Toasted Fiesta Bowl – Kansas State at Oregon January 3, 2013
The 2013 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl features two teams that are both positioned to possibly face each other in the BCS national championship game as late as November 17th. Both teams lost on the day of the upsets, and with that loss they were taken out of the picture for the national championship. Here’s a look at both teams heading into the Fiesta Bowl and the predicted game.
Kansas State Beast
The Kansas State Wildcats had another great season under head coach Bill Snyder, who was named 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 24th in defense, giving up an average of just 21.1 points per game. After a big road loss to Baylor, they came back to beat the University of Texas 42-24 to finish with an 11-1 record and earn a spot in the Fiesta Bowl to face a tough Oregon team.
Kansas State’s defense didn’t get a lot of recognition for its play, but it played very well on a consistent basis. Although they allowed 30 points against Oklahoma State, they are still far below Oklahoma State’s 44.7 point per game average. . They can’t stop Oregon, but expect KSU’s defense to at least slow the Ducks down.
The Kansas State offense has had no problems scoring this season. The Beasts have scored over 50 points in five games this season behind the arm and leg of Senior quarterback Collin Klein. Not only did Klein pass for 2,500 yards and 15 touchdowns, he also threw for 890 yards and an incredible 22 touchdowns. Klein was a scoring machine all season and was hard to stop. Look for the Beast to give Klein every opportunity to light up the defense against the Ducks.
Oregon Ducks
Oregon has looked completely helpless and 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 just 14 points even after three turnovers and only one missed. They were able to get their act together in the last game of the season against rival Oregon State, beating the Beavers 48 to 24. They don’t have many tough defenses outside. Stanford – Kansas State’s defense will be a real test for the Ducks.
Oregon’s defense hasn’t been tested many times this year outside of a USC win. The USC Trojans had 51 points and 615 yards of offense. More often than not, their defense outplays their opponent, making it enough to win for a powerful offense. They can hold their own, but don’t expect them to shut down a strong Kansas offense like Kansas State.
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 tackles and just 6 interceptions. From a running backs perspective, the Ducks are 67 passing yards per game at 226.8, 3rd but 3rd with 323.3 rushing yards per game by running backs Kenjon Barner and Mariota who also has the ability to run. Barner has 1,624 rushing yards, 22 total touchdowns, and averages 6.5 yards per carry. It’s safe to say the Oregon Ducks have one, if not the most dangerous offense in college football.
Game Overview
Unlike some 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 emissions, the most effective defense often prevails. In this game, Kansas State’s defense is better, but can they slow down Oregon’s offense? The Kansas State Wildcats are good enough on offense to keep up with Oregon and have a good enough defense to stop them when it counts.
Betting Line : Sportsbook.ag University of Oregon -9
Prediction: Kansas State 45, Oregon 38 (Kansas State +9
*All changes from ESPN via ESPN.com
Sources
Fox Sports
