Bowl records, to lead No. 7 Missouri to a 38-7 win over the No. 25 Razorbacks.

Also:

• Hogwired.com: Game Stats (PDF), Post-game Notes
• ESPN.com: Temple powers Missouri’s Cotton Bowl rout of Arkansas
• AP: McFadden quiet in what might have been his Arkansas finale
• Chris Bahn: Arkansas Suffers Awful End To Tough Season

Photos

• AP Photos / Getty Images: 2008 Cotton Bowl Photos
• ArkansasOnline Focus: Arkansas vs. Missouri Photos

RazorBloggers Network

• HogBlogger: One More For The Road

The Morning News

• Alex Abrams: Temple Of Doom
• Robbie Neiswanger: McFadden, Jones Must Mull Draft Decision
• Nathan Allen: Broyles Honored Before Bowl Game
• Carin Schoppmeyer: Razorback Fans Die-Hard
• Vernon Tarver: Temple Rushes Into Record Book

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

• Tom Murphy: Doomed by Temple
• Chris Givens: McFadden, Hogs go out quietly, Inside the matchups
• Bob Holt: Temple shows Missouri can run ball, too, Tigers show defense also has teeth, Instant replay
• Rob Keys: Geared to stop Daniel, Hogs ambushed on ground
• Democrat-Gazette: Herring’s genius doesn’t show in game
• Marty Cook: Razorbacks replay
• Wally Hall: Razorbacks need fans’ loyalty even more now
• Nate Allen: Missouri dominates rudderless Razorbacks
• Rainer Sabin: Missouri rips Arkansas, Luigs to stay; McFadden, Jones still undecided
• Matt Jones: Temple outduels Hogs’ backs

Other Sites and Blogs

• Razorback Expats: Twenty-One Years of Futility
• ArkansasSports360.com: Harris: Waking Up To a Nightmare
• The Dallas Morning News: Cotton Bowl Coverage
• The New York Times: Missouri Wins With Ease, but Says It Deserved Better

Updated 1/4/08 7:30 a.m.

But if anyone tells you they know how this 2008 Cotton Bowl is going to turn out, they are flat-out crazy…or sipping too much eggnog.  At least on the surface, both teams seem to have little incentive to win.

On one hand, the Missouri Tigers go from being ranked #1 nationally and needing only one win to get to the BCS title game, only to lose and fall all the way to Dallas.  You have to believe that the hangover still lingers of picking Kansas (#8 BCS ranking) over the Tigers (#6 BCS ranking) for the Orange Bowl.

On the other hand, the Hogs are playing out the string with a lame duck coaching staff led by Reggie Herring.  With several of the skill players likely protecting their NFL futures, will they really push the envelope or just pack it in?  After all, one knee injury could literally cost millions in future earnings.  (Just ask Willis McGahee.)

Several analysts, however, have said they believe the Arkansas-Missouri match-up will be one of the more interesting of the bowl season.  Missouri employs the no-huddle spread offense and the numbers for Chase Daniel are obscene — 327 for 534, 4,170 yards, and 33 TDs versus only 10 interceptions.  That’s a 70 percent completion rate, in case you are doing the math.

One of the things that might actually help the Razorbacks is that new coach Bobby Petrino and his offensive coordinator/brother Paul will be in attendance.  And there’s no doubt they will be scouting the returning players for next season.  That ‘eye in the sky’ might be in the back of some players’ minds, as everyone will want to make a good first impression.

If the Hogs are to have a shot, it will take a lot of points and a brilliant game plan from interim defensive coordinator Louis Campbell.  And let’s hope it turns out as well as the last time Campbell coached in Dallas, helping the Hogs to a 27-6 thrashing of Texas in the 2000 Cotton Bowl.

So sit back and get the hog jowl, black-eyed peas, and cornbread ready.  This game should be an entertaining clash to ring in what promises to be a fun and interesting 2008.

Our very own HogBlogger participated along with Ross Taylor of the Missouri blog RockMNation.com.  You can see the video here:

Blogger Bowlnanza: Cotton Bowl

I thought the segment hosted by John Walters (a.k.a. “JDub“) was done really well.  Ross was cool and wasn’t into stirring up a bunch of trash talk.  And the trivia contest was fun, although HogBlogger is kicking himself for not remembering Ricky Williams.  We want to thank Matt at NBC Universal for inviting us to participate.

But, of course, the big thing to come out of this interview…HogBlogger is no longer anonymous!

For correctly predicting the first Razorback victory over a top-ranked team in 26 years, HOGFAN23 received a RazorBloggers Network T-shirt courtesy of Carpenter Clothing Co.  (Thanks again to those guys for sponsoring our predictions contest this year.)  And for those (three) of you who have been wondering all season what a RBN T-shirt looks like, click here for your wait to be finally over.  Nice and understated, huh?

As for our own mini-predictions contest, it comes down to the last game: HogBlogger 5, TipsterHog 4…while Sunshine and HogBaller are on the outside looking in.  (Although props to HogBaller for predicting a victory over LSU.)

So here we go:

Walking on Sunshine: I have no doubt that Louis Campbell will do all he can do to scheme a good defensive plan, but I worry that our offensive studs will play it safe in their finale.  Missouri 30, Arkansas 22.

HogBaller: I think the Razorback players and coaches have something to prove in this game.  David Lee may finally get to turn it loose now that the ‘Ole Play Caller’ has moved on to Ole Miss.  Arkansas 38, Missouri 21.

HogBlogger: While both teams averaged 40 points a game in the regular season, getting back on track after the break is harder for a passing team than a running team.  The Razorback players are looking to get noticed for their excellent last half of the year.  Herring wants to prove he is head coaching material.  Missouri wants to prove they should have been BCS bowl bound.  I like the Hogs.  Arkansas 35, Missouri 31.

TipsterHog: The only time I got to watch Missouri play this year was against Oklahoma.  And while the Tigers held their own in both games, the Sooners defeated them twice while averaging over 3.5 yards per carry.  If we don’t come close to doubling that stat, I’ll be very surprised.  Arkansas 41, Missouri 31.

Leave a comment with your name, e-mail address and pick.  And feel free to add your own take like “Daniel and McFadden prove Heisman voters were wrong” or “We’ve already shown we can beat Tigers.  Hogs roll.”

For the 11th time in school history, the Arkansas football team has accepted an invitation to play in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic.

The No. 24 Razorbacks will square off with No. 7 Missouri (11-2).

Also:

• Hogwired.com: Reggie Herring Press Conference – Cotton Bowl, Coach Broyles Statement
• AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic: Official Site, Game Press Release
• StubHub (Affiliate Link): 2008 Cotton Bowl Tickets
• Chris Bahn: Late Surge Has Razorbacks Picking Cotton
• Alex Abrams: Hogs Accept Cotton Bowl Invite At Uncertain Time
• Tom Murphy: Arkansas draws Missouri
• The Dallas Morning News: Arkansas vs. Missouri in Cotton Bowl Classic

Updated 12/3/07 7:05 a.m.