SB Nation's resident college football stat monster Bill C. has undertaken an impossible task - mathematically ranking the 2011-'12 college bowl slate by potential excitement, team prestige and the games likeliest to be close at the end.
Kansas State's trip to the Cotton Bowl to face Arkansas at Cowboys Stadium should be, by Bill's math, not a high scoring, 80 points combined affair, but a relatively close game. Using the "MACtion" scale (named lovingly after the high-scoring, defensively weak MAC), the Cotton Bowl rates 31st out of 35 bowls, meaning it's unlikely you'll see a 42-39 finish.
However, the game ranks very high (sixth out of 35) on the standard F+/- index, which measures complete team value (i.e., which bowl game features two high quality opponents). This ranking would certainly confirm the gripes of both Razorback and Wildcat fans who feel snubbed by the BCS system. In terms of closeness, Bill C.'s rankings project the margin of points to be 4.7, which is good for 18th out of 35 bowl.
For a complete list of bowl games ranked by various scales of watchability and interest, click here. For everything college football visit SB Nation's college football news hub, and for more on Kansas State, check out Bring On The Cats.