The No. 22 Arkansas Razorbacks (8-4) look to punctuate a breakthrough season when they battle 7-5 Penn State in the Outback Bowl at noon ET on New Year’s Day at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

The teams meet for the 1st time as Arkansas makes its 1st bowl appearance since 2016. The Hogs have a chance to win 9 games for 1st time since 2011, Bobby Petrino’s last year at Arkansas when they went 11-2.

A lot has happened since then. Not a lot of winning, as we know. The Hogs have gone through 4 coaches in the 10 years that followed and finally appear back on track with Sam Pittman at the helm.

Arkansas will be without two key opt-outs, receiver Treylon Burks and defensive end Tre Williams. But Pittman will have his squad ready for the challenge. Here are 5 reasons why the Razorbacks top Penn State.

1. KJ Jefferson

You can’t stop him; you can only hope to contain him. That’s an old cliche, but so applicable with Arkansas’ super-talented quarterback. He threw for 2,578 yards during the regular season, 9th most in school history. Jefferson took care of the ball as well, throwing 21 touchdowns with just 3 interceptions.

The Nittany Lions also will have to be aware of Jefferson’s running skills. His 554 rushing yards were 2nd on the team behind Trelon Smith’s 592.

Jefferson has yet to be corralled this season, and it is unlikely that Penn State will do it, either.

2. Those linebackers

The trio of Bumper Pool, Hayden Henry and Grant Morgan has been a driving force on a defense that held 5 opponents to fewer than 115 yards rushing and another 7 to 200 passing yards or fewer.

Pool leads the team with 120 tackles, including a season-high 14 against Rice. He is 2nd in tackles for loss (7.5) to Henry, who paces the Hogs in TFLs (10.5), solo tackles (47) and QB hurries (7). Not to be outdone, the hard-hitting Morgan is 2nd on the team with 96 tackles and is 3rd with 7 tackles for loss.

As a group, they are destructive and disruptive, and they will be again on New Year’s Day.

3. Ball-hawking secondary

The Hogs will be tested against a pass-happy Penn State team that ranked 4th in the B1G with 274.4 passing yards per game.

But with Montaric Brown patrolling the Arkansas secondary, Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford had better be aware. Brown tied for the SEC lead with 5 interceptions. That was nearly half of the Razorbacks’ 11 picks in 2021, which were tied for 5th in the SEC.

Brown is the catalyst in a secondary that limited Missouri to 65 passing yards in the regular-season finale. That was the 1st time the Hogs had held an opponent to fewer than 70 passing yards since limiting Texas to 57 on Dec. 29, 2014. It was also the 3rd time this season that the Razorbacks held an opponent to fewer than 100 passing yards.

The Hogs have interceptions in 7 games, including 3 multiple-pick games, highlighted by 3 interceptions in the season opener against Rice. So the hungry Hogs will be looking for more when Clifford goes to the air.

4. Cam Little

No moment is too big for this level-headed true freshman. He calmly delivered all 3 field-goal attempts in front of a hostile Tiger Stadium crowd, including a game-winning 37-yarder in overtime to beat LSU, 16-13. Little delivered 2 field goals in the regular-season finale against Missouri to bring his total to 19 for the season, which ranks 4th in a single season at Arkansas.

Little connected on 82 percent of his field goals this season (19-for-23), which included a 4-for-4 day against Texas. And he has long-distance range as well. Little booted a career-long 51-yarder against Mississippi State. He is also perfect on all 43 extra-point attempts.

If the game comes down to a field goal, Little is a sure bet to come through.

5. Committee of RBs

The Hogs didn’t have 1 standout running back this season, but they had a stable of talented rushers. Smith, Jefferson, Raheim Sanders and Dominique Johnson combined for 2,143 yards. The group was separated by less than 100 yards. All are capable, and all are legitimate threats.

With Burks opting out, expect a heavy dose of Arkansas’ run game, and that’s fine. Three RBs have 5-plus rushing TDs. So getting the job done on the ground is something the Hogs can certainly do.