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Saturday's Early Bowl Tips
January 1, 2016
**Penn State vs. Georgia**
-- The TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville will pit Georgia from the SEC up against Penn State out of the Big Ten. As of New Year’s Day, most betting shops had Georgia (9-3 straight up, 5-7 against the spread) installed as a six-point favorite with a total of 42.5 points. The Nittany Lion were +200 on the money line (risk $100 to win $200).
-- Georgia finished the regular season with four consecutive wins, but it wasn’t enough to save Mark Richt’s job. One day after beating Ga. Tech 13-7 on The Flats in the regular-season finale, Richt was fired after 15 seasons and 145 victories. Richt initially agreed to coach in the bowl game but when he was hired by Miami less than a week later, those plans obviously changed.
-- Bryan McClendon will serve as UGA’s interim head coach. He was the team’s WR coach this year and served as the RBs coach from 2009-2014. McClendon will join Will Muschamp’s staff at South Carolina after coaching this game. Both of UGA’s coordinators are gone as well, in addition to LBs coach Mike Ekeler. DC Jeremy Pruitt has departed for the same position at Alabama, replacing Kirby Smart, UGA’s new head coach who is simultaneously tending to his new gig and staying with the Crimson Tide through next week’s game against Clemson. OC Brian Schottenheimer left the team to go try to find a new job.
-- Richt’s fate was sealed in a 27-3 loss to Florida on Oct. 31. The defeat eliminated the Bulldogs from the SEC East for a second straight season and they were the clear-cut favorites to win the division but were unable to do so.
-- Since losing star RB Nick Chubb to a season-ending injury in a 38-31 loss at Tennessee on Oct. 10, Georgia has been pedestrian on offense. The Bulldogs have averaged only 15.8 points per game, scoring 20 points or more in regulation just twice in six games.
-- Georgia QB Greyson Lambert completed 18-of-25 throws for 224 yards without committing a turnover in the win at Ga. Tech. Sony Michel rushed 24 times for 149 yards and one TD. For the season, Lambert has connected on 64.4 percent of his throws for 1,844 yards with an 11/2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Michel has run for 1,076 yards and seven TDs while averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Before Chubb went down in the sixth game of the season, the true sophomore had rushed for 747 yards and seven TDs while averaging 8.1 YPC.
-- Malcolm Mitchell is UGA’s top WR, hauling in 53 receptions for 751 yards and four TDs. Michel is a factor catching the ball out of backfield, making 25 catches for 270 yards and three TDs.
-- Georgia has been a single-digit favorite three times this year, posting a 1-2 record both SU and ATS.
-- Penn State (7-5 SU, 4-8 ATS) has dropped three in a row both SU and ATS, including a 55-16 loss at Michigan State as a 7.5-point underdog in the regular-season finale. The Nittany Lions generated 418 yards of total offense, but they committed four costly turnovers. QB Christian Hackenberg completed 22-of-39 passes for 257 yards and two TDs, but he was intercepted twice. True freshman RB Saquon Barkley rushed for 103 yards on 17 carries.
-- James Franklin’s team owns just a pair of wins over bowl-bound competition, beating San Diego State (37-21) and Indiana (29-7). We should note, however, that both wins came at home and that the Hoosiers were without their two best players, QB Nate Sudfeld and RB Jordan Howard.
-- Hackenberg has completed 53.3 percent of his passes for 2,386 yards with a 16/5 TD-INT ratio. The true junior had a six-game stretch in the middle of the season when he threw 12 TD passes without an interception. However, he’s been picked off three times in the last three games while throwing just three TD passes.
-- Barkley enjoyed a breakout campaign, rushing for a team-best 1,007 yards and seven TDs while averaging 6.1 YPC.
-- Hackenberg’s favorite target is Chris Godwin, a true sophomore who has 63 catches for 968 yards and five TDs. DaeSean Hamilton has 40 receptions for 509 yards and five TDs.
-- PSU has been an underdog three times this season, going 0-3 both SU and ATS.
-- Penn State is ranked 14th in the country in total defense and eighth against the pass. The Nittany Lions are No. 25 in scoring defense (21.7 PPG).
