There may be no better part to college football than the rich history and tradition that it comes with. But come bowl season, we get to see matchups that we don’t get to see regularly, or ones that we have never seen at all. This 2022 Sugar Bowl is the latter.
Never in the history of college football has the Alabama Crimson Tide squared off to face the Kansas State Wildcats.
This year will be the first time both programs face off on the gridiron. Alabama (10-2) comes in ranked 5th in the country while Kansas State (10-3) is ranked 9th.
Alabama is 6.5 point favorites (-267 money line) over Kansas State (+215 money line) with the over/under at 56.
The 2022 Sugar Bowl is scheduled for 12 p.m. New Years Eve and will be aired on ESPN.
Alabama vs Kansas State: 2022 Sugar Bowl Preview
Scouting Report: Alabama
The Crimson Tide are the 5th most penalized team in the nation and the most penalized team in the Nick Saban era.
While they didn’t have a world beater at receiver this year (Ja’Corey Brooks led the team with 623 receiving yards), Bryce Young put together another great season and the Tide are averaging 40.8 points per game.
Running Back Jahmyr Gibbs has been the main bright spot for the Tide offense with over 1,000 yards on offense (850 rushing and 376 receiving).
Gibbs was a Georgia Tech transfer who has been every bit as advertised this year for Alabama becoming their Swiss army knife.
Alabama’s defense is ranked in the top ten in the nation and second in the SEC with giving up only 18 points per game.
At the end of the day though, their bread and butter is the magic produced from their Heisman winning QB.
Scouting Report: Kansas State
Kansas State looks for their first NY6 Bowl Win after securing their first outright Big 12 Championship since 2003.
They are led by one of the top rushers in the nation, Deuce Vaughn, who rushed for 1,425 yards (13th in the nation) and eight touchdowns on the season. Vaughn rushed for over 100 yards eight times this year.
But he isn’t the only reason for their success on offense; it’s the balance they have had over the season. Kansas State is averaging 210.5 passing yards per game along with 209.6 rushing yards per game.
They keep defenses on their toes with such a versatile attack and one thing to watch for on Saturday is who end up being under center. We might get to see both Adrian Martinez and Will Howard at quarterback and they couldn’t be more different.
Martinez is a runner with almost 615 yards on the ground and 10 rushing touchdowns. Howard does his work from the pocket with 15 passing touchdowns and almost 1,500 yards through the air in only six games.
The Wildcats defense isn’t any slouch easier as they forced the 12th-most turnovers in the nation are ranked 18th in the nation in points allowed (20.1) and first in the Big 12 in points allowed.
Felix Anudike-Ozomah will look to make his presence known as he has all season. Anudike-Ozomah has a team high 8.5 sacks to go along with 44 total tackles and 2 forced fumbles.
Players opting out:
Despite both teams having NFL talent, and the 2022 Sugar Bowl not being a playoff game this time around, no player has opted out for the NFL Draft.
Will Anderson and Bryce Young are Mel Kiper’s top two prospects come April, so their participation has raised some eyebrows but it’s clear they want to prove something, even though neither has anything to prove individually.
Alabama has had some players transfer out:
WR JoJo Earle (12 receptions, 155 yards, 2 TD)
WR Traeshon Holden (25 receptions, 331 yards, 6 TD)
OL Javion Cohen (554 snaps, 2nd Team Coaches All-SEC Team)
Final Verdict:
To win, Kansas State will need to maintain a balanced offensive attack. If they don’t and become one-dimensional, they won’t be able to convert on third down which they already have trouble with (39% conversion, 71st in FBS).
To win, Alabama will need to protect Bryce Young and make sure he has enough time to make his magic happen. If Kansas State gets after Young like they did Max Duggan in the Big 12 Championship, most of the load will fall on Jahmyr Gibbs, which could be too much to handle.
My prediction: Alabama 38, Kansas State 21