KENTUCKY POSTGAME NOTES
Belk Bowl / Kentucky vs. Virginia Tech
Bank of America Stadium / Charlotte, NC
Dec. 31, 2019
 
FINAL SCORE: Kentucky 37, Virginia Tech 30
 
Team Records and Series Information

• Both teams end the season with an 8-5 record.
• Kentucky leads the Virginia Tech series 12-6-2 and has won two in a row.
• Playing in its 19^th bowl game, and fourth in a row, UK has an all-time bowl record of 10-9.
• Next for Kentucky: the Wildcats begin the spring semester January 15.  Following offseason workouts in January and February, spring practice begins in March.    

 
What the Win Means for the Wildcats

• Kentucky has won at least eight games in a season for the 14^th time in school history.

  • It is only the fourth time that UK has won at least eight games in back-to-back seasons, also 1949-51, 1976-77 and 2006-07.
• Kentucky’s senior class has won 32 games over the last four seasons. It is the most wins for UK in a four-year span since 1949-52, when Paul “Bear” Bryant coached the Cats.
• Kentucky won bowl games in back-to-back seasons for the third time in school history, also following the 1950 and 1951 seasons and following the 2006-07-08 seasons.
• Kentucky has won 10 straight non-conference games, longest since the 2006-09 streak of 18 consecutive non-conference wins. 
• This is the 12^th time under Coach Mark Stoops that Kentucky has rallied to win the game after trailing by at least 10 points. UK was behind 17-7 in the first half.
  • It is the third time this season that UK has rallied from a double-digit deficit to win.  UK trailing Arkansas by 13 points and Vanderbilt by 11 before coming back for a victory. 
• Kentucky is 18-8 over its last 26 games, the best 26-game stretch since going 18-7-1 in the 1976-78 seasons.

 
Team Notes

• Eleven seniors wore the Blue and White for the final time, including LB Elijah Barnett, LS Blake Best, DE T.J. Carter, LB Kash Daniel, S Jordan Griffin, DT Phil Hoskins, K Ben Logsdon, OG Logan Stenberg, DT Calvin Taylor, WR Ahmad Wagner and OG Mason Wolfe.
  • Having declared for the National Football League draft, junior ATH Lynn Bowden also played his last game at Kentucky.
• Kentucky rushed for 331 yards, completing its single-season school records of 3,624 rushing yards, 36 rushing touchdowns and a 6.3-yard average per rushing attempt.
  • Old records were 3,124 rushing yards in 1974, 30 rushing TDs in 2016 and a 5.4-yard average in 2016.
• Kentucky has allowed 34 points or less in 27 straight games, the longest active streak in the nation.
  • 27 straight games at 34 points or less is the longest for Kentucky since a 45-game streak from 1976-80.
• Kentucky allowed two touchdown passes today.  UK entered bowl season tied for first among FBS teams with the fewest touchdown passes allowed, seven on the season (now nine).
• Kentucky allowed 329 yards today, the eighth consecutive game that UK has allowed fewer than 330 yards. 
• Virginia Tech’s longest pass play was 22 yards. UK entered the game tied for first in the nation for fewest pass plays of 40 yards allowed, one this season.
• Kentucky had an 80-yard touchdown drive on its first possession, the fourth time in the last five games that UK has scored on its first possession.
• Kentucky entered bowl season leading the nation in most runs of 20+ yards (45 runs) and 40+ yards (15 runs). The Wildcats had four 20-yard runs today, now 49 for the season. UK had one 40-yard run today, now 16 for the season.
• Kentucky set school records for most rushing attempts in a bowl game, 55, and most rushing yards in a bowl game, 331.  With three rushing TDs, UK tied the school record for bowl game rushing TDs.

 
Notes on “The Drive”

• Trailing 30-24, Kentucky took over on its own 15-yard line with 8:25 remaining in the game.
• Lynn Bowden Jr. drove the Wildcats 85 yards in 18 plays, taking 8:10 off the clock.
  • 18 plays are the most plays for a UK scoring drive this season.
• Bowden ran or passed the ball on 16 of the 18 plays.
• Bowden converted a pair of fourth downs.
  • On 4^th-and-7 from the UK 43-yard line, Bowden drilled a dart to Josh Ali, who made a 9-yard contested catch to keep the drive alive.
  • On 4^th-and-1 from the Virginia Tech 26, Bowden bowled his way for two yards and a first down. 
• With only 19 seconds and one timeout remaining, from the Virginia Tech 13-yard line, Bowden had to go to the air. He found Ali in the back of the end zone for the game-tying touchdown, leaving just 15 seconds on the clock.
  • It was the only play of the drive that went longer than nine yards.
  • The play sequence, in yards, was 7, 2, 4, 7, 5, 3, 0, incomplete, 9, 4, 9, 4, 4, 1, 2, 2, 9, 13.
• Snapper Blake Best, holder Grant McKinniss and kicker Matt Ruffolo executed the pressure-packed extra point perfectly to put the Wildcats ahead.

 
Player Notes

• UK’s game captains: OG Logan Stenberg, LB Kash Daniel, DT Calvin Taylor Jr. and athlete Lynn Bowden Jr.
• In his final collegiate game, junior athlete Lynn Bowden Jr. rushed 34 times for 233 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed 6 of 12 passes for 73 yards, including the game-winning 13-yard TD with 15 seconds left.
  • Bowden was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
  • Bowden’s 233 rushing yards are an NCAA record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a bowl game.
  • It was his third 200-yard rushing game of the season, tying Moe Williams for most 200-yard rushing games in a season and career.
  • 306 yards total offense are a career high.
  • His 61-yard touchdown run is a career long, eclipsing the 60-yard TD run vs. Louisville.
  • Bowden rushed for 1,468 yards this year, second-most for a single season in school history.
  • This was his seventh 100-yard rushing game, extending his single-season school record for the most 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback.
  • During his eight games as the starting QB, Bowden rushed for 1,369 yards – most for a Wildcat in an eight-game span since Moe Williams in 1995 (1,389 in an eight-game span).
  • The 1,369 yards during his eight games at quarterback is a school record for most rushing yards in a season by a QB.  
  • Bowