Arkansas vs. Kansas State Prediction, Liberty Bowl Game Preview


Kansas State (6-6) had to scramble to become bowl eligible, but it did it winning its last three games. This isn’t the most scintillating of Wildcat teams, but it gets the chance to finish with a winning season. Arkansas (7-5) started off poorly but finished with a kick. If this really is a good, strong team, it should win in a walk, but the Hogs have been very, very flaky. Check out the Kansas State vs. Arkansas prediction and AutoZone Liberty Bowl game preview.


Arkansas vs. Kansas State Game Preview

Broadcast

Date: Saturday, January 2
Game Time: 3:20 pm ET
Network: ESPN
Venue: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, TN
Follow and/or Contact @PeteFiutak 

Why You Need To Care

Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder won’t let on whether or not this is his last game, but no matter what, this does seem like a key moment late in his legendary run. The team kept playing hard after starting out 3-6 with no offensive punch on a six-game losing streak, but it took advantage of the Big 12 lightweights beating Kansas and Iowa State before finishing with a clutch win over West Virginia.

There’s no passing game, the running game isn’t dangerous compared to normal K-State teams, and the pass defense is non-existent, and to make matters worse, the program has to put a halt to a brutally ugly bowl run losing six of its last seven and seven of its last nine.

Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema had problems with bowl games at Wisconsin, but he and his team were one of the lone bright spots for the SEC West in last year’s bowl season with a win over Texas. The program has won three of its last four, and now the pressure is on to not gag away what seems like a relative layup.

Winners of five of their last six games, the Hogs are ripping it up offensively, while the run defense is good enough to make this a laugher. Again, this should be an easy game and matchup, but the effort and focus have to be there – that was a problem early on in the season.

Why Arkansas Will Win

If you were to give Bielema and the Hogs the ideal bowl team to face, Kansas State would be it.

The Hog pass defense has been a massive, massive problem – no issue there since Kansas State is just okay throwing the ball, but hardly anything great. The Wildcats need to control the clock to have any hope, but Arkansas is third in the nation in time of possession keeping the ball for over 34 minutes. The K-State pass defense is among the worst in America, and Arkansas has transformed into the type of team that can throw at will. It’s all there. There’s no excuse. All Arkansas has to do is be Arkansas.

The Hogs will try pounding away early on with Alex Collins and the great running game, but considering the passing game cranked up more than 400 yards in two of the last four games, the air show will be flying.

Why Kansas State Will Win

So what can Kansas State possibly do to overcome all the concerns and issues against a team that’s a horrible matchup? Run, get physical, and try to out-Arkansas, Arkansas.

The Wildcats aren’t running all that well, but when they control the game and control the tempo, they can stay in games. They gave TCU a nightmare of a time because of the ground attack, and they almost pulled off the win over Baylor by cranking up the running attack throughout. It’s not that the Arkansas run defense is all that special; the stats are great because everyone threw the ball at will. Ole Miss ran wild, and Texas Tech was able to come up with big runs with lots of room to roam through.

The passing game hasn’t been great overall, but it stepped up over the final four games. The accuracy isn’t there – completing just 32% of the passes against West Virginia – but there have been enough big moments to overcome defenses cheating up to stop the run.

The Wildcats can’t let this get into a shootout, but it’s used to playing in them. It won one high-scoring battles against Louisiana Tech and Iowa State, and lost them against TCU, Texas Tech and Baylor. This team has seen it all in the Big 12.

Players Who Matter

How will Snyder handle his quarterbacks? Joe Hubener got banged up late in the year, but he’s been one of the only offensive options at times running for over 100 yards against both TCU and Baylor, and leading the team with 613 rushing yards. The problem has been his passing – it’s just not up to snuff. More serviceable than explosive as a runner, the Cats need some more flash, and that’s where Kody Cook comes in. The wide receiver hasn’t run like he should considering his quickness, and his passing can be atrocious when he’s not in a groove, but the potential is there to do far more. Against this Arkansas pass defense, his real worth is as a wideout with 27 catches on the year averaging over 15 yards per try.

This is it for Hog senior QB Brandon Allen, who’s turned out to be one of the bigger surprises of the SEC season throwing for 3,125 yards and 29 touchdowns while spreading out seven interceptions. In a perfect world, there’s enough offensive balance to not have to rely on Allen, but it’ll be tempting to get him bombing away against the porous K-State secondary. If he has a good first quarter, the Wildcats aren’t going to be able to keep up.

What’s Going To Happen?

Does Bill Snyder have any magic? His team is just okay, and it’s not even close to being good enough to win this if Arkansas plays up to its capabilities. The Hog offense will be too good, too explosive, and too balanced. Kansas State doesn’t have the talent – but that hasn’t mattered for past Snyder teams.

Arkansas vs. Kansas State

Final Score: Arkansas 45, Kansas State 24, Line: Arkansas -12, o/u: 56.5
Must See Rating: 5: Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens – 1: Property Brothers at Home on the Ranch … 2.5

MORE: BOWLNANZA: 40 video previews for 40 bowl games