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For the second consecutive year, Arizona laid an egg in its bowl game -- this time a 36-10 loss to Oklahoma State. Not good.

How the game was won: It's more accurate to say how the game was lost. It was lost by Arizona's sloppy play: Turnovers (four to zero from Oklahoma State), penalties, dropped passes, poorly thrown passes, blown coverages, missed field goals, etc. Just name things a football team shouldn't do and the Wildcats did them. The Wildcats have now been outscored 69-10 in their past two bowl games.

Turning point: You could say that the turning point was Arizona's Bug Wright fumbling the punt after the Wildcats stopped Oklahoma State on the game's opening possession, which set up the Cowboys first touchdown. But it became clear a negative trajectory for the game was firmly established when QB Nick Foles, on a third-and-8 from the Oklahoma State 47, threw a 62-yard pick-six to Markelle Martin. That made it 23-7, and the Wildcats never really made a challenge.

Stat of the game: One team had 25 first downs, the other had 17. One had 370 yards, the other 312. So guess which team had 36 points and which had 10? That just goes to show that sloppy play, such as losing the turnover battle 4-0, will kill a team.

Second guessing: Foles clearly didn't have his best stuff. Therefore, it was a bit surprising the Wildcats didn't give backup Matt Scott, who played so well when Foles was out with a knee injury, a shot to spark the offense when the final result was still in doubt.

What Arizona learned: The Wildcats have not arrived. They have crawled out of the Pac-10 basement and established themselves as a competitive program and a bowl team, but Arizona is not yet a top-25 program.

What it means: A five-game losing streak to end the season means the Wildcats and coach Mike Stoops will be hearing some grumbling this offseason. The Wildcats also face the prospect of rival Arizona State being the favorites in the new Pac-12 South in 2011.

Oklahoma State became the first Big 12 team to take care of business in a bowl game this year, and did it pretty impressively. The Cowboys made plays on both sides of the ball and finished the season on a high note. Here's some instant analysis on the Cowboys' 36-10 win.

How the game was won: Oklahoma State did what Oklahoma States does: score points. The Cowboys hadn't been held under 33 points with Justin Blackmon in the lineup this year, and there wasn't much reason to believe Arizona would be the first team to do it. It wasn't, and the Cowboys offensive consistency throughout the game allowed them to pull away while Arizona's offense struggled with turnovers, sacks, penalties and various other miscues kept it from keeping up.

Turning point I: Arizona got off to a great start, forcing Oklahoma State into a quick punt on the opening possession, but the Wildcats muffed the kick, and Oklahoma State recovered. Six plays and 26 yards later, the Cowboys were up 7-0 and that was about as close as Arizona got all night.

Turning point II: Arizona trailed 17-7 in the second quarter and had the ball in Oklahoma State territory, but quarterback Nick Foles didn't have enough zip on an out route to the right sideline. Cowboys safety Markelle Martin picked it off and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown. That put Oklahoma State up 23-7 and was the first of three interceptions for Foles.

Stat of the game: Arizona turnovers: 4. Oklahoma State turnovers: 0. Enough said. You won't win many games with a turnover margin that lopsided, and that's especially true when you're playing an offense with as many productive talents as the Cowboys.

Player of the game: Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State. Weeden didn't have a huge statistical night (24-of-40, 240 yards, 2 TDs), but he made a handful of big throws, didn't turn it over and completed at least two passes to five receivers. A solid night, and considering the turnovers from Arizona, a ton of offense from Oklahoma State wasn't a requirement to win convincingly.

Record performance: Blackmon caught nine passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first player in college football history to have 100 yards receiving and a touchdown in 12 consecutive games. Blackmon has done it in every start this season.

What it means: Oklahoma State wins 11 games for the first time in school history in a season that it was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 South. Oklahoma State was easily the biggest surprise in the Big 12 this year, and Weeden, Blackmon and Hunter were the biggest reasons why. The biggest offseason loss for the program will be offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, who is headed to West Virginia, but whoever replaces him will have plenty to work with even after Hunter graduates and if Blackmon leaves for the NFL. Weeden seems likely to return in 2011, Oklahoma State returns all five offensive linemen, and young skill position talent like running backs Joseph Randle and Jeremy Smith and receivers Michael Harrison, Josh Cooper and Tracy Moore look capable of being dangerous in 2011.

