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Taking a position-by-position look at the Liberty Bowl matchup between Arkansas and Kansas State, here’s what to watch for in Saturday’s showdown between the Razorbacks and Wildcats:
QUARTERBACK – Arkansas: When the dust settles after Arkansas’ trip to the Liberty Bowl, Brandon Allen (7,148 yards) could sit all alone in second place on Arkansas’ all-time passing leaderboard. He needs a big day – 345 yards or more against Kansas State – to reach that level. The senior has thrown for more than 350 yards three times in his career in Fayetteville, all of them this year and going for more than 405 yards. He enters the bowl season ranked third in the SEC in passing yards with 3,125 yards and leads the conference with 29 scoring throws.
Kansas State won its first three games of the season and their last three, dropping everything else between. The Wildcats earned the Liberty Bowl berth despite a depleted quarterback unit that lost Jesse Ertz, Alex Delton and Jonathan Banks to injury. Joe Hubener filled in, playing in all 12 games and throwing for 1,837 yards, with as many touchdowns (9) as interceptions. But he’s no lock to start against the Razorbacks, as Kody Cook filled in for an ineffective Hubener in its final regular season game against West Virginia. Cook revitalized the Wildcat offense in the 24-23 win, throwing for 121 yards and a touchdown, rushing for 34 yards and touchdown, and pulling in a 15-yard pass.
RUNNING BACK – Arkansas: Not many teams in the nation have a better running back than Arkansas’ Alex Collins. The junior has rushed for 1,392 yards, third-most in the SEC and No. 16 overall in the FBS. The Razorbacks’ backfield depth thins a bit without SEC All-Freshman Rawleigh Williams III, who is out with a season-ending neck injury, and is led by Kody Walker’s 338 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Fortunately for Arkansas, the Hogs’ offense is deep elsewhere and can overcome a lack of depth at running back.
The Wildcats’ power run game has been somewhat middling this year and is paced by Charles Jones with 656 yards. The junior only has five rushing touchdowns all year, far behind quarterback Joe Hubener — the team’s second-leading rusher with 613 yards — who punched in 13 scores on the ground. Kansas State does feature Winston Dimel (76 yards, 5 TDs), an All-Big 12 first teamer, at halfback.
WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END – Arkansas: Arkansas is flush with talent when it comes to catching passes, with as many as 14 different players vying for throws this season. Drew Morgan tops the bunch with 751 yards and an SEC-high 10 receiving touchdowns. The junior is complimented by Dominique Reed (520 yards, 6 TDs) and Jared Cornelius (358 yards, 3 TDs). Quarterback Brandon Allen utilizes tight ends Hunter Henry and Jeremy Sprinkle often, with Henry second on the Hogs in receiving tallying 647 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The Big 12 named Deante Burton as its co-Offensive Player of the Week in the regular season finale after the Kansas State WR snagged a career-high 135 yards in the Wildcats’ win over West Virginia to gain bowl eligibility. The junior’s 77-yard touchdown against the Mountaineers was his fourth of the season and gives him 477 receiving yards on the season. K-State’s second-leading receiver is the aforementioned Kody Cook, who pulls double-duty at both quarterback and lining up wide. The senior Cook has 27 catches for 412 yards and three touchdowns. The Wildcats also have their own version of “Gronk,” with Glen Gronkowski, younger brother of New England Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski. Little Gronk had 76 yards and a touchdown to earn All-Big 12 Second-Team honors.
OFFENSIVE LINE – Arkansas: You don’t get much bigger than Arkansas’ offensive line, the largest such unit in the nation. The O-line is highlighted by as many as four players — Denver Kirkland, Dan Skipper, Mitch Smothers and Sebastian Tretola — who could be playing on Sundays next fall, depending on whether or not Kirkland and Skipper return for their season seasons.
The Kansas State offense goes through co-offensive MVP Cody Whitehair. The former scout-team guard has transformed into an NFL prospect at left tackle. The unit as a whole paved the way for 164.3 rushing yards per game, ranking them No. 74 in the nation.
DEFENSIVE LINE – Kansas State: The Kansas State defense gets after quarterbacks, registering 36 sacks on the season, good enough for No. 9 in the nation at 3.0 per game. Travis Britz is an All-Big 12 second team defensive lineman with 4.0 sacks, joining team-leaders Jordan Willis (7.5 sacks), Marquel Bryant (5.5) and LB Elijah Lee (5.0).
Arkansas’s defensive front is led by Deatrich Wise Jr. and his 8.0 sacks. But the takedowns drop off after that with Jeremiah Ledbetter the next-closest Razorback with 2.0 sacks. The unit can cause its share of disruption in a team’s running game, but inconsistency has plagued the group.
LINEBACKERS – Arkansas: Arkansas has two stellar linebackers in homegrown Fayetteville products Brooks Ellis (7.0 TFL) and Dre Greenlaw (93 tackles, 3.5 TFL), but the Razorbacks lack depth at the position. Ellis’ 101 tackles are tops on the team and No. 6 overall in SEC.
Elijah Lee is the leader of the Kansas State linebackers with a team-high 75 tackles. The sophomore teams with Will Davis to form another strong linebacking unit for Bill Snyder, who is well known for developing players at the position. Davis has 51 tackles and his interception give him and Lee three combined for the year.
SECONDARY – Kansas State: Only eight teams in the nation give up more yards through the air than Kansas State, and one of them is Arkansas. In fact, the Wildcats, who rank No. 112 nationally in passing yards allowed with 283.1 YPG, have a 1.4-yard edge over the Razorbacks’ No. 113-ranked secondary. Arkansas has surrendered fewer touchdowns than K-State by a 24-17 margin. Kansas State simply doesn’t take the ball away, however, picking off just four passes all year to the Razorbacks’ 10 interceptions. The Wildcats’ defensive backs do feature Morgan Burns, who broke up 10 passes and registered 34 tackles, while earning All-Big 12 First Team honors as a kick return specialist, courtesy of 1,047 return yards.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