-- Georgia ranks sixth in the nation in total defense, No. 1 against the pass and eighth in scoring (16.9 PPG). This unit is led by LB Leonard Floyd, a second-team All-SEC selection. Floyd registered 68 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, nine QB hurries, three passes broken up and one fumble recovery that he returned 96 yards for a TD. Sophomore safety Dominick Sanders also earned second-team All-SEC accolades. Sanders produced 45 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, five passes broken up and five interceptions for 205 return yards and one TD. Senior LB Jordan Jenkins is another big-time player. He has recorded 56 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, five QB hurries, four sacks and two forced fumbles.
-- The ‘over’ has hit in three straight and four of the last five for PSU. However, the ‘under’ is still 7-5 for the year. The Nittany Lions’ games have averaged combined scores of 45.3 points per game.
-- One other note on PSU totals: When the tallies have been 43.5 combined points or fewer (like this total for UGA), the ‘over’ has cashed at a 4-0 clip.
-- The ‘under’ is on fire in UGA games, cashing in six straight and eight of its last nine. The ‘under’ is 9-3 overall for the Bulldogs, who have seen their games average combined scores of 43.4 PPG. This is – by far – the lowest total they’ve seen this season. The previous low was 48.5 (three times). In UGA’s four games that had totals in the 40s, the ‘under’ went 4-0.
-- Kickoff is scheduled for noon Eastern on ESPN.
**Arkansas vs. Kansas State**
-- The AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis will feature a Big 12-SEC showdown between Arkansas and Kansas State As of New Year’s Day, most spots had the Razorbacks favored by 12.5 points with a total of 56. The Wildcats were +400 on the money line (risk $100 to win $400).
-- Just like last season, Arkansas (7-5 SU, 7-5 ATS) played its best football in November when it went 3-1 both SU and ATS with wins at Ole Miss (53-52 in double overtime) and at LSU (31-14). The loss in November came at home to Mississippi State when the Razorbacks’ defense gave up a late score in a 51-50 setback.
-- Bret Bielema’s squad close the regular season with a 28-3 home win over Missouri as a 15-point ‘chalk.’ Alex Collins led the way by rushing for 130 yards and three TDs on 30 workmanlike carries. Kody Walker added 77 rushing yards and one TD on 14 totes.
-- Arkansas senior QB Brandon Allen had a spectacular season, especially when you consider that the team’s three best WRs went out with injuries in mid-September. Keon Hatcher, who led the 2014 squad in receptions and receiving yards, was doing the same this year until an injury sidelined him for the season. Jared Cornelius and Cody Hollister both missed more than six weeks. Nevertheless, Allen connected on 65.1 percent of his passes for 3,125 yards with a 29/7 TD-INT ratio. In the last eight games, Allen has 22 TD passes compared to merely four interceptions.
-- Allen was sensational in the double-OT win at Ole Miss. He threw for 442 yards and six TDs without an interception. Most important, he scored the winning two-point conversion on a QB draw. Allen had three games with more than 400 yards passing, including a 406-yard effort vs. Mississippi State He had seven TD passes without a pick against the Bulldogs.
-- When Hatcher went down, junior WR Drew Morgan earned more snaps and subsequently produced a breakout season. Morgan hauled in a team-high 55 receptions for 751 yards and 10 TDs.
-- Allen has one of the nation’s top tight ends in junior Hunter Henry, who earned first-team All-SEC honors after catching 46 balls for 647 yards and three TDs. Juco transfer WR Dominique Reed didn’t do much early in the year (just two catches in September), but he has come on strong late. Reed has 27 receptions for 520 yards and six TDs. He has four TD grabs in the last four games.
-- Collins is poised to become the school’s second all-time leading rusher if he can gain 53 yards on the ground against the Wildcats. Collins rushed for more than 1,000 yards for a third straight season in 2015. The true junior ran for a career-best 1,392 yards and 17 TDs with a 5.6 YPC average. Collins is expected to turn pro following this game.
-- Arkansas has been a double-digit ‘chalk’ four times, going 2-2 ATS.
-- After going back-to-back seasons without going to a bowl, Arkansas was invited to last year’s Texas Bowl and proceeded to smash Texas by a 31-7 count as a seven-point favorite.
