Penn State and Arkansas Open New Year In the Outback Bowl Betting

James Franklin has settled in after playing footsie with other blue blood programs for several years.  To illuminate, Franklin’s recently announced 10-year extension with Penn State should put to an end the rumors that he wants out.  Franklin has been linked to perennial powers such as USC, LSU, and Florida.  But after the Penn State College football betting season imploded, Franklin wasn’t as hot of a commodity as he was in early October.  While Penn State was thrilled to make the announcement, they clearly overpaid.  Nobody was pining to sign Franklin for ten more years.

2022 Outback Bowl CashBet Odds Analysis

On this occasion, Penn State is a far bigger online sportsbook brand.  Arkansas will appeal to some gamblers as a good SEC team showing rapid improvement.  Penn State’s offense has been a source of frustration with gamblers.

Arkansas Goes Whole Hog on Strong Finish

Last game, Arkansas routed Missouri 34-17 as 14.5-point home favorites.  The game went under the Betting on college football total of 64.  As a result, Arkansas is 8-4 straight up, 7-4-1 against the spread, and 7-5 over/under.  Overall, the Razorbacks rank 30^th for total offense and 44^th for scoring offense.  Defensively, Arkansas ranks 58^th overall and 46^th for points allowed.

Penn State Limps Into Outback Bowl

Last time out, Penn State lost at Michigan State 30-27 as 3.5-point road chalk.  Also, the game went over the bet on NCAAF total of 51.5.  Now, Penn State has a record of 7-5 straight up, 7-5 against the spread, and 3-9 over/under.  Overall, Penn State ranks 84^th for total offense and 83^rd for scoring offense.  While defensively, the Nittany Lions rank 34^th overall and 7^th for points allowed.

Namely, Sean Clifford threw three touchdown passes, two to Jahan Dotson, for the Nittany Lions. Penn State closed out the regular season with five losses in its last seven games

Concurrently, Franklin switched to super-agent Jimmy Sexton over the summer.  Now we understand why.  Sexton is said to be the most powerful man in college football.  Following this recent extension for Franklin, it only enhances the Sexton brand and reputation.  With so many excellent college football job openings available, we haven’t heard the last of Jimmy Sexton.  The assistant coach carousel is just getting started.

Penn State Job Performance

In sum, Franklin’s job performance at Penn State has slipped over the past few seasons.  He keeps changing offensive coordinators, but the offense continues to get worse.  Perhaps the one aspect of his performance that remains high is recruiting.  Most national recruiting services have Penn State’s next two recruiting classes as among the best in the country.

Penn State is in the brutally tough Big Ten East Division with Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State.  In turn, that means there is little margin for error.  And the greater players a program has on its roster, the better chance at survival in this gauntlet division.

Still, Franklin gets low marks for player development and in-game management.  Penn State has been an underachieving program for the past two seasons after going 11-2 in 2019 and winning the Cotton Bowl with a final national ranking of 9^th.

On the positive, Franklin has an impressive early resume at Penn State with three 11-win seasons and three top-10 in the nation’s final rankings.  However, the Michigan State loss was a buzzkill for many Penn State fans.  In fact, many Lions backers already have buyer’s remorse regarding Franklin.

2022 Outback Bowl CashBet Free Pick  

In this situation, Arkansas has a clear Betting on NCAAF matchup advantage over Penn State.  Specifically, the Penn State offense has slogged all season ineffectively.

Outback Bowl CashBet Best Bet: 

Arkansas Razorbacks