ARLINGTON, Texas – As good a bowl season as the Big 12 has had, the conference still can't stack up to the SEC.
Arkansas once again proved that Friday night in the Cotton Bowl with its 29-16 victory in front of more than 80,000 at Cowboys Stadium. The SEC again showed it's the bionic Big 12 … better, faster, stronger.
Arkansas (11-2), which came into the game ranked sixth in the BCS and with its only losses to national title combatants LSU and Alabama, outplayed a spunky Kansas State team in every phase of the game.
While Kansas State (10-3) earned its way to the Cotton Bowl with a 10-win season of its own, it couldn't match up with the third-best team in the SEC. That's becoming an all-too-familiar trend for the Big 12 teams in the biggest bowl game in the Metroplex.
Since the Cotton Bowl went to the SEC vs. Big 12 format, SEC teams are 9-5. They've dominated the matchup as of late, as the Arkansas win made it eight of nine for the SEC in the Cotton Bowl.
Nothing that happened Friday shows that's changing any time soon as Arkansas outrushed, outpassed, outsacked and out special teamed the Wildcats.
"I think the difference in the game was how well we played on defense and the field position we were able to give our offense," said Arkansas head coach Bobby Petrino, whose team limited Kansas State to 60 yards of offense in the first half.
"We didn't take advantage of it all the time, but it certainly was a big part of the game."
Proof that Arkansas is a well-rounded team was evident early. The Razorbacks led the game 10-0 early in the second quarter despite not having a first down thanks to a field goal set up by a fumble and a 51-yard punt return for a touchdown by Joe Adams.
They upped the lead to 19-0 when Jarius Wright ran past a Kansas State secondary that included four Big 12 performers for a 45-yard touchdown, making it 19-0 with 4:10 remaining.
Kansas State showed the same type of fight it had all season, scrapping for 16 consecutive points to cut the gap to 19-16 on quarterback Collin Klein's 6-yard run with 11:38 remaining.
But just when it looked like the Big 12 had a chance at a 7-1 bowl season, the Razorbacks clamped down and didn't allow the Wildcats to score again.
The Razorbacks harassed Kanas State's best weapon in Klein all night. The junior was bloodied early and sacked six times. Klein ran the ball 24 times but gained just 42 yards. He did manage to throw for 173 yards, but 81 of those came in the fourth quarter when the Wildcats were in scramble mode.
"They're a very good football team across the board," said Klein. "We had our chances and weren't able to finish the job and execute on the field. We came up short and didn't get it done as a unit. The blame falls on all of our shoulders. It's on all of us."
Taking Klein out of his comfort zone was big for the Razorbacks.
"Our defensive front controlled the line of scrimmage, both when they ran the ball, I think we held them to 87 yards rushing, which was a spectacular job by our defense, we pressured the quarterback, hit him, caused fumbles," said Petrino.
"I think that's the key. Any time we made him throw the ball, our defensive front teed off and had, what, six sacks."
That was a mode Arkansas never had to get into. Quarterback Tyler Wilson, who was named the game's outstanding offensive player, threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked twice but also got protection from an offensive line that paved the way for 129 rushing yards, including a 36-yard run by Broderick Green in the fourth quarter that included a hurdle of a Kansas State defender.
Arkansas didn't allow the Wildcats to come up with the big stop on defense, converting eight of its 17 third-down tries. The aggressive nature of the Arkansas offense was responsible for giving Kansas State its life in the second quarter.
Leading 19-2, Arkansas was looking for more points late in the second quarter at its own 17-yard line when Wilson was sacked and fumbled. That gave Arkansas the ball at the 13-yard line with 1:06 remaining and led to a 3-yard scoring pass from Klein to Andre McDonald.
But that KSU score was more of a tease for fans of the Big 12 than a sign of what was to come.
That's what happens when you match up against the SEC.
