Tostitos Fiesta Bowl – Kansas State vs. Oregon January 3, 2013
The 2013 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl features two teams that were both positioned to possibly face off against each other in the BCS national championship game as late as November 17th. Both teams lost in a day of upsets, and with that loss, they were taken out of the picture for a national championship appearance. Here is a look at both teams headed into the Fiesta Bowl and a game prediction.
Kansas State Wildcats
The Kansas State Wildcats had another great season under head coach Bill Snyder who was voted Big 12 Coach of the Year. The Wildcats were 10th in the nation in points scored with an average of 40.7 per game, and were 24th in defense, allowing an average of only 21.1 points per game. After losing big on the road to Baylor, they came back to defeat the University of Texas 42-24 to finish with an 11-1 record and earned a spot in the Fiesta Bowl to face a tough Oregon Team.
The Kansas State Defense does not get a lot of recognition for their play, but they have played very well on a consistent basis. Although they have allowed 30 points against Oklahoma State, that was still far below Oklahoma State’s 44.7 point per game average. They might not be able to stop Oregon, but look for the KSU defense to at least slow the Ducks down.
The Kansas State offense had no problems scoring this season. The Wildcats scored over 50 points in five games this season behind the arm and legs of Senior quarterback Collin Klein. Klein has not only passed for nearly 2,500 yards and 15 touchdowns, he has rushed for 890 yards and an incredible 22 touchdowns. Klein has been a scoring machine all season and is hard to stop. Look for the Wildcats to give Klein every opportunity to shine against the Ducks defense.
Oregon Ducks
Oregon looked completely unstoppable and had not scored under 42 points until the 11th game of the season against the Stanford Cardinal. In that game that went into overtime, the Ducks were held to only 14 points even after causing three turnovers and only giving up one. They were able to get their act together for the last game of the season against rival Oregon State to beat the Beavers 48 to 24. They have not played many tough defenses outside of Stanford – Kansas State’s defense will be a true test for the Ducks.
The Oregon defense has not been tested many times this year outside on their win over USC. The USC Trojans were able to put up 51 points and 615 yards of offense. Their defense often plays to the opponent, doing enough to secure the victory for the potent offense. They can hold their own, but don’t expect them to shutdown a strong offense like Kansas State’s.
Oregon averages 50.8 points per game, which is 2nd in the nation. Freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota has been stellar this season with 30 passing touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. From a yards perspective, the Ducks are 67th in passing yards per game with 226.8, but 3rd in rushing with 323.3 yards per game through running back Kenjon Barner and Mariota who also has the ability to run. Barner has 1,624 yards rushing, 22 total touchdowns, and is average 6.5 yards per carry. It is safe to say that the Oregon Ducks have one of, if not the most dangerous offenses in college football.
Game Overview
Unlike several of the BCS Bowl games this year, this game will not be a battle of strong defenses, but an offensive shootout. When it comes to a shootout, the most capable defense often prevails. In this game, the better defense is Kansas State, but can they slow down the Oregon offense? The Kansas State Wildcats are good enough on offense to keep up with Oregon and have a good enough defense to make stops when it counts.
Betting Line : Sportsbook.ag Oregon University -9
Prediction: Kansas State 45, Oregon 38 (Kansas State +9)
*All statistics from ESPN via ESPN.com
Sources
Fox Sports
