| Historic Bowl Bid Puts Kentucky vs. Clemson in Music City | |
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Wildcats to Make Unprecedented Fourth-Straight Bowl Appearance
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky football team will be making a school-record fourth-consecutive post-season appearance as the Wildcats have accepted an invitation to play in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl against Clemson University.
The game will be on Sunday, Dec. 27, at 8:30 p.m. EST (7:30 p.m. CST in Nashville) at LP Field, home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. It is the only bowl game of the day and will be televised live in prime time on ESPN.
“We’re honored to be invited to the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl,” said Mitch Barnhart, UK Director of Athletics. “I congratulate Coach Rich Brooks and our senior class for an historic accomplishment in earning a fourth-consecutive bowl game.
“The great experiences our players and fans had in previous trips bring back wonderful memories. With this year’s game on Sunday, Dec. 27, it gives Kentucky fans the opportunity to enjoy a weekend of festivities in Nashville before welcoming their team to LP Field.
“Kentucky fans have sold out the game and filled Nashville hotels in each of our last two visits. I know our fans will want to support this special group of seniors who have given us four-straight bowl appearances and some of the greatest moments in UK football history.”
This game will mark the first time that Kentucky football teams have seen post-season action for four-straight years. UK began the string with a win against Clemson in the 2006 Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, followed by another Music City victory in 2007 over Florida State. The Wildcats capped last season with a comeback triumph over East Carolina in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
This will be the 14th bowl appearance in school history, with the Wildcats carrying an 8-5 record in post-season play. It will be the fourth time for UK to participate in the Music City Bowl. Kentucky has a 2-1 mark in the Nashville event, with a loss to Syracuse in 1999 before the two wins in 2006 and ’07.
Kentucky has a 7-5 record this season, marking the first time since 1909-12 that the Wildcats have notched at least seven wins in four-consecutive seasons. Highlights included the first win over Auburn since 1966 and the first victory at Georgia since 1977. UK also extended its school-record non-conference win streak to 18 games.
Kentucky leads the series against Clemson, 8-4. The last two matchups have been in post-season play, with Clemson winning the 1993 Peach Bowl, 14-13, and UK prevailing in the 2006 bowl, 28-20.
Clemson won eight games this season and is the champion of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tigers lost a thriller, 39-34, Saturday night against No. 12-ranked Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship Game. Clemson tailback C.J. Spiller, the ACC Player of the Year, rushed for 233 yards and four touchdowns and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
“I watched Clemson last night and wow!” Brooks said. “They are a really good team. They have talent, just like the last time we played them, with great athletes on defense and one of the best running backs in college football.
“I saw a lot of (Spiller) the year we played him when he was a true freshman. He is a real talent. He has speed and decent size. He is also a great kickoff return guy. He has an NCAA record of seven kickoff returns for a touchdown. That is pretty impressive.”
Brooks also commented on the significance of keeping the string of bowl appearances intact.
“The important thing is that we are in our fourth straight bowl and it is in a surrounding that we are familiar,” Brooks said. “The routine will be a little different since it is over the Christmas holiday but we are familiar with where we are going to practice, the hotel and the meeting rooms. Now, we just have to see if we can keep our bowl streak and non-conference streak alive.”
The Kentucky team will report to Nashville on Tues. Dec. 22. The Wildcats will have a normal game-week set of practices on Dec. 23, 24 and 25, with a walk-through on the 26th, in preparation for the game on the 27th.
TICKET INFORMATION
Fans may purchase tickets to the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl:
Tickets cost $70 for club level, $50 for lower level and $35 for upper level.
UK AMONG JUST 11 TEAMS WITH THREE-STRAIGHT BOWL WINS
Kentucky’s victory over East Carolina in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl marked the third-straight year for a Wildcat post-season win, the first time in school history that has been accomplished, and put UK in elite company.
Only 11 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision have won bowl games each of the last three years. Here’s a list of the 11 teams and the consecutive number of seasons they have won bowls.
Team Consecutive Seasons With a Bowl Victory Utah 6 Texas 5 California 4 Louisiana State 4 Texas Christian 4 West Virginia 4 Kentucky 3 Georgia 3 Rutgers 3 Southern California 3 Oregon State 3
UK AMONG ALL-TIME BOWL PERCENTAGE LEADERS
Having won bowl games in three straight seasons, Kentucky’s bowl-game winning percentage now ranks seventh in the nation among the NCAA Division I schools that have played in 13 or more bowl games.
Kentucky has an all-time record of 8-5 in bowl games, a winning percentage of .615. A total of 62 Division I schools have played at least 13 bowl games. UK ranks seventh among those 62 teams.
Bowl-game winning percentage (min. 13 bowls) Team Pct. Record Utah .786 11-3 Southern California .660 31-16 Penn State .659 26-13-2 Boston College .650 13-7 Oklahoma State .632 12-7 Ole Miss .625 20-12 Kentucky .615 8-5 Georgia .602 25-16-3 Georgia Tech .595 22-15 |
