PREMIUM
Rogers' TEXAS BOWL SHOWDOWN (Weds) >> SIZZLING 9-2 Bowl Run! SWEPT Tuesday!
(NCAAF) Texas A&M vs. Kansas State,
Point Spread: 3.00 | -110.00 Kansas State (Home)
Result: Win
Point Spread: 3.00 | -110.00 Kansas State (Home)
Result: Win
The set-up: Kansas State and Texas A&M both were 8-4 during the regular season and these two former Big 12 rivals (A&M moved to the SEC to begin the 2012 FB season) are hoping to cap their respective 2016 seasons on a high note with a win in the Texas Bowl, played at NRG Stadium in Houston (home of the Texans). This will be the first meeting between the programs since the 2011, after which A&M left for the SEC.
Kansas State: The Wildcats won five of their final six games and come in with plenty of momentum. QB Jesse Ertz threw for a modest 1,560 yards (8 TDs and 4 INTs) but was the leading rusher (945 yards on 5.9 YPC with 10TDs) for a team which ranked 24th in rushing at 233.4 YPG (5.3 YPC). "Jesse has been doing it virtually all year, at least the last half or three-quarters of the year," head coach Bill Snyder said. "Jesse runs deceptively well and he's deceptively fast. You look at him and say he's lead-footed, but he's not. He has a good perception of how to run and make people miss." Three RBs ran for 375-plus yards to help out. Each of the team's top-five rushers averaged at least five yards per carry. The defense played well most of the year, allowing 21.8 PPG (21st) on 383.1 YPG (50th).
Texas A&M: You might remember that Texas A&M earned the No. 4 spot in the first CFP rankings of the season but the team's 1-3 November left them at a much more modest 8-4 for season and nowhere to be found in the final regular season rankings. In fairness, injuries played a role in A&M's late-season slump but QB Trevor Knight did return from missing two games because of a shoulder injury to play in the regular-season finale against LSU. Knight' a graduate transfer playing his final college game and faced Kansas State three times while he was at Oklahoma.Knight can throw (2,122 yards with 16 TDss and six INTs) plus run, gaining 594 yards on 6.3 YPC with 10 TDs. A&M runs about as well as K-St, averaging 217.5 YPG (33rd) on 5.7 YPC. RBs Trayveon Williams (1,024 yards on 7.0 YPC and eight TDs) and Ford (583 yards on 5.0 YPC) give the team plenty of offensive balance. First-team All-American defensive end Myles Garrett (8.5 sacks) is a force who could end up as the No. 1 overall pick in next year's NFL draft and leads a defense ranked 37th by allowing 23.8 PPG.
The pick: Bill Snyder was nothing special in bowl games in his first go-round with the Wildcats and since returning to take over Kansas State in 2009, has only managed a 1-5 SU & ATS record in bowl games. However, A&M is mired in another late-season slump (the program is 6-8 after October in the past three years) while Kansas St. comes in having won five of its last six, averaging 34.7 PPG. Also, Kansas State's defense is trending in the right direction, as the team has allowed decreasing point totals in four straight games - 43, 21, 19 and most recently six points in its regular season-ending win against TCU (Horned Frogs were held to just 280 total yards). Kansas State is an 8* play.
Kansas State: The Wildcats won five of their final six games and come in with plenty of momentum. QB Jesse Ertz threw for a modest 1,560 yards (8 TDs and 4 INTs) but was the leading rusher (945 yards on 5.9 YPC with 10TDs) for a team which ranked 24th in rushing at 233.4 YPG (5.3 YPC). "Jesse has been doing it virtually all year, at least the last half or three-quarters of the year," head coach Bill Snyder said. "Jesse runs deceptively well and he's deceptively fast. You look at him and say he's lead-footed, but he's not. He has a good perception of how to run and make people miss." Three RBs ran for 375-plus yards to help out. Each of the team's top-five rushers averaged at least five yards per carry. The defense played well most of the year, allowing 21.8 PPG (21st) on 383.1 YPG (50th).
Texas A&M: You might remember that Texas A&M earned the No. 4 spot in the first CFP rankings of the season but the team's 1-3 November left them at a much more modest 8-4 for season and nowhere to be found in the final regular season rankings. In fairness, injuries played a role in A&M's late-season slump but QB Trevor Knight did return from missing two games because of a shoulder injury to play in the regular-season finale against LSU. Knight' a graduate transfer playing his final college game and faced Kansas State three times while he was at Oklahoma.Knight can throw (2,122 yards with 16 TDss and six INTs) plus run, gaining 594 yards on 6.3 YPC with 10 TDs. A&M runs about as well as K-St, averaging 217.5 YPG (33rd) on 5.7 YPC. RBs Trayveon Williams (1,024 yards on 7.0 YPC and eight TDs) and Ford (583 yards on 5.0 YPC) give the team plenty of offensive balance. First-team All-American defensive end Myles Garrett (8.5 sacks) is a force who could end up as the No. 1 overall pick in next year's NFL draft and leads a defense ranked 37th by allowing 23.8 PPG.
The pick: Bill Snyder was nothing special in bowl games in his first go-round with the Wildcats and since returning to take over Kansas State in 2009, has only managed a 1-5 SU & ATS record in bowl games. However, A&M is mired in another late-season slump (the program is 6-8 after October in the past three years) while Kansas St. comes in having won five of its last six, averaging 34.7 PPG. Also, Kansas State's defense is trending in the right direction, as the team has allowed decreasing point totals in four straight games - 43, 21, 19 and most recently six points in its regular season-ending win against TCU (Horned Frogs were held to just 280 total yards). Kansas State is an 8* play.