1. Keep Arizona from YAC-ing all over the place. Oklahoma State fans will recognize Arizona's offense quickly. It's a close relative of the Air Raid at Texas Tech, not entirely unlike the Cowboys' own offense. Short, quick passes get the ball in the hands of playmakers who try to break a tackle or make a defender miss to move the ball down the field. If Oklahoma State's secondary, corners Brodrick Brown and Andrew McGee and safeties Johnny Thomas and Markelle Martin, and even the linebackers can get receivers and running backs down quickly, they'll stymie the offense and prevent the big play. Forcing Nick Foles to complete as many passes as possible to win is a solid recipe for a win.

2. Seriously, give Kendall Hunter the ball. Oklahoma State's offense has struggled most when Hunter has gotten the ball the least. Most notably, it happened in the first half against Texas A&M and the entire game against Oklahoma. The Cowboys scored 41 against the Sooners, but 14 of those points were non-offensive touchdowns and Hunter got just 13 carries. Oklahoma State ran only 66 plays in that game to Oklahoma's 107 (most in the FBS in 2010), but Hunter needed to have the ball in his hands for more than 13 of those 66. If that happens against Arizona, the Cowboys, favored by about a touchdown, should be fine.

3. No special teams mistakes. Kicker Dan Bailey won the Lou Groza Award as the nation's top kicker, but he also missed four kicks in the three games before the loss to Oklahoma, including one from inside 40 yards against Baylor. Additionally, punter Quinn Sharp and his long snapper Marc Yerry are ineligible for the game. Bailey might end up with punting duty with a freshman snapping to him. Certainly, the potential for disaster is there. Prevent it, and the Cowboys can keep from giving away points that could come back to hurt them later.

Oklahoma State looked like the Big 12 favorite down the stretch, but lost to Bob Stoops and Oklahoma at home in the season finale, eventually landing in the Alamo Bowl instead of getting a shot at a trip to the Fiesta Bowl. In San Antonio, they've found another Stoops: Mike, and his Arizona team that lost its last four games.

WHO TO WATCH: Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon. He'll be the best player on the field every time he steps on it, and he'll have a chance to break an impressive record as well. In all 11 of his starts this season, he's finished with at least 100 yards receiving and a touchdown. If he does it against the Wildcats, he'll be the only player in FBS history to do it for 12 consecutive games. That's especially impressive considering the caliber of receivers who couldn't duplicate his feat: Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson and Michael Crabtree, to name a few. The Biletnikoff Award winner missed one game for the Cowboys, who managed just 24 points in a win against Kansas State. The Cowboys haven't been held under 33 points in any other game, and have scored 40-plus points in eight games, ranking third nationally in scoring offense.

WHAT TO WATCH: Oklahoma State's offense. Dana Holgorsen is headed to West Virginia after the bowl game to become the coach-in-waiting, but he's sticking around through the bowl game to fulfill his duties as offensive coordinator. I wouldn't expect any big differences out of the Cowboys, but it'll be interesting to see if the transition for Holgorsen has been a distraction that manifests on the field.

WHY WATCH: Similar to the Insight Bowl, despite the pair of disappointing finishes, these are still two teams who spent time near the top of the polls this season. Arizona was 7-1 to start the season and a mainstay in the top 15 before the losing streak sent it south in the polls. Oklahoma State was inside the top 10 at the end of the season. Outside of that, these are two of the most exciting offenses in the country. Both teams threw the ball just under 500 times this season, and figure to do plenty of it in the Alamodome on Wednesday night. Arizona's Nick Foles and Oklahoma State's Brandon Weeden are two of the best around at doing it, and will get plenty of chances.

PREDICTION: Oklahoma State 37, Iowa 28. Arizona doesn't have anybody who can stop Blackmon (not that anyone else does), and the Cowboys' Big Three are too much for the Wildcats to keep up with.

Arizona kicks off the Pac-10 bowl season on Wednesday with a big test against Oklahoma State in the Valero Alamo Bowl.

The Wildcats are underdogs against a Cowboys team that was hoping for a BCS bowl berth until it lost its season finale against rival Oklahoma 47-41. The Cowboys own one of the most potent offenses in the nation. They have really only been slowed down once this year: during a visit to Kansas State when the Cowboys played was without the services of Justin Blackmon, who is only the nation's best receiver.

But let's ask this question: Who might dramatically change this game if he -- or they -- stepped up with a marquee performance?

