Rate Bowl: Best Bets and Player Props for Rutgers vs. Kansas State

On December 27, 2024By Littum

Thursday’s Rate Bowl will pit the Rutgers Scarlet Knights against Kansas State Wildcats in a game taking place at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. After starting the season on a four-game winning streak, the Scarlet Knights went 3-5 to finish the regular season with a 7-5 record.

As for the Wildcats, they lost three of their last four regular season contests to finish the year with an 8-4 record. While Rutgers is looking to win a bowl game in back-to-back years, Kansas State is hoping to secure a bowl victory for the third time in the last four seasons.

By means of college football odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, which bets and player props are worth taking to the Rate Bowl, which starts on Thursday at 5:30 PM ET?

All college football odds comes from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

Rutgers vs. Kansas State Betting Picks

Kansas State -6.5 (-120)

Despite only one win separating these teams, Kansas State is the more well-rounded team entering Thursday’s contest. On the offensive side of the ball are the Wildcats 18th in expected points added per rushing attempt (0.063) and 19th in expected points added per drop back (.079) with the quarterback Avery Johnson be a dual-threat weapon from under center.

Meanwhile, Kansas State’s defense is 26th in projected points added per. rushing attempts allowed (-0.051) and 33rd in projected points added per drop back allowed (-0.052), which has led to them being 18th in overall expected points margin ( 0.131). In comparison, Rutgers is 59th in overall expected point margin (0.029).

The Wildcats should also excel at avoiding third-and-long situations, ranking 31st in early down expected points added (.128), while the Scarlet Knights are 98th in early down expected points allowed (.073). Additionally, Rutgers’ defense is 95th in third-and-fourth down success rate (42.5%), so their defense will struggle to get off the field in this matchup.

As the Scarlet Knights give up six yards per carry. game (100th in the nation) on the defensive side of the ball, I’ll back Kansas State to win by at least seven points at a neutral site.

Avery Johnson Over 51.5 Rushing Yards (-114)

One area that Kansas State will undoubtedly attack Rutgers’ defense is on the ground. The Scarlet Knights are 103rd in rushing yards per attempts allowed (5.0), and Avery Johnson could handle more rushing volume with DJ Giddens — the leading rusher of the Wildcats this season — is not playing in the Rate Bowl after declares for the 2025 NFL Draft.

Although Johnson averaged 45.7 rushing yards per game in the regular season, he rushed for 64-plus yards in back-to-back contests to finish the year. Also, Johnson has rushed for 60-plus rushing yards in 6 of his 12 starts in 2024, so there’s reason to believe he can achieve 52-plus yards without Giddens available.

Stopping the run has not been a strong suit for the Scarlet Knights, who are 113th in defensive rushing success rate (46.1%). Rutgers has also surrendered over 100 rushing yards in all but three of their games this season while allowing at least 5.1 yards per carry. rushing attempts in six of those contests.

If Johnson can avoid taking a pair of sacks against the Scarlet Knights, the fact that he’s carried the ball over 10 times in back-to-back starts should lead to a solid rushing performance on Thursday.

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The above writer is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports bets on FanDuel. The advice given by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports bets.