Best College Football Player Props for NC State vs. Kansas State in Pop-Tarts Bowl

North Carolina State and Kansas State meet in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Thursday in bowl action.

Will Howard has departed Kansas State, among other key contributors, paving the way for Avery Johnson to get a full workload in a showcase game of the future of K-State football. How will he handle an elite North Carolina State defense that should have mostly full attendance of key contributors?

Here's my three favorite player props for Thursday's bowl meeting:

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Best Prop Bets for North Carolina State vs. Kansas State

• Avery Johnson OVER 58.5 Rushing Yards
• DJ Giddens UNDER 107.5 Rushing Yards
• Brennan Armstrong Anytime Touchdown Scorer

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Avery Johnson OVER 58.5 Rushing Yards

highest-ratedJohnson is the highest rated recruit in K-State history and has been used as a runner in plenty of packages this season. I expect in his first full start, he'll have plenty of designed runs to offset some of his limitations (right now) as a passer.

doesThe Wolfpack do a great job of getting pressure on the quarterback, 20th in the country in sacks, but I believe that Johnson is going to resort to using his legs instead of putting the ball up for grabs. Johnson has 45 rushes to 35 passes on the season and that volume makes me confident he gets the carries to clear this mark.

DJ Giddens UNDER 107.5 Rushing Yards

I acknowledged above that the Wolfpack have an elite defense, especially against the run, 20th in defensive line yards and 33rd in yards per carry allowed and I believe that Giddens ends up being factored out of the game script.

This number is lined so high after Giddens finished the season with three straight games of 100 yards or more, but all of those were against defenses that were outside the top 40 in EPA/Rush. NC State will be the most capable rush defense he has seen of late, ranking inside the top 20, and the lack of passing game prowess with Johnson under center should lead to more attention on the ground game.

There's too many factors to trust Giddens to get to his recent average mark.

Brennan Armstrong Anytime Touchdown Scorer

After being benched in the middle of the season, Armstrong returned to the field to engineer three Wolfpack wins. While his passing prowess may be more limited than it was in the past, he is still a capable runner, rushing for three touchdowns in his last three games and six total on the year.

NC State will be down two running backs Michael Allen and Jordan Houston, so if the Wolfpack get in close, the team may opt to keep it with Armstrong and have him push into the end zone. At a slightly + money price, this number is slightly off as he is the primary red zone rushing threat on this roster.

The Wolfpack will be facing an undermanned Kansas State defense, so I'm bullish the team can move the ball and get into scoring chances, and I trust Armstrong to find the end zone in his final game.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Track Reed's bets here!