2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl Preview

The 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl features the 6-6 Wisconsin Badgers against the 7-5 Oklahoma State Cowboys. Here is the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl preview.

Wisconsin Badgers (6-6)

Wisconsin won six games to make their 21st straight bowl game. They have wins over New Mexico State, Purdue and Maryland who all made bowl games. Their loss to Michigan State was the lone defeat to a team who didn’t qualify for a bowl game.

The Badgers’ offense scores 26.5 points per game, which ranks 78th in the FBS. They rush for 173.2 yards (ranked 53rd) and pass for 189.5 yards per game (ranked 112th).

Starting quarterback Graham Mertz has entered the transfer portal, so Chase Wolfe or Myles Burkett will start the bowl game. Neither has passed for even 100 yards on the season or has a touchdown pass. Three receivers have at least 250 yards for the year. Chimere Dike leads the team with 653 receiving yards and six touchdown catches.

Braelon Allen has had a good season at running back for the Badgers. He has 1,126 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns this season. Chez Mellusi and Isaac Guerendo have over 350 rushing yards, but Guerendo is in the transfer portal.

On defense, Wisconsin allows 20.5 points per game, ranking 27th in the country. The Badgers concede 103.2 rushing yards (ranked 12th) and 202.2 passing yards per game (ranked 29th). Maema Njongmeta leads the team with 88 total tackles. Nick Herbig has led the team with 11 sacks, but he has opted out of this game. Safety John Torchio has five passes defended and five interceptions on the year.

Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-5)

The Cowboys won seven games to make their 17th straight bowl game. They have three wins over bowl-eligible teams: Baylor, Texas Tech and Texas. Their only loss to a team who didn’t make a bowl game was to West Virginia in the last game of the season.

Offensively, Oklahoma State puts up 31.8 points per game, which is tied for 42nd in the country. They average 131.7 rushing yards (ranked 93rd) and 283.8 passing yards per game (ranked 20th).

Spencer Sanders has entered the transfer portal after starting for the Cowboys for four seasons. That leaves Garret Rangel and Gunnar Gundy to start for this game. They have combined to throw five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Six pass-catchers have over 200 receiving yards. Brennan Pressley, Bryson Green and Braydon Johnson each have over 500 receiving yards.

Dominic Richardson has been the top running back with 543 yards and eight touchdowns. Freshman Ollie Gordon has provided good depth with 263 yards and two touchdowns.

The defense gives up 29.3 points per game, which ranks them 95th in the FBS. They allow 171.3 rushing yards (ranked 96th) and 269.5 passing yards per game (ranked 114th). Top-tackler Mason Cobb is in the transfer portal, so the active leading tackler is Jason Taylor II with 86. He has been great in the secondary with seven passes defended and six interceptions. Collin Oliver has led the team with five sacks.

Prediction

Both these teams have plenty of opt outs and players in the transfer portal. Oklahoma State hasn’t looked like the same team when Sanders was injured at quarterback and that will be the case in this game. Wisconsin should be able to run the ball well and get a close win.

Wisconsin Badgers 24 Oklahoma State Cowboys 18

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