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Arkansas beats K-State to notch Bret Bielema's first 8-win season

graham watson

It’s time to get the Arkansas hype machine revving for another offseason.

A year after Arkansas finished with its first winning record under coach Bret Bielema, the Razorbacks thrashed Kansas State 45-23 in the Liberty Bowl for the first eight-win season since 2011.

And the game might have been a big send-off for three of the team’s best players.

Quarterback Brandon Allen, a senior, completed 20 of 26 passes for 315 yards and a touchdown. It was his fifth game with at least 300 yards as he got the Arkansas offense moving early. His passing game set up five rushing touchdowns, including three by junior Alex Collins, who set the school record for touchdowns in a season with 20. He finished with 185 yards on 23 carries.

And then there was tight end Hunter Henry, the junior All-American who caught five passes for 92 yards. Henry and Collins could skip their senior seasons for the NFL, though no definitive announcement has been made.

Kansas State, which won its final regular season game to finish with six wins, stayed close with the Razorbacks despite being forced to use Kody Cook, one of the team’s top receivers, at quarterback. Cook did admirably throwing for 163 yards and a touchdown, but only completed 50 percent of his passes, which was more a product of drops than his accuracy.

However, after crawling within 24-20 at the beginning of the third quarter thanks to a 48-yard touchdown pass to fullback Winston Dimel, the Kansas State offense had trouble with consistency. The Arkansas defense started putting pressure on Cook and collapsing the pocket.

Arkansas scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach.

The Razorbacks' win gives the SEC West a 6-1 record this bowl season and every victory has been by at least 21 points. The Big 12 boasts one win from Baylor with TCU and West Virginia still to play.

Arkansas finished last season with a big bowl win, which supplied a lot of preseason hype and a preseason ranking. However, a 2-4 start quieted any thoughts of a resurgent year. Still, eight wins is the most for Bielema as the Razorbacks coach and will no doubt have voters looking the Razorbacks way once again in the fall.

For more Arkansas news, HawgSports.com.

For more Kansas State news, visit GoPowerCat.com.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!

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