Texas Bowl: Kansas St. vs Rutgers @ Houston, TX

Rutgers -7.5
The media seems focused on how disappointed Rutgers is to be in Houston and not Miami and how difficult it is going to be for them to be up for this game. The Dean says ‘Hogwash!” Rutgers has come too far and is too well coached to overlook a Big 12 opponent and the opportunity to get 11 wins in a year.

This Scarlet Knights team has 9 5th year seniors on their roster, 6 of whom are on-the-field contributors. That level of experience and memory of where this team has come from carries a lot of weight. On the flip side, Kansas State QB Josh Freeman is a Freshman who has struggled the majority of this year. He did give us a glimpse of greatness in his 3 TD performance against Texas in what was K-States biggest win of the year. If you remove his stats from the Texas game however, Freeman threw 3 TDs this against 12 INTs this year. This is on a team that only averages 122 yards on the ground this year, that doesn’t bode well for the Wildcats, especially against a Rutgers defense that is ranked 7th in the nation.

The Rutgers offense is well equipped to take care of the scoring necessary to cover a 7.5 line. Rutgers averages 177 yards a game on the ground, while K-State has allowed 143 yards on the ground this year and over 200 per game in their last three. Being able to run the ball will allow QB Mike Teel to play his game, thus removing the risk of the type of performance he had against Cincinnati. On another note, Rutgers hasn’t been spectacular on covering lines as a favorite this year (2-3-1). Taking it all into consideration The Dean is making this a 4-star play, taking Rutgers and giving the points.

REVIEW: Rutgers 37 – Kansas St. 10

As previewed.