Running backs Keola Antolin, Nic Grigsby and Greg Nwoko: This is fairly simple. What if Arizona can consistently run the ball against the Cowboys? Well, that would be a game-changer for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it would shorten the game and help play keep-away from the potent Oklahoma State offense. Further, if the Cowboys are forced to commit more bodies to stopping the run, it also would open things up downfield for quarterback Nick Foles. The reason three guys are listed here is all three will get carries, and each brings something different to the attack. Antolin is the starter and the most consistent. Nwoko brings a power element. Grigsby is a home run threat who's struggled with injuries. Of course, these guys need the Wildcats to win battles on the line of scrimmage, but it's up to the backs to turn those creases into big plays. If this troika manages to combine for around 180 or 200 yards -- significantly more than the season average of of 135 -- then expect Arizona to be in pretty darn good shape.

Bowl games are rewards for successful seasons. At least that's the theory.

But what if you lose your bowl game? What does that say about that so-called successful season?

It's hard to call a bowl game a "must-win" because it's really not -- rarely does a bowl, for example, determine a coach's fate. But it seems reasonable to measure the four Pac-10 bowl games in terms of "need to win."

So this is the third in our series rating how much each of the conference bowl teams needs to win its bowl game. You can review the first entry here and the second one here. We're working our way up from the bottom, so this No. 3.

Valero Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29, 9:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-2) vs. Arizona Wildcats (7-5)

The set up: Arizona will arrive in San Antonio lugging along a four-game losing streak that ruined a 7-1 start. Oklahoma State will arrive with one of the best offenses in the nation, but it's probably still smarting from a nailbiting 47-41 loss to rival Oklahoma that cost the Cowboys a top-10 ranking and shot at a BCS bowl game. The Cowboys boast perhaps the best offensive skill position troika in the nation in Biletnikoff Award winning receiver Justin Blackmon and a pair of All-Big 12 first-teamers in quarterback Brandon Weeden and running back Kendall Hunter. The Wildcats defense, meanwhile, struggled down the stretch, particularly against the run. On the plus side for Arizona, the Cowboys defense, while improved, is vulnerable, particularly against the pass. It gave up 540 yards to Nebraska, including 323 yards passing, and 588 yards to Oklahoma, including 468 yards passing. Arizona quarterback Nick Foles could be in for a big evening. Oh, and Cowboys fans aren't too fond of Stoops brothers. While they won't be able to knock over Bob Stoops this year, they'd surely enjoy doing it to Mike Stoops, whom they remember from his Sooners days.

Why Arizona needs to win: It's simple: The Wildcats don't want to carry a five-game losing streak into the offseason. How can a team view a season as successful when it's capped by a five-game losing streak, no matter how tough the competition? It's certainly not a burden Mike Stoops wants to carry into the offseason. Stoops got off the hot seat in 2008, but there are more than a few Wildcats fans who will start grumbling anew about a final 7-6 record that includes a five-game losing streak AND a loss at home to archrival Arizona State. Further, when the Wildcats are winning, Stoops' hyperactive presence on the sidelines is mostly viewed as amusing or perhaps just an quasi-admirable showcase of unbridled intensity. Yet when they are losing, Stoops' sideline behavior seems to become a bigger issue. If the Wildcats can beat a highly ranked team in a bowl game and win eight games for a third consecutive year, the season likely would be viewed as a moderate success, as another building block as the Wildcats try to take another step forward as a program. If they lose, the season will feel like a step backward.

Why just getting there is enough: Let's be practical: It's hard to win consistently at Arizona, which still puts basketball first. Stoops has built a winning program that has remained competitive in the top half of the Pac-10 for three consecutive years. Further, the Wildcats are substantial underdogs to a highly ranked team that only lost two close games to highly ranked teams, Nebraska and Oklahoma. How can a team be playing a "need-to-win" game when it's nearly a touchdown underdog? And say whatever you want about the season-ending losing streak, but there are five other Pac-10 teams -- including the Sun Devils -- that would gladly switch places with the Wildcats, who are playing in the Pac-10's "No. 1" non-BCS bowl game for a second consecutive season. Arizona fans should be more attuned to making Stoops happy and keeping him in Tucson than criticizing his sideline behavior or putting him on a "hot seat" for not taking another step forward.

Conclusion: These are both reasonable arguments. A five-game losing streak is a terrible way to end a season, but a berth in the Alamo Bowl can hardly be described as a poor season in Tucson. But since when does reasonable apply in college football? If Arizona loses the Alamo Bow, particularly if it gets whipped, it will be a long offseason in Tucson. And more than a handful of pundits will speculate that Stoops needs to produce better results or he will return to the hot seat in 2011.

Needs to win meter (scale of 1 to 10, "10" being a must-win): 7