After a 29-16 loss to the No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks in the 76^thannual AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas Friday night, the theme for the No. 8 Kansas State Wildcats appeared to be a lack of execution and focus as stated by the players and head coach Bill Snyder.

 The theme would be evident right from the get-go when junior kicker Anthony Cantele slipped on the opening kickoff making for a short kick that Arkansas (11-2) would return into K-State territory. K-State (10-3) would regain its composure however as the game would be a battle of field position early on with the only points coming late in the first quarter via a Zach Hocker 26 yard field goal after Arkansas recovered a Collin Klein fumble deep in K-State territory.

The second quarter would provide much more action, though, as Arkansas senior Joe Adams took back a Ryan Doerr punt 51 yards for a touchdown putting the Razorbacks up 10-0. For the wide receiver and return specialist Adams, taking a punt back for a touchdown was nothing new as it was his fourth punt return for a touchdown this season, which ties a Southeastern Conference single-season record.

Said Adams on his return, "I thought I could score. I kind of glanced back at the ball and looked back down to see how close the guy was. I caught it, made one guy miss and just took off. And the blocking was great. I was just trying to spark the whole team to get us back on the grind and make sure everybody was doing the right things. So I was trying to be one of those guys. I'm a senior and this is my last game. I was just trying to give some guys something to remember."

K-State's next drive would stall and Hocker would add another field goal for Arkansas giving the Razorbacks a 13-0 advantage.

Arkansas opened the lead ever wider after another K-State three-and-out when quarterback Tyler Wilson connected on a 45-yard touchdown strike to Jarius Wright putting the Razorbacks up 19-0.  Wilson, who won the most outstanding offensive player of the game award, finished 20 for 31 with 216 yards passing and two touchdowns.        

K-State scored its first points of the game when senior defensive tackle Ralph Guidry blocked the extra point and junior defensive back Nigel Malone scooped up the block and returned it for two points. The block for Guidry was his fifth of the year, the most in a single-season and a career in K-State history.

Guidry commented on his blocked extra point after the game saying, "We call it ‘one left.'That's my favorite one to go. I had a good push from my teammates on the guard and I got around him and got my hands up."

K-State scored again with only seconds remaining in the first half after the defense forced a turnover by sacking and stripping Wilson deep in Razorback territory. Quarterback Collin Klein then found sophomore tight-end Andre McDonald in the back of the end zone closing the gap and making the halftime score 19-9 in favor of the Razorbacks.

K-State started the second half strong as the Wildcats marched down the field and Klein ran in from six yards out to cut the score to 19-16. The rushing touchdown by Klein was his 27^thof the year, which ties the Big 12 single-season for rushing touchdowns and the NCAA single season record by a quarterback. 

K-State wouldn't score again though as the Razorbacks regained control of the game when Tyler Wilson tossed his second touchdown of the night on a third down pass to wide receiver Cobi Hamilton over the middle. Hocker added another field goal late in the fourth quarter, his third of the game.

Snyder said after the game, "We just weren't ready to play.  That's my responsibility, to have our guys ready to play." 

Klein finished the game 16 of 30 for 173 yards passing with one touchdown and carried the ball 24 times for 42 yards and a touchdown.    

A disappointed Klein commented after the game stating, "The blame falls on all of our shoulders. It wasn't one player here. It was collectively we just couldn't put it together. Again, that's on all of us. I don't know if it was one thing. I think it was a combination of multiple things at different times."