Two power conference schools will face of in this years Liberty Bowl on January 2nd in Tennessee. The annual showdown in Memphis will feature the 6-6 Kansas State Wildcats and the 7-5 Arkansas Razorbacks.
Bill Snyder’s Wildcats hit a mid-season snag but managed to win their last three to reach this contest. Brett Bielema’s Razorbacks quietly rode a productive offense that scored over 35 points a game while racking up over 450 yards match.
Bowl: Autozone Liberty Bowl
Teams: Kansas State Wildcats vs Arkansas Razorbacks
Date/Time: January 2, 2016 – 3:20 EST on ESPN
Location: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, TN
Vegas Line/Total: Arkansas -13 / O/U 55.5
Written by: Erik the Hun
6 – 6 Record – 6 – 6 Vs Spread 12/05/15 West Virginia W 24-23 W 6.5 U 54 |
7 – 5 Record – 7 – 5 Vs Spread 11/27/15 Missouri W 28-3 W -15 U 44 |
January 2, 2015 – Alamo Bowl – K St 35 – 40 UCLA December 28, 2013 – Buffalo W.W Bowl – K St 31 – 14 Michigan January 3, 2013 – Fiesta Bowl – K St 17 – 35 Oregon January 6, 2012 – Cotton Bowl – K St 16 – 29 Arkansas December 30, 2010 – Pinstripe Bowl – K St 34 – 36 Syracuse |
December 29, 2014 – Texas Bowl – Arkansas 31 – 7 Texas January 6, 2012 – Cotton Bowl – Arkansas 29 – 16 Kansas St January 4, 2011 – Sugar Bowl – Arkansas 26 — 31 Ohio St January 2, 2010 – Liberty Bowl – Arkansas 20 – 17 East Carolina January 1, 2008 – Cotton Bowl – Arkansas 7 – 38 Missouri |
Kansas State Outlook:
The Wildcats were neither prolific on offense or solid on the defensive side, allowing as many points as they scored in 2015. Three of Kansas State’s five wins against FBS competition were decided by less than a touchdown, due largely impart to their 95 percent red zone efficiency. Snyder’s team scored points on 46 out of 51 trips in side their opponents twenty yards line.
Quarterback Joe Hubener struggled to put up numbers worthy of a Big-12 passing game. Hubener completed 131 for 1837 yards and nine touchdowns with nine picks. The duel threat signal-caller run his way to 613 yards on 180 attempts and 13 more touchdowns.
Running backs Charles Jones and Justin Simon tallied 1000 yards on 212 carries and added seven more end zone appearances.
Three Wildcat receivers combined for 88 receptions that totaled 1187 yards and 10 touchdowns. Second on the team with 27 catches was Kody Cook, who also started two games at quarterback for Kansas State when Hubener was hurt.
Trying to stop teams from compiling points against Kansas State was a problem all year. The Wildcat defense allowed 283.1 passing yards which ranked them at an embarrassing 120th in the nation. The front seven gave up 159.6 rushing yards placing them in 52nd and the defense as a whole allowed 30.1 points per match.
Arkansas Outlook:
The Hog faithful watched an offense that was as balanced as any group in NCAA Division I Football. The Razorbacks were 33rd in passing and 36th running the pigskin. Arkansas ranked 3rd in the country in time of possession and had the 10th best punt return unit in the country. Arkansas won five of its last six games to receive this bowl bid, losing to only Mississippi State in a shoot-out 51-50.
Ball slinging Brandon Allen completed 224 passes for 3125 yards and was intercepted only seven times while scoring 29 touchdowns. In the Mississippi State game mentioned above, Allen had over 400 yards and threw for seven scores.
Alex Collins was the Razorback’s go-to guy in the back field. Collins churned out 1392 yards and found glory 17 times. Two other backs contributed 592 yards on 135 attempts with 6 more touchdowns.
Brandon Allen spread the ball around quite nicely. Two receivers caught over 45 passes and three others caught over 20 balls. Drew Morgan led these wideouts with 55 receptions for 751 yards and 10 touchdowns. The other ball catchers pitched in 19 more scores, balancing the offense quite nicely through the air.
Arkansas’s defense did a great job stopping other teams ground attacks. The Hog’s defense allowed only 119.6 yards a contest, placing them 15th in the country. As good as this unit was at stopping the run they were horrible against the pass. The secondary relented to 284.2 yards a contest that put them close to the very bottom of the FBS rankings at 121st.
Matchup Analysis & Prediction
Analysis:
Arkansas comes in as a clear cut favorite. Most Vegas lines have them to win by nearly two touchdowns. Three of the Razorbacks five losses came in overtime or by less than a touchdown, similar to Kansas State in that regard.
The Wildcats are offensively challenged in the passing game so taking advantage of the Razorbacks sieve of a secondary might be a challenge. Arkansas can throw the football and that’s not good news for Kansas State’s appalling back end. If Arkansas can depend on their stout run defense, it could be a long day for Bill Snyder’s club.
Prediction:
To get further analysis from Ej the Rainmaker and Erik the Hun, check out our audio preview of the Bowl using the audio file below…
