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Bowl season is underway, and the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Penn State Nittany Lions will compete for postseason bragging rights in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium at noon ET on Saturday. Arkansas will be strutting in after a win while Penn State will be stumbling in from a loss.
You can't lose the game if you win every quarter, and that was precisely the Razorbacks' strategy against the Missouri Tigers five weeks ago. Arkansas enjoyed a cozy 34-17 victory over Mizzou. Arkansas' QB KJ Jefferson did his thing and passed for one TD and 262 yards on 19 attempts in addition to picking up 58 yards on the ground. Near the top of the highlight reel was Jefferson's 52-yard TD bomb to WR Treylon Burks in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought matchup, but the Nittany Lions had to settle for a 30-27 defeat against the Michigan State Spartans five weeks ago. Despite the defeat, Penn State got a solid performance out of WR Jahan Dotson, who caught eight passes for two TDs and 137 yards.
This next contest is expected to be close, with the Razorbacks going off at just a 2-point favorite. They covered a 14.5-point spread five weeks ago, so bettors might be thinking that will translate to further success against a lower spread.
A couple numbers to keep in mind before kickoff: Arkansas is third worst in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game, with 156.3 on average. Penn State has experienced some struggles of their own as they are stumbling into the game with the 195th fewest rushing yards per game in the nation, having accrued only 106.4 on average. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
