Outback Bowl Betting Prediction
The New Year’s Day bowl games kick off in Tampa, FL where Penn State will take on Arkansas in the Outback Bowl at 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2. With the Nittany Lions listed as 3-point underdogs and the total sitting at 49 points, what’s the best bet on the board?
Game Snapshot
276 Penn State Nittany Lions (+3) vs. 275 Arkansas Razorbacks (-3); o/u 49
7:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, January 1, 2022
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
TV: ESPN2
Penn State Nittany Lions Game Notes
Penn State redshirt senior QB Sean Clifford announced his intent to return to the team in 2022. The NFL market likely wasn’t buzzing for Clifford (6’2/219) who has one remaining year of eligibility. The redshirt senior quarterback has been a three-year starter for the Nittany Lions, and has thrown for 7,644 yards, 61 touchdowns and 22 interceptions in his four years on campus while rushing for 850 yards and another 10 scores. This season, Clifford battled through a myriad of injuries and illness to appear in 12 games for the Lions, leading them to a 7-5 record and a bowl game appearance. He threw for 2,912 yards, 20 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2021, and will look to close out his career in 2022 on a slightly higher note. Penn State does have 2022 five-star QB Drew Allar heading to campus as well, who verbally committed to the Lions in March. It remains to be seen whether or not Clifford’s return will have any impact on Allar’s decision to stay committed to Penn State.
Arkansas Razorbacks Game Notes
Arkansas redshirt sophomore QB KJ Jefferson completed 15-of-19 passes for 262 yards, a touchdown, and 68 rushing yards in Saturday’s 34-17 win over Missouri. Jefferson (6’3/240) is one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the conference as he is third in the SEC in average yards per completion (13.7) and fourth in yards per pass attempt (9.1). Another great part of Jefferson’s game is not turning over the ball, he continued that today and hasn’t thrown an interception in seven games. The Razorbacks got their first touchdown with a Raheim Sanders one-yard score, but Jefferson made a huge throw to Treylon Burk for 43 yards to put them in the red zone. Jefferson and Burk started to break this game open early in the third quarter when he aired it from his back foot, and Burk was about six steps ahead from the defensive back on an easy over-the-shoulder catch for 52 yards. The offense has really been clicking over the last couple of games and must have confidence going into bowl season.
Penn State vs. Arkansas Betting Prediction
The under is 8-1 in the Razorbacks’ last nine bowl games, is 5-1 in their last six bowl games as a favorite and is 5-1 in their last six neutral site games. On the other side, the under is 5-0 in the Nittany Lions’ last five games following a loss, is 11-1 in their last 12 games after accumulating less than 100 yards rushing in their previous game and is 6-2 in their last eight games versus SEC opponents.
OUTBACK BOWL BETTING PREDICTION: PENN STATE/ARKANSAS UNDER 49