NCAAF BOWL ODDS

Rutgers Scarlett Knights vs. Kansas State Wildcats

This years Texas Bowl, held in Houston, is a match up of a Cinderella team in Rutgers (10-2) and a tough Kansas State (7-5) team. Rutgers came close to capping their Cinderella season with a BCS berth and almost undefeated season before they lost to Cincinnati in their third to last game and to West Virginia in triple overtime in their last game. The Scarlet Knights will still be riding high, as they are not a school used to playing in mid-December. Kansas State had an up and down season but finished strong, beating then #4 Texas, before losing to in-state rival Kansas. For K-State the loss to Kansas was a tough pill to swallow as it cost them a shot at playing in a higher profile Bowl game. The Scarlet Knights will not be star struck and their potent offense will show the nation that they are for real this year.

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The Rutgers offense was ranked 29th in the nation in scoring this season. Rutgers features a rushing attack that features a Heisman candidate in tailback Ray Rice and his 1624 yards this season. Paired with Rice in the backfield is Brian Leonard (379 yds 5 TD's) who is a tough runner and good blocker. Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel has been up and down all season (1867 yds, 10 TD's 13 INT's) but if he gets the ball to Rice on the ground or in the air Rutgers will be tough to beat. The Rutgers defense is an attacking one that plays the pass and run well and forces their opponents into costly mistakes. They are led by Defensive Tackle Rameel Meekins who is a great pass rusher.

Ultra-talented QB Josh Freeman leads Kansas State. He has a gun for an arm and has great footwork but he is only a freshman and he has showed it at times this season as he had 7 fewer touchdowns than interceptions even though he connected on over 50% of his passes. K-State also has a good backfield in the RB tandem of Leon Patterson and James Johnson who combined for 978 yards this season. Patterson is a threat if he gets in the open field and Johnson is not afraid of contact. Their defense is a concern as they have lost the battle for the line of scrimmage even though they have good size up front. They do have a good player in pass rusher Ian Campbell. The main concern for K-State is that their run defense is not very good which does not bode well considering running the ball is Rutgers strength as they ranked 20th in the nation. Look for Ray Rice to show the nation why he was in the running for the Heisman this year as the Scarlet Knights Cinderella season ends with a Bowl win in Texas.

Game Pick: Rutgers -7.5