The 2022 Outback Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2022, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST and televised on ESPN2. It was the 36th edition and the 26th and final one branded by Outback Steakhouse, of the Outback Bowl, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Outback Steakhouse was the game's title sponsor. The game featured the Arkansas Razorbacks of the SEC and the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten. Arkansas pulled away in the second half, scoring 17 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter, to win the game, 24-10. Arkansas Razorback QB K.J. Jefferson was named the game's MVP. Penn State fell to 7-6 for the season, while Arkansas improved to 9-4.
Teams Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game was played between teams from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Big Ten Conference. The bowl also has a tie-in with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) if the ACC's opponent in the Orange Bowl is a Big Ten team, in which case an ACC team is selected for the Outback Bowl.
This was the first time that Arkansas and Penn State had ever played each other.
Arkansas Razorbacks
Penn State Nittany Lions
Game summary
Game MVP - Arkansas QB K.J. Jefferson, 14 of 19 - 98 yards - 1 INT, 20 carries 110 yards 1 TD.
Statistics Team statistics +Team statistical comparisonStatisticPenn StateArkansasFirst downs 17 25First downs rushing 8 21First downs passing 8 3First downs penalty 1 1Third down efficiency 6–15 4–14Fourth down efficiency 1–2 3–3Total plays–net yards 63–323 78–451Rushing attempts–net yards 28–125 58–361Yards per rush 4.5 6.2Yards passing 198 90Pass completions–attempts 15–35 14–20Interceptions thrown 2 2Punt returns–total yards 2–23 1–8Kickoff returns–total yards 0–0 0–0Punts–average yardage 5–39.4 5–44.4Fumbles–lost 1–0 1–0Penalties–yards 3–10 6–40Time of possession 23:47 36:13 Individual statistics +Penn State statisticsNittany Lions passing Sean Clifford 14–32 195 1–2 Christian Veilleux 1–2 3 0–0 Jordan Stout 0–1 0 0–0Nittany Lions rushing Sean Clifford 12 46 0 Keyvone Lee 4 35 0 Noah Cain 5 28 0 Parker Washington 2 12 0 Devyn Ford 1 4 0 Christian Veilleux 2 3 0 TEAM 2 −3 0Nittany Lions receiving Parker Washington 7 98 0 KeAndre Lambert-Smith 3 1 Keyvone Lee 1 15 0 Noah Cain 2 12 0 Tyler Warren 1 0 0 Brenton Strange 1 −1 0 +Arkansas statisticsRazorbacks passing KJ Jefferson 14–19 98 0–1 Warren Thompson 0–1 0 0–1Razorbacks rushing KJ Jefferson 20 110 1 Raheim Sanders 13 79 2 Dominique Johnson 11 77 0 Malik Hornsby 4 67 0 AJ Green 4 26 0 Trelon Smith 2 6 0 TEAM 2 −6 0 De'Vion Warren 2 −6 0Razorbacks receiving De'Vion Warren 3 33 0 Tyson Morris 3 32 0 Warren Thompson 1 12 0 Trey Knox 2 11 0 Blake Kern 1 8 0 Bryce Stephens 3 5 0 Dominique Johnson 1 −3 0
References
External links Game statistics at statbroadcast.com