Bowl season has become more about quantity than quality over the last few years, but three-quarters of the bowls this season are projected to be close games. Las Vegas Insider has only 10 teams favored by more than seven points.

Arkansas is one of them. The Razorbacks opened up as 13.5 favorites over Kansas State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

The line has since shrunk to 11.5, but Arkansas cannot afford to lose to Kansas State. Here are five reasons why:

Prove September was an outlier: Arkansas started the season 1-3 then fell to 2-4 after a loss to Alabama. Losses to Toledo and Texas Tech were tough to swallow.

But since the Alabama loss, Arkansas has won five of the last six games. A victory in the Liberty Bowl would prove Arkansas has truly turned the corner since its September blues.

End season on high note: The Razorbacks come into bowl season one of the hottest teams in not only the SEC but the entire country. If not for a one-point loss to Mississippi State, which ended with a blocked field-goal attempt, Arkansas would have won six in a row.

The last thing coach Bret Bielema and the Razorbacks want heading into the offseason is to lose that momentum.

Recruiting concerns: Losing that momentum would hurt Arkansas’ recruiting, which hasn’t been great this year anyway. The Razorbacks have the 10th-best SEC 2016 class according to 247Sports and don’t have a commit yet for 2017. An upset loss when favored by more than 11 would be a big blow.

Shut up Kliff Kingsbury and Texas Tech: Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury hasn’t been bashful in his criticism of Arkansas, especially after the Red Raiders knocked off the Razorbacks 35-24 in September.

Texas Tech also knocked off Kansas State 59-44 just a month ago. A Razorbacks loss to the Wildcats would just add more fuel to Kingsbury’s attack on the Arkansas program.

Help reconfirm SEC superiority: The SEC as a whole, though, might face much fiercer criticism nationally if Arkansas were to lose to Kansas State.

There has been much debate about whether the SEC is still the best conference in college football. If the SEC wants to garner that distinction, the conference has to have a great showing this bowl season. Arkansas cannot afford to lose to Kansas State, which finished 3-6 in Big 12 games.