Arkansas Razorbacks Will Play In Liberty Bowl vs Kansas State Wildcats

This year, what was considered the most likely result actually happened. The Razorbacks are headed to Memphis to take on Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl.

The Liberty Bowl kicks off on Saturday, January 2nd at 2:20 pm. That comes six years to the day since Arkansas' last appearance in the Liberty Bowl, when the Hogs beat East Carolina 20-17 in overtime of what is considered, because of the frigid 10-degree wind chill, one of the most miserable football experiences fans have ever experienced. Hopefully, the weather won't be quite so awful this time around. Just the fact that it will be in the afternoon instead of at night this time around should help.

Arkansas and Kansas State also, of course, faced off in the Cotton Bowl following the 2011 season, resulting in a 29-16 victory for the Razorbacks.

The Wildcats closed their season with three straight wins over Iowa State, Kansas, and West Virginia to finish with a 6-6 record. Their 3-5 conference record resulted in an 8th-place finish in the 10-team Big 12.

A quick look at Kansas State's stats show they somehow average 33 points per game despite underwhelming numbers in both passing (46.9% completion percentage) and rushing (two backs over 600 yards), which is about as emblematic of a Bill Snyder K-State team as you can imagine.

They also give up just over 30 points per game, which as we all know, is not terribly unusual in the Big 12.

Their best win is this weekend's 24-23 win over West Virginia. They suffered through an ugly 6-game losing streak in the middle of the season, bottoming out with a 55-0 loss to Oklahoma at home. They did nearly upset Baylor back when the Bears had a quarterback.

I expect Arkansas to be heavily favored, but of course with all bowl games, you never know how motivation can become a huge issue, and Snyder must always be respected. Fortunately, Arkansas' coaches have a great track record of getting the team up to play no matter what's going on.