Biscuits Bowl Bonanza previews part III
Two big games tonight as Arkansas and Ole Miss look to get the SEC its first two wins of bowl season.
By: Bossman Slim, The Hammer, The Waco Kid
Jaxson “Marlboro Man” Dart leads the Rebels against Texas Tech tonight in Houston. (Photo via @OleMissFB)
It’s been a rough start to bowl season for the SEC, going 0-2 with losses from Florida and Mizzou, but there’s no time like the present to get that turned around. We want to hear some “S-E-C!” chants ringing out in sanitized corporate NFL stadiums across the country for the conferences remaining nine games (potentially 10), and not the derisive type coming from opposing fans.
Santa gave us coal to start with…but maybe the Christmas spirit will wear off for the second half of bowl season.
The Waco Kid has made some objectively terrible picks to start bowl bonanza, so fade him hard…but there’s still time for him to resurrect his postseason status and make a comeback.
Let’s dig into part III of our previews.
AutoZone Liberty Bowl, Wednesday 12/28
Arkansas vs Kansas - 5:30 ET on ESPN (Ark -2.5)
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis
Bossman Slim: These are the kind of games that separate the “causals” (as Josh Pate aptly calls them) and the die-hards. I’m pumped for this game. The Jayhawks first bowl since the 2008 Orange Bowl under MANgino? A hampered but talented Arkansas team with a chip on their shoulder? Under the shadow of the largest pyramid in the United States with a massive fish logo on it? Sign me up. I do find it interesting that Arkansas is favored in this one just due to the sheer amount of attrition on their roster. A whopping 20 players are in the portal and a few have opt-ed out, including key pieces like Drew Sanders, center Ricky Stromberg, and Jadon Haselwood. It’s a skeleton crew walking into the Liberty Bowl, just like Florida and Mizzou experienced. That’s just the nature of bowl games these days, you’re basically playing some starters mixed in with your B-team. That’s not happening for Kansas though, who doesn’t have many opt-outs or transfers. The problem for the Jayhawks is that they haven’t played great football in the back half of the season and aren’t inspiring much confidence. With KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders playing in this one, I like the Hogs, even with a skeleton crew and hampered defense.
Arkansas 34
Kansas 24
The Hammer: Lance Leipold and the Kansas Jayhawks have been a great story in 2022. The perennially abysmal Jayhawks hosted college gameday early in the year and managed to make a bowl game. Meanwhile, Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks had a bit of a disappointing season, going 6-6 after winning nine games a year ago. The Razorbacks have also been hard by the transfer portal since the season ended, losing 20+ players thus far. It will be interesting to see how Arkansas handles those departures and the impact it will have on the bowl game. Perhaps more important than the transfers, the Razorbacks' best defender, Drew Sanders, declared for the NFL draft and will skip this game. Despite how shorthanded Arkansas will be, they still have KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders. Kansas gives up 193.8 yards rushing per game, so I am expecting a heavy dose of the Hogs run game. Kansas won’t be able to slow those two down. On the other side of the coin, I think Arkansas will struggle to stop a solid Jayhawk offense so look for a high-scoring affair. I’ll take the Hogs to win a fun, entertaining game in Memphis.
Arkansas 42
Kansas 38
The Waco Kid: The South will freeze over before Kansas beats an SEC team in a bowl game. Luckily for KU, it seems like that might have already happened this winter. But seriously, when was the last time 1) of the Jayhawks played in a bowl game and 2) beat an SEC team in said postseason game? The answer to the first question is 14 years. Yes, over a decade of bowl game droughts. The answer to the second is well…never. They have only played an SEC team once before in a bowl game and that was a loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the 1981 Hall of Fame Classic. So Lance Leipold already has a huge hill to climb before the first quarter even begins. However, Kansas does have one of the highest passing efficiencies in the nation behind two playoff teams, Tennessee, and USC. Jalon Daniels has been phenomenal in the shotgun and will look to continue that streak against a depleted Arkansas defensive unit. The biggest missing piece for the Razorbacks is All-American Drew Sanders who chose to forego the bowl game so he could prepare for the 2023 NFL draft. Still, with an incomplete defense, UA will be a hard team to defeat. The defense is still up and above what Rock Chalk is used to competing within the Big 12. On top of that, KJ Jefferson is one of the best rushing quarterbacks in the nation and will look to enter the spring of his senior season, in Fayetteville, coming off a bowl game win. Pair that with Rocket Sanders and you have an offense that will definitely put up points on the Hawks. The only question is, can Kansas keep pace offensively? My gut tells me no, so I am going with WPS to cover and pound the under due to the lack of scoring on the Big XIl’s part.
Arkansas 38
Kansas 24
TaxAct Texas Bowl, Wednesday 12/28
Ole Miss vs Texas Tech - 9:00 ET on ESPN (Miss -4.5)
NRG Stadium, Houston
Bossman Slim: Heckuva late start to this one. Another matchup here that I’m excited about. Two interesting brands who play really fun styles of offense that could turn this into a shootout. Both offenses average over 450 yards per game and score upwards of 33 PPG. Both teams run all over their opponents with their high-powered offense, but Tech skews more towards the passing game while the Rebels are more balanced. I think the difference here rests on the Ole Miss defense, which I believe can slow down the Red Raiders enough to get a W, and the running game of Ole Miss which is nearly unstoppable. Texas Tech gives up 160 yards per game on the ground to opponents. I expect the Rebs to blow that out of the water tonight. Tech’s defense is always their Achilles heel, and while they’ll try to slow down that run game and make Jaxson Dart beat them, almost no one has been able to bottle up Judkins and Evans this year, and I don’t think the Red Raiders defense is the one to do it. Rebs cover.
Ole Miss 41
Texas Tech 35
The Hammer: Last season the Red Raiders hailing from Lubbock, TX faced off against a Mississippi State team in their bowl game and ran them over. Will Ole Miss suffer the same fate? I doubt it. Ole Miss really struggled down the stretch, losing 4 of their final 5 games in the SEC. I still like the Rebels in this matchup though because of their rushing attack, which averages 261 yards per game. The Red Raiders defense allows 166 yards rushing per game to their opponents, making them vulnerable to the ground game. Quinshon Judkins should go for 150 or more in this game. Now, Texas Tech can score the ball as well, averaging over 33 points per contest, just below the Rebels average of 34. Similar to the Arkansas game, I expect this one to be pretty high scoring, but I will take the Rebels to win and cover here.
Ole Miss 42
Texas Tech 34
The Waco Kid: Gotta love the matchups between the Big 12 and SEC this year. Mainly because most matchups heavily lean towards the latter. This one is no different. Ole Miss stayed in the top 25 for most of the season, while Texas Tech fought to stay relevant with their best conference win coming from a beating given to West Virginia. I guess you could put the Texas win up there as well but like most years the Longhorns have been overrated and received the benefit of the doubt throughout the year. That is why they are a four-loss team still ranked in the top 25. Tech’s average scoring is in the upper 20s to lower 30s per game while the Rebels can pretty much score at will against some of the best defenses in the nation. Lane Kiffin has his team competing at a high level and on the back of Quinshon Judkins and Zach Evans could put up 60 points. Jaxson Dart should have a day rushing as well against a mediocre Red Raider defense. I see TTU putting up at least 28 but not scoring nearly enough to beat Mississippi. Dart with two passing and one rushing while the workhorse backs have four between the two. Kiffin beats the Big 12 at their own game and rolls into the off-season on a high note.
Ole Miss 59
Texas Tech 31