Blue Preview: Your guide to the Gator Bowl between Kentucky and N.C. State
Gator Bowl: Kentucky vs. No. 24 North Carolina State
When: Noon Saturday (Jan. 2, 2021).
Where: TIAA Bank Field (normal capacity of 67,164 but capped at 25 percent, some 16,791 tickets, for the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl due to the coronavirus) in Jacksonville, Fla.
TV: ESPN (play-by-play, Anice Shroff; analysis, Tom Luginbill; sideline, Lericia Harris).
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1 (UK Network Broadcast); WLXG-AM 1300, WLXG-FM 92.5 (ESPN Radio national broadcast).
Satellite radio: Home Stream — XM Channel 191, Internet Channel 962; Away Stream — XM Channel 193, Sirius Channel 137, Internet Channel 955; National Stream — XM Channel 84, Sirius Channel 84, Internet Channel 84).
Records: Kentucky (4-6 SEC); North Carolina State (8-3, 7-3 ACC).
Series history: Is tied 1-1.
Last meeting: Kentucky defeated North Carolina State 27-2 on Oct. 31, 1970, at Stoll Field in Lexington.
Line: Kentucky is favored by 2.5 points.
The story line
At the end of a trying season, Kentucky seeks to write a happy ending by vanquishing the No. 24 Wolfpack to earn UK’s third straight bowl victory.
The number to watch
Kentucky’s rushing yardage. In the three games it lost, North Carolina State gave up an average of 276.3 yards a game on the ground. For all the talk about UK’s need to diversify its offensive attack — which it does — a ground-and-pound approach may be the best path to victory vs. N.C. State.
The big threat
Bailey Hockman. The nephew of former Kentucky quarterback Ryan Hockman assumed the starting QB role for the Wolfpack after Devin Leary was lost to a broken fibula in the Wolfpack’s 31-20 win at Duke on Oct. 17. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Hockman, who began his college career at Florida State, responded by completing 63.7 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,820 yards and 12 touchdowns with eight interceptions. The Powder Springs, Ga., product went 4-2 as a starter.
On the spot
Vince Marrow. With Kentucky having parted ways with co-offensive coordinators Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw and new OC Liam Coen not leaving the Los Angeles Rams coaching staff until the NFL team’s season ends, it will apparently fall on Marrow to call plays for UK in Jacksonville. It will be fascinating to see if Marrow, primarily known for his aggressiveness as a recruiter, brings some of that brashness to a Kentucky offense that struggled for much of 2020.
The mood
Is needy. After a difficult regular season that saw Kentucky lose a coach to cancer, have a key player sidelined by a debilitating medical condition and then struggle against an all-SEC schedule, many UK backers seemed ready for football to be over. However, after the disastrous 1-6 start by the Wildcats’ men’s basketball team, a fan base in acute need of a feel-good moment figures to re-invest in the Cats’ bowl appearance in hopes it will supply one.
This story was originally published December 28, 2020 at 11:44 AM.