-- Kansas State (6-6 SU, 6-6 ATS) won three in a row to get bowl eligible at the close of the regular season. Bill Snyder’s team beat West Va. 24-23 as a 6.5-point home underdog in the regular-season finale. When the Mountaineers went ahead 23-17 with 13:07 remaining, K-State Morgan Burns answered with a 97-yard kickoff return for the game-winning points. Kody Cook, who normally plays WR, threw a 77-yard TD pass while filling in for the injured Joe Hubener.
-- Hubener is ‘probable’ vs. Arkansas, but Snyder has yet to announce a starter. Hubener became the starting QB when Alex Delton and Jesse Ertz went down with season-ending injuries in Spetember. Hubener has completed only 47.8 percent of his passes for 1,837 yards with a 9/9 TD-INT ratio. However, his strength is his ability to run the football. Hubener has rushed for 613 yards and 13 TDs.
-- K-State junior RB Charles Jones has run for a team-high 652 yards and five TDs while averaging 4.8 YPC. Meanwhile, Deante Burton has a team-best 34 receptions for 477 yards and four TDs.
-- K-State has been an underdog seven times, compiling a 4-3 spread record with one outright victory. The Wildcats have been double-digit ‘dogs just once, taking the cash easily in a 31-24 home loss to Baylor as 17-point puppies.
-- Cook has 27 receptions for 412 yards and three TDs. He’s completed 18-of-42 throws for 284 yards with a 3/3 TD-INT ratio. Cook has rushed for 139 yards and a pair of TDs.
-- K-State has just two wins (West Va. and La. Tech) over bowl-bound opponents, while Arkansas owns road scalps over LSU, Ole Miss and Tennessee, in addition to a home victory over Auburn.
-- The ‘over’ is 7-5 overall for the Wildcats, cashing in three of their last four outings.
-- The ‘under’ is 7-5 overall for the Hogs, cashing in two of their last three games.
-- These schools met in the 2011 Cotton Bowl, which turned out to be Bobby Petrino’s last game as head coach of the Hogs. They won a 29-16 decision as nine-point favorites. K-State leads the all-time series 3-2 but hasn’t beaten Arkansas since 1926.
-- ESPN will have the telecast at 3:20 p.m. Eastern.
January 1, 2016
**Penn State vs. Georgia**
-- The TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville will pit Georgia from the SEC up against Penn State out of the Big Ten. As of New Year’s Day, most betting shops had Georgia (9-3 straight up, 5-7 against the spread) installed as a six-point favorite with a total of 42.5 points. The Nittany Lion were +200 on the money line (risk $100 to win $200).
-- Georgia finished the regular season with four consecutive wins, but it wasn’t enough to save Mark Richt’s job. One day after beating Ga. Tech 13-7 on The Flats in the regular-season finale, Richt was fired after 15 seasons and 145 victories. Richt initially agreed to coach in the bowl game but when he was hired by Miami less than a week later, those plans obviously changed.
-- Bryan McClendon will serve as UGA’s interim head coach. He was the team’s WR coach this year and served as the RBs coach from 2009-2014. McClendon will join Will Muschamp’s staff at South Carolina after coaching this game. Both of UGA’s coordinators are gone as well, in addition to LBs coach Mike Ekeler. DC Jeremy Pruitt has departed for the same position at Alabama, replacing Kirby Smart, UGA’s new head coach who is simultaneously tending to his new gig and staying with the Crimson Tide through next week’s game against Clemson. OC Brian Schottenheimer left the team to go try to find a new job.
-- Richt’s fate was sealed in a 27-3 loss to Florida on Oct. 31. The defeat eliminated the Bulldogs from the SEC East for a second straight season and they were the clear-cut favorites to win the division but were unable to do so.
-- Since losing star RB Nick Chubb to a season-ending injury in a 38-31 loss at Tennessee on Oct. 10, Georgia has been pedestrian on offense. The Bulldogs have averaged only 15.8 points per game, scoring 20 points or more in regulation just twice in six games.
-- Georgia QB Greyson Lambert completed 18-of-25 throws for 224 yards without committing a turnover in the win at Ga. Tech. Sony Michel rushed 24 times for 149 yards and one TD. For the season, Lambert has connected on 64.4 percent of his throws for 1,844 yards with an 11/2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Michel has run for 1,076 yards and seven TDs while averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Before Chubb went down in the sixth game of the season, the true sophomore had rushed for 747 yards and seven TDs while averaging 8.1 YPC.
