Arkansas led 19-0 when Wilson threw a 45-yard TD pass to Jarius Wright with 4 minutes left in the first half. BY STEPHEN HAWKINS | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ADVERTISING ARLINGTON, Texas — Joe Adams had his fourth punt return for
BY STEPHEN HAWKINS | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARLINGTON, Texas — Joe Adams had his fourth punt return for a touchdown this season and No. 7 Arkansas matched a school record with its 11th victory, beating No. 11 Kansas State 29-16 in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.
All-SEC quarterback Tyler Wilson threw two touchdown passes, including a 9-yarder to Kobi Hamilton with 4 minutes left in the third quarter after Kansas State (10-3) scored 16 consecutive points.
Adams’ 51-yard return early in the second quarter gave the Razorbacks (11-2) a 10-0 lead before they even gained a first down. It was the first punt return for a touchdown in the Cotton Bowl in 51 years.
Arkansas’ only losses were to No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama, the SEC West rivals who will play in the BCS national championship game.
Kansas State also was trying to match its school record with 11 victories, but still finished a surprising season in coach Bill Snyder’s second Wildcats turnaround. K-State won 11 games six times during a seven-year span in Snyder’s first tenure before his three-year retirement, and almost reached that mark again in his third season back.
Wildcats quarterback Collin Klein tied the Big 12 record with his 27th rushing touchdown this season and matched the FBS record for quarterbacks.
After being held to 15 yards on 12 carries in the first half, Klein finished the opening drive of the third quarter with a 6-yard TD run that got the Wildcats to 19-16. That came after Klein had a 15-yard run on the previous play.
That matched the Big 12 record for rushing touchdowns held by 1998 Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams of Texas. The only other FBS quarterback with 27 rushing touchdowns in a season was Ricky Dobbs for Navy in 2009.
The only other 11-win seasons for the Razorbacks were by the Lou Holtz-coached team in 1977 and coach Frank Broyles’ only undefeated season at Arkansas in 1964.
A member of that 1964 team that won the Cotton Bowl over Nebraska was Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner who attended the game in his $1.2 billion stadium that opened in 2009. He was part of a loud crowd of 80,956.
The Cotton Bowl was the only non-BCS game with both teams in the top 15 of the Bowl Championship Series standings — Arkansas came in sixth, Kansas State eighth. It also is the only bowl featuring the SEC vs. the Big 12, the top two conferences in the BCS computer rankings.
Adams matched the SEC single-season record with his fourth punt return for a TD. He was the only FBS player this season with multiple punt return TDs, along with rushing and receiving scores.
After fielding the ball near midfield, Adams took a few steps back before squirting through a gap past several defenders. He got all the way to the opposite sideline and got his path cleared by one last block from Javontee Herndon downfield.
The Razorbacks didn’t even get a first down until 121/2 minutes left in the first half when Dennis Johnson opened a drive with a 28-yard run. That drive ended with the second of Zach Hocker’s three field goals, a 22-yarder.
Arkansas led 19-0 when Wilson threw a 45-yard TD pass to Jarius Wright with 4 minutes left in the first half.
