Kansas state currently lies in the sixth place in the Big 12 standings after finishing the regular season with a cumulative record of 7-5 (5-4 in conference). On the contrary, the Wildcats have entered the game with two straight wins comprising of the 45-40 win over the Oklahoma State team on November 18 and another 20-19 triumph over Iowa State on November 25th.
On the other hand, UCLA entered the game with an overall record of 6-6 (4-5 in conference) but they do not rank high in the Pac-12 standings. However, the Bruins have proved to be a tough competition all through the season for opponents. On November 24th, the team came off with a 30-27 win over California. Since its creation in the year 1989, the Cactus Bowl has been played in Arizona but the location of the game has changed through the years. From 1989 to 1999, the game was played at the Arizona Stadium in Tuscan but 2000 to 2005 marked the shift of venue to Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. Afterwards, the game shifted to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe between the years 2000-2005. Now, the game is being played at Chase Field which is home of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix since the year 2016.
Apart from the change in venue, the name has also seen some changes. The years between 1989 to 1996 tagged the game as Copper Bowl which changed to Insight.com Bowl between 1997 to 2001. The name again changed to Insight Bowl between 2002-2011 followed by Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl between 2012-2013. The current name Cactus Bowl got initiated in the year 2014.
The current game is between the Big 12 team and the Pac-12 team. Since the inception of this game, there have been numerous conferences represented during this bowl game. The conferences include the Big Ten, the Big East, and the Western Athletic Conference.
Baylor defeated Boise state during the previous year’s Cactus Bowl by 31-12 on December 27th, 2016. Baylor’s wide receiver KD Cannon along with Baylor’s defensive end Tyroone Hunt took with them the offensive as well as the defensive MVP Awards for the game.
This marks the fourth appearance for the Kansas State with a 2-1 while the UCLA shall have its first appearance in the same. UCLA shall be all set to grab a win with its first bowl game since the year 2014. The UCLA defeated Kansas State during the 2014 game by 40-35 in the Alamo Bowl. The Bruins fell to Nebraska by 37-29 during a game played in 2015 in the Foster Farms Bowl.
Kansas State has lost its two top-ranking quarterbacks to injury with freshman Skylar Thompson who has led the Wildcats to grab a 2-1 record in his three starts. Now, Kansas State shall look to running back Alex Barnes to carry the load of this game. He has rushed for 702 yards along with 6 touchdowns on 134 carries all along this season. In this bowl game, the Big 12 has gone up to 15-12 while the Pac-12 has gone up to 10-7.