-- Malcolm Mitchell is UGA’s top WR, hauling in 53 receptions for 751 yards and four TDs. Michel is a factor catching the ball out of backfield, making 25 catches for 270 yards and three TDs.
-- Georgia has been a single-digit favorite three times this year, posting a 1-2 record both SU and ATS.
-- Penn State (7-5 SU, 4-8 ATS) has dropped three in a row both SU and ATS, including a 55-16 loss at Michigan State as a 7.5-point underdog in the regular-season finale. The Nittany Lions generated 418 yards of total offense, but they committed four costly turnovers. QB Christian Hackenberg completed 22-of-39 passes for 257 yards and two TDs, but he was intercepted twice. True freshman RB Saquon Barkley rushed for 103 yards on 17 carries.
-- James Franklin’s team owns just a pair of wins over bowl-bound competition, beating San Diego State (37-21) and Indiana (29-7). We should note, however, that both wins came at home and that the Hoosiers were without their two best players, QB Nate Sudfeld and RB Jordan Howard.
-- Hackenberg has completed 53.3 percent of his passes for 2,386 yards with a 16/5 TD-INT ratio. The true junior had a six-game stretch in the middle of the season when he threw 12 TD passes without an interception. However, he’s been picked off three times in the last three games while throwing just three TD passes.
-- Barkley enjoyed a breakout campaign, rushing for a team-best 1,007 yards and seven TDs while averaging 6.1 YPC.
-- Hackenberg’s favorite target is Chris Godwin, a true sophomore who has 63 catches for 968 yards and five TDs. DaeSean Hamilton has 40 receptions for 509 yards and five TDs.
-- PSU has been an underdog three times this season, going 0-3 both SU and ATS.
-- Penn State is ranked 14th in the country in total defense and eighth against the pass. The Nittany Lions are No. 25 in scoring defense (21.7 PPG).
-- Georgia ranks sixth in the nation in total defense, No. 1 against the pass and eighth in scoring (16.9 PPG). This unit is led by LB Leonard Floyd, a second-team All-SEC selection. Floyd registered 68 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, nine QB hurries, three passes broken up and one fumble recovery that he returned 96 yards for a TD. Sophomore safety Dominick Sanders also earned second-team All-SEC accolades. Sanders produced 45 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, five passes broken up and five interceptions for 205 return yards and one TD. Senior LB Jordan Jenkins is another big-time player. He has recorded 56 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, five QB hurries, four sacks and two forced fumbles.
-- The ‘over’ has hit in three straight and four of the last five for PSU. However, the ‘under’ is still 7-5 for the year. The Nittany Lions’ games have averaged combined scores of 45.3 points per game.
-- One other note on PSU totals: When the tallies have been 43.5 combined points or fewer (like this total for UGA), the ‘over’ has cashed at a 4-0 clip.
-- The ‘under’ is on fire in UGA games, cashing in six straight and eight of its last nine. The ‘under’ is 9-3 overall for the Bulldogs, who have seen their games average combined scores of 43.4 PPG. This is – by far – the lowest total they’ve seen this season. The previous low was 48.5 (three times). In UGA’s four games that had totals in the 40s, the ‘under’ went 4-0.
-- Kickoff is scheduled for noon Eastern on ESPN.
**Arkansas vs. Kansas State**
-- The AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis will feature a Big 12-SEC showdown between Arkansas and Kansas State As of New Year’s Day, most spots had the Razorbacks favored by 12.5 points with a total of 56. The Wildcats were +400 on the money line (risk $100 to win $400).
-- Just like last season, Arkansas (7-5 SU, 7-5 ATS) played its best football in November when it went 3-1 both SU and ATS with wins at Ole Miss (53-52 in double overtime) and at LSU (31-14). The loss in November came at home to Mississippi State when the Razorbacks’ defense gave up a late score in a 51-50 setback.
-- Bret Bielema’s squad close the regular season with a 28-3 home win over Missouri as a 15-point ‘chalk.’ Alex Collins led the way by rushing for 130 yards and three TDs on 30 workmanlike carries. Kody Walker added 77 rushing yards and one TD on 14 totes.
