Bowl breakdown: There’s 1 more game Tuesday before the national title matchup
The penultimate game of the college football season is Tuesday night, but Kansas State-LSU being the next-to-last contest just doesn’t seem right.
It’s not that enticing a matchup anyway. But then you consider that LSU might have just 40 or so scholarship players available because of injuries/illness, opt-outs and transfers. In addition, because of the coaching change, LSU has just four full-time assistants who will be coaching, with analysts and other off-field staffers filling in. All in all, it’s an eminently skippable game.
Here’s a quick look at the matchup.
Texas Bowl
Kansas State vs. LSU
Time/TV: 9 p.m., ESPN (Dave O’Brien play-by-play, Tim Hasselback analyst)
Venue: NRG Stadium, in Houston (capacity of 70,000)
On3 bowl ranking: 28th (of 42)
Team records: Kansas State 7-5; LSU 6-6
Records vs. bowl teams: Kansas State 3-4; LSU 4-6
All-time bowl records: Kansas State 9-13; LSU 28-23-1
Officiating crew: From the Big Ten
Key stats: K-State has thrown 11 TD passes, which is tied for 12th-fewest nationally. Given LSU’s issues at quarterback (more on that in a minute), the Tigers figure to be run-heavy even though they will be without 1,000-yard rusher Tyrion Davis-Price. That’s not good, considering they average just 109.4 rushing yards per game, which is 117th nationally. LSU rushed for more than 125 yards in a game just twice this season.
The line: Kansas State by 7
The buzz: It’ll say “LSU” on the jerseys, but this isn’t close to being the LSU team that played in the regular season. That team wasn’t that good, anyway, and the Tigers’ team that will take the field will be missing numerous key players, including star LB Damone Clark. Chances are high that LSU will have a walk-on at quarterback, in addition to WR Jontre Kirklin being used as a Wildcat quarterback. LSU uses mostly five-DB sets, but only one DB who was a regular this season, S Jay Ward, is expected to play. K-State QB Skylar Thompson, who led the Wildcats to a 7-3 mark in games he started, is back from injury and expected to start. He figures to try to get the ball to RB Deuce Vaughn as often as possible. Vaughn, who is 5 feet 6 and 173 pounds, has rushed for 1,258 yards and 15 TDs, and also leads K-State in receptions (47) and TD catches (three). K-State DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah is a big-timer off the edge; he has 11 sacks this season and was a first-team All-Big 12 pick.