2016 Liberty Bowl (January)

The 2016 Liberty Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on January 2, 2016, at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The 57th edition of the Liberty Bowl featured the Kansas State Wildcats of the Big 12 Conference against the Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southeastern Conference. It began at 2:20 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2015–16 bowl games that concluded the 2015 FBS football season. Sponsored by automobile parts and accessories store AutoZone, it was officially known as the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.[2]

2016 AutoZone Liberty Bowl
57th Liberty Bowl
Kansas State Wildcats Arkansas Razorbacks
(6–6) (7–5)
Big 12 SEC
23 45
Head coach: 
Bill Snyder		 Head coach: 
Bret Bielema
1234 Total
Kansas State 103100 23
Arkansas 1410714 45
DateJanuary 2, 2016
Season2015
StadiumLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
LocationMemphis, Tennessee
MVPArkansas RB Alex Collins
FavoriteArkansas by 11½[1]
National anthemBetty Cantrell[2]
RefereeRon Snodgrass (Big Ten)[3]
Halftime showCraig Morgan[2]
Attendance61,136[3]
PayoutUS$TBD
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN/ESPN Radio
AnnouncersAnish Shroff, Ahmad Brooks, & Dawn Davenport (ESPN)
Mark Neely, Jay Walker, & Kevin Weidl (ESPN Radio)

Teams

The game featured the Kansas State Wildcats against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Kansas State Wildcats
Main article: 2015 Kansas State Wildcats football team

After finishing their season 6–6, the Wildcats accepted their invitation to play in the game.[4]

This was the Wildcats' first Liberty Bowl.

Arkansas Razorbacks
Main article: 2015 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

After finishing their season 7–5, the Razorbacks accepted their invitation to play in the game.[5]

This was the Razorbacks' fifth Liberty Bowl, giving them the new record for most appearances in the game. The Razorbacks are now 2–3 all-time in the Liberty Bowl, losing the 1971 Liberty Bowl to Tennessee 14–13, then losing the 1984 Liberty Bowl to Auburn 21–15, losing the 1987 Liberty Bowl to Georgia 20–17, and finally winning the 2010 Liberty Bowl over East Carolina 20–17 in overtime.

Game summary

Scoring summary
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP K-ST ARK
1 11:38 4 27 1:52 K-ST Winston Dimel 10-yard touchdown run, Matthew McCrane kick good 7 0
1 8:15 6 72 3:23 ARK Alex Collins 22-yard touchdown run, Cole Hedlund kick good 7 7
1 3:50 8 46 4:18 K-ST 36-yard field goal by Matthew McCrane 10 7
1 2:22 3 24 1:17 ARK Jared Cornelius 13-yard touchdown run, Cole Hedlund kick good 10 14
2 13:05 8 64 3:04 ARK Alex Collins 13-yard touchdown run, Cole Hedlund kick good 10 21
2 2:08 9 55 4:59 ARK 26-yard field goal by Cole Hedlund 10 24
2 0:21 8 49 1:41 K-ST 21-yard field goal by Matthew McCrane 13 24
3 12:44 4 74 2:10 K-ST Winston Dimel 48-yard touchdown reception from Kody Cook, Matthew McCrane kick good 20 24
3 7:54 9 82 4:42 ARK Jeremy Sprinkel 6-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Allen, Cole Hedlund kick good 20 31
3 1:46 11 47 6:02 K-ST 32-yard field goal by Matthew McCrane 23 31
4 12:04 8 78 4:34 ARK Alex Collins 14-yard touchdown run, Cole Hedlund kick good 23 38
4 4:46 9 80 5:38 ARK Kody Walker 10-yard touchdown run, Cole Hedlund kick good 23 45
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 23 45

Source: [3]

Statistics
Statistics[3]K-STARK
First Downs1330
Total offense, plays - yards47–24268–569
Rushes-yards (net)22–7942–254
Passing yards (net)163315
Passes, Comp-Att-Int12–25–120–26–1
Time of Possession22:3037:30

Arkansas running back Alex Collins was named the game's MVP, after gaining 185 yards and 3 touchdowns on 23 carries.

References
  1. Odds, Los Angeles Times, December 10, 2015
  2. "Liberty Bowl Info". Liberty Bowl. December 6, 2015. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  3. "2015 Liberty Bowl: Kansas State vs. Arkansas Stats". Stat Broadcast. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  4. "K-State to Play Arkansas in AutoZone Liberty Bowl". KStateSports.com. Kansas State University. December 6, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  5. "Arkansas Accepts Liberty Bowl Invitation". ArkansasRazorbacks.com. University of Arkansas. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
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