Kentucky football team will meet top-25 foe N.C. State in Gator Bowl
The University of Kentucky football team will play North Carolina State in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Jan. 2.
The game will air on ESPN.
It is the fifth straight year Kentucky has been invited to a bowl game, just the second time the program has strung together that many consecutive appearances (2006-2010). Mark Stoops is the first coach in school history to lead the Wildcats to five straight bowls; Rich Brooks guided UK to four straight from 2006-2009 before Joker Phillips took the reins in 2010.
Kentucky has only played in the Gator Bowl one other time. The Cats lost to Georgia Tech 33-18 in 2016, their first bowl in Stoops’ tenure. Since UK’s loss, the Southeastern Conference representative has won three straight games: Mississippi State over Louisville in 2017, Texas A&M over N.C. State in 2018 and Tennessee over Indiana following the 2019 season.
N.C. State finished 8-3, going 7-3 against its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule as well as picking up a 15-14 win over upstart Liberty late in the year. Kentucky has only played the Wolfpack twice, splitting two meetings played in 1909 (a 15-6 N.C. State win in Raleigh) and 1970 (a 27-2 UK victory in Lexington).
The Wolfpack were ranked No. 23 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings and No. 24 by the Associated Press. Kentucky, which finished 4-6 in the regular season, has not been ranked since the preseason.
On paper, it comes across as an even matchup. In the regular season, N.C. State ranked 45th nationally scoring 31.1 points per game while Kentucky ranked 47th allowing 26.4 points per game. The Wolfpack racked up 391.5 yards per game (66th) while Kentucky allowed 387 (55th).
Kentucky last week hired a new offensive coordinator, Liam Coen, and offensive line coach, Eric Wolford, though neither will coach the Wildcats in their bowl game. Jeff Jagodzinski helped with UK’s offensive line toward the end of the season and likely will coach in the bowl game. Stoops has said UK can elevate other staffers to fill any open staff spots for the bowl game.
There are two Kentucky ties on N.C. State’s coaching staff: quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper was in the same position at UK in 2005 and defensive line coach Charley Wiles played at Murray State. Wiles also held multiple roles on the Racers’ coaching staff from 1990-1995.
Bailey Hockman, the Wolfpack’s quarterback, is the nephew of former UK quarterback Ryan Hockman. Bailey this season is 144 of 226 for 1,820 yards and 12 touchdown passes with eight interceptions. He has also rushed for three TDs.
As of 5 p.m. Sunday no Kentucky players had publicly announced that they were opting out of this year’s bowl game. Kelvin Joseph, a junior defensive back, left the program prior to its 41-18 win over South Carolina to close the regular season.
The Gator Bowl won’t be the only UK sporting event on Jan. 2; the Kentucky men’s basketball team is scheduled to play at Mississippi State at 6 p.m. that day.
Gator Bowl
Kentucky vs. N.C. State
When: Noon Saturday, Jan. 2
Where: TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
Records: UK 4-6; N.C. State 8-3
Series: Tied 1-1
Last meeting: UK won 27-2 on Oct. 31, 1970, in Lexington
TV: ESPN
SEC bowl selections
South Carolina vs. UAB (Gasparilla Bowl), Dec. 26
Missouri vs. Iowa (Music City Bowl), Dec. 30
Tennessee vs. West Virginia (Liberty Bowl), Dec. 31
Mississippi State vs. Tulsa, (Armed Forces Bowl), Dec. 31
Arkansas vs. TCU (Texas Bowl), Dec. 31
Alabama vs. Notre Dame (College Football Playoff), Jan. 1
Georgia vs. Cincinnati (Peach Bowl), Jan. 1
Auburn vs. Northwestern (Citrus Bowl), Jan. 1
Texas A&M vs. North Carolina (Orange Bowl), Jan. 2
Kentucky vs. N.C. State (Gator Bowl), Jan. 2
Mississippi vs. Indiana (Outback Bowl), Jan. 2
This story was originally published December 20, 2020 at 5:31 PM.
