The bowl game featured the Arkansas Razorbacks from the SEC and the Missouri Tigers from the Big 12 and was televised in the United States on FOX.

Senior RB Tony Temple of Mizzou set a single game rushing record for the Cotton Bowl Classic with 281 yards and 4 touchdowns.

This was the Arkansas Razorbacks' 11th appearance in the Cotton Bowl Classic (with a record of 3–6–1 in previous Cotton Bowl Classics) and the second appearance for the Missouri Tigers (0–1).

[4] Many Missouri fans felt insulted that the Tigers had been sent to the Cotton Bowl Classic instead of a BCS bowl after a stunning season that included a spot atop the AP College Football Rankings and a co-championship in the Big XII North.

This feeling was amplified by the fact that the Kansas Jayhawks, Missouri's historical and then-conference rival, had been invited to the BCS Orange Bowl after being beaten by the Tigers at the annual Arrowhead Stadium Border Showdown in Kansas City, Missouri.