Texas Bowl: LSU at Kansas State 1/4/22 College Football Picks and Prediction
The Kansas State Wildcats will take on the LSU Tigers in the TaxAct Texas Bowl on Tuesday Night.
The LSU Tigers finished 6-6 this year out of the tough SEC. Ed Orgeron, who led them to a national championship a few years ago retired after their last game. He left on a 27-24 upset win over No. 25 ranked Texas A&M. In that game, QB Max Johnson completed 22 of 38 passes for 306 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He had a QBR of 76.3. Brad Davis, the offensive line coach, will be the interim coach for this game.
Max Johnson has completed 225 of 373 passes for 2,815 yards with 27 touchdowns against six interceptions.
LSU averages 27.1 points per game which is 79th in the nation. The Tigers are 29th in the nation in passing offense with an average of 264.2 yards per game through the air while they are just 116th in rushing offense with 109.3 yards per contest. The Tigers are 56th in the country in scoring defense by allowing 25.3 points a contest.
Skylar Thompson was not available for their last game which was a loss to Texas. Will Howard stepped in at backup and went 9 for 13 for 65 yards and 0 touchdowns with 0 interceptions.
When available, Thompson threw for 1,844 yards and a 68.8% percentage rate with 9 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Their number one offensive weapon is running back Deuce Vaughn, who is one of the best backs in the nation. He has rushed 1,256 yards and 15 touchdowns this season.
The Wildcats enter this game 98th in the nation in passing offense as they average 195 yards per game while they are 68th in rushing offense with 160.7 yards per contest. Kansas State is 81st in the nation in scoring offense with an average of 26.3 points per contest The Wildcats defense gives up 21.1 points per game, which ranks 26th in the nation.
The Wildcats are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games after accumulating less than 170 yards passing in their previous game and are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games in January. With Skylar Thompson coming back they will have to get him warmed up for this one which might delay them in this game. LSU should want to end this season on a high note under an interim coach. The Tigers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 vs. Big 12 and are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games. I like for them to win and cover in this one.
AUTHOR: Clayton Fountain
