Cotton is Elite in 2012

This Year the Cotton Bowl is Elite

When the BCS Announcements came out yesterday it was obvious that most were not pleased with a few of the BCS Games. The Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl are not getting top tier match ups and its a shame. Those two bowls have so much history behind them and most would love to see a top 10 match up in those games, but the BCS selection is flawed and those games get average games. One bowl that didn't strikeout was the Cotton Bowl, which this year will be the most attractive bowl game besides the National Championship Game and the Fiesta Bowl.

The Cotton Bowl features two top 10 teams in #6 Arkansas and #8 Kansas State.  These two teams are ranked higher than 5 of the 10 BCS Bowl teams. While both teams are from small states with a limited number of instate recruits, these two programs found a way to crack the top 10 due to fantastic coaching. Bobby Petrino and Bill Snyder are two of the best coaches in the country and certainly get the most out of their programs. Over twenty years ago Bill Snyder took the worst football program in America. KSU had never finished a season ranked in school history, but during Snyder's first tenure he led the Wildcats to six top 10 finishes! Snyder then came out of retirement 3 years ago to lead the Wildcats back to the top 10 after Ron Prince had destroyed what Snyder built. Bobby Petrino has taken an Arkansas program that for most of its time in the SEC was stuck in the middle of the league and has led the Hogs with their first back to back 10 win seasons since 88 & 89. Petrino has an impressive 25-6 record in his last 31 games at Arkansas. The coaching you will see in this game will only be matched by the National Championship Game.

The Cotton Bowl itself made a great move when they decided to leave the Texas State Fairgrounds and move to Cowboy Stadium. While we all will miss the old Cotton Bowl Stadium, the area around it had become not so desirable. Arlington, TX is a great town that now features the home of the Cowboys, Rangers, Six Flags, and much more. Cowboy Stadium is the nicest stadium in America. Sure, it doesn't have the history of a Lambeau Field, but for a fan visiting the stadium it can't be beat. Everyone talks about the giant video board that stretches 50 yards, but some of the video boards outside the stadium are larger than the video boards in many venues. The Super Dome, Dolphin Stadium, and the Rose Bowl don't come close to what Cowboy Stadium has to offer.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area also provides plenty to do for a fan. Sure, you don't get to go on the beach like West
Virginia fans will be able to do in South Florida, but do you really want to see folks from West Virginia in a bathing suit? Dallas-Fort Worth has a great diversity of food ranging from great TexMex to some of the best BBQ joints West of the Mississippi. A visit to the Fort Worth Stockyards is always fun. DFW has some of the best museums in America for the family and there is also Six Flags Over Texas for the kids. For adults, great nightlife can be found anywhere in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, or Irvine. Plus, the Cotton Bowl committee does more for fans than most bowl games do.

Texas is a Football State and the Cotton Bowl means something to not only the DFW area, but also to the entire state. This isn't true with the tourist and retirement areas of South Florida. You have many people in California and Florida that could careless about football. The Eyes of Texas will certainly be upon this game and for two teams that love to recruit Texas, this is important. Arkansas and Kansas State can help promote themselves even more by going to the Cotton Bowl. Neither team is going to land top recruits from Florida or California most years, but there is a great chance at landing top tier recruits in Texas for these two programs.

The Cotton Bowl also has a fantastic time slot. The game will be on the Friday Night prior to the BCS Championship game in primetime. There will be no other game on during the Cotton Bowl. This means that if you are a casual fan in a sports bar on Friday Night you are going to be forced to watch the Cotton Bowl. Arkansas-Kansas State will be talked about all day on Friday by sports talk shows nationally. Sure, some shows will focus on the upcoming NFL Playoffs, but in college football markets this game will get all the attention. The Capital One Bowl will be played at the same time as three other bowl games on January 2nd. Having the game on a Friday is also great for fans because the games on 1/2 means fans have to travel home on a Tuesday. Fans have an entire weekend to enjoy DFW and can travel home on a Saturday or Sunday, making it easier for those with kids.

History is also on the Cotton Bowl's side. More national champions have been crowned at the Cotton Bowl than the Capital One Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. In 1964 Arkansas won the National Championship by beating Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl was still 7 years from playing their first game. It really wasn't until the 89 Fiesta Bowl that featured undefeated Notre Dame play undefeated West Virginia for the National Championship that this bowl started to become elite. Only the Rose, Sugar, Orange, and Sun Bowls are older than the Cotton. Players like Baugh, Montana, Aikman, Campbell, and many more of college football's elite names have been featured in this game.

Arkansas and Kansas State won't get the tag of "BCS" in front of their bowl game this year, but neither fan base should be disappointed. This game is one of the three best bowl games in 2011-2012 and it will be a fantastic experience for all involved. The winner has a chance to finish in the top 5 nationally and keep in mind the winner of last year's game, LSU ended this season as the #1 team nationally.
Matt Barber
Dixiefriedsports@gmail.com
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