-- Arkansas senior QB Brandon Allen had a spectacular season, especially when you consider that the team’s three best WRs went out with injuries in mid-September. Keon Hatcher, who led the 2014 squad in receptions and receiving yards, was doing the same this year until an injury sidelined him for the season. Jared Cornelius and Cody Hollister both missed more than six weeks. Nevertheless, Allen connected on 65.1 percent of his passes for 3,125 yards with a 29/7 TD-INT ratio. In the last eight games, Allen has 22 TD passes compared to merely four interceptions.
-- Allen was sensational in the double-OT win at Ole Miss. He threw for 442 yards and six TDs without an interception. Most important, he scored the winning two-point conversion on a QB draw. Allen had three games with more than 400 yards passing, including a 406-yard effort vs. Mississippi State He had seven TD passes without a pick against the Bulldogs.
-- When Hatcher went down, junior WR Drew Morgan earned more snaps and subsequently produced a breakout season. Morgan hauled in a team-high 55 receptions for 751 yards and 10 TDs.
-- Allen has one of the nation’s top tight ends in junior Hunter Henry, who earned first-team All-SEC honors after catching 46 balls for 647 yards and three TDs. Juco transfer WR Dominique Reed didn’t do much early in the year (just two catches in September), but he has come on strong late. Reed has 27 receptions for 520 yards and six TDs. He has four TD grabs in the last four games.
-- Collins is poised to become the school’s second all-time leading rusher if he can gain 53 yards on the ground against the Wildcats. Collins rushed for more than 1,000 yards for a third straight season in 2015. The true junior ran for a career-best 1,392 yards and 17 TDs with a 5.6 YPC average. Collins is expected to turn pro following this game.
-- Arkansas has been a double-digit ‘chalk’ four times, going 2-2 ATS.
-- After going back-to-back seasons without going to a bowl, Arkansas was invited to last year’s Texas Bowl and proceeded to smash Texas by a 31-7 count as a seven-point favorite.
-- Kansas State (6-6 SU, 6-6 ATS) won three in a row to get bowl eligible at the close of the regular season. Bill Snyder’s team beat West Va. 24-23 as a 6.5-point home underdog in the regular-season finale. When the Mountaineers went ahead 23-17 with 13:07 remaining, K-State Morgan Burns answered with a 97-yard kickoff return for the game-winning points. Kody Cook, who normally plays WR, threw a 77-yard TD pass while filling in for the injured Joe Hubener.
-- Hubener is ‘probable’ vs. Arkansas, but Snyder has yet to announce a starter. Hubener became the starting QB when Alex Delton and Jesse Ertz went down with season-ending injuries in Spetember. Hubener has completed only 47.8 percent of his passes for 1,837 yards with a 9/9 TD-INT ratio. However, his strength is his ability to run the football. Hubener has rushed for 613 yards and 13 TDs.
-- K-State junior RB Charles Jones has run for a team-high 652 yards and five TDs while averaging 4.8 YPC. Meanwhile, Deante Burton has a team-best 34 receptions for 477 yards and four TDs.
-- K-State has been an underdog seven times, compiling a 4-3 spread record with one outright victory. The Wildcats have been double-digit ‘dogs just once, taking the cash easily in a 31-24 home loss to Baylor as 17-point puppies.
-- Cook has 27 receptions for 412 yards and three TDs. He’s completed 18-of-42 throws for 284 yards with a 3/3 TD-INT ratio. Cook has rushed for 139 yards and a pair of TDs.
-- K-State has just two wins (West Va. and La. Tech) over bowl-bound opponents, while Arkansas owns road scalps over LSU, Ole Miss and Tennessee, in addition to a home victory over Auburn.
-- The ‘over’ is 7-5 overall for the Wildcats, cashing in three of their last four outings.
-- The ‘under’ is 7-5 overall for the Hogs, cashing in two of their last three games.
-- These schools met in the 2011 Cotton Bowl, which turned out to be Bobby Petrino’s last game as head coach of the Hogs. They won a 29-16 decision as nine-point favorites. K-State leads the all-time series 3-2 but hasn’t beaten Arkansas since 1926.
-- ESPN will have the telecast at 3:20 p.m. Eastern.
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