MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- If Saturday was Alex Collins' last football game at Arkansas, he authored quite a farewell.

Collins rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries while earning Most Valuable Player honors as the Razorbacks won the 57th Liberty Bowl, pulling away from plucky Kansas State in the fourth quarter for a 45-23 decision.

Afterward, the junior running back from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., dodged the stay-or-leave question with the same dexterity which he employed to make defenders miss, laughing as coach Bret Bielema answered a persistent reporter.

"We're going to get together with Alex and his family (in Florida) sometime next week and we'll have an answer for you then," Bielema said.

NFLDraftScout.com ranks Collins as the No. 7 running back prospect and the 101st overall prospect for the 2016 draft, which would put him in the third or fourth round. The 5-foot-11, 218-pound Collins could be an outstanding value pick, based on his all-around skills as a ball carrier and improvement as a receiver.

Collins displayed patience, power and speed throughout the game. He busted seven runs of at least 12 yards, including touchdowns from 22, 13 and 14 yards, the last coming with 12:04 left after breaking multiple tackles.

"He runs angry and runs mad," left guard Sebastian Tretola said of Collins. "When you see him doing that, you can't help but feel inspired."

Collins' presence also helped Arkansas' passing game. Given ample time on most of his 26 attempts, quarterback Brandon Allen hit on 20 for 315 yards and a touchdown. Allen's 43-yarder to tight end Hunter Henry on third-and-13 from the Razorbacks' 43 came right before Collins' 20th rushing score of the year - a school record.

That kind of balance ultimately made the difference for Arkansas (8-5), which rolled up 569 yards and 30 first downs as it wore down and wore out its Big 12 foe in front of a sellout crowd of 61,136 consisting mostly of Razorback supporters.

"To come in here and play the way we did says a lot about our guys," Bielema said. "I'm excited about our future."

Kansas State (6-7) got out to quick starts in each half. Linebacker Elijah Lee's interception on the game's third play presented the Wildcats with a 27-yard field that they cashed in on a 10-yard run by freshman fullback Winston Dimel.

Trailing 24-13 at halftime, Kansas State needed only 2:16 to get back into the end zone, Dimel almost walking in untouched with a 48-yard pass from quarterback Kody Cook. The Wildcats managed only one more score on Matthew McCrane's third field goal from 32 yards late in the third quarter.

"The wheels came off," Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said. "We didn't hold up our end of the bargain."

The Wildcats didn't generate enough offense, producing only 242 total yards and 13 first downs. Cook, a wide receiver making his first career start at quarterback after leading a comeback win in the regular season finale over West Virginia, completed 12 of 24 passes for 163 yards before sitting out the team's final possession.

Arkansas iced the game with 4:46 left, wrapping up a drive lasting 5:38 when backup running back Kody Walker barged through a tired defense for a 10-yard touchdown run.

The only question left to answer for the day's remainder was the one Collins cheerfully avoided, saying only that he didn't want to take any credit for his accomplishments.

His quarterback wasted no time tooting his teammate's horn.

"You saw him running hard every single play, breaking tackles, never going down," Allen said of Collins. "He carried us in that second half."

NOTES: Arkansas RB Alex Collins tied a school record with his 10th 100-yard game of the season. ... Kansas State CB Morgan Burns set a school record for kickoff return yardage with 1,138 with a 32-yard return in the second quarter. ... Razorbacks WR Dominique Reed was carted off the field in the second quarter after taking a hard hit and striking his head against the field. Coach Bret Bielema said after the game that Reed greeted the team in the locker room and "was alive and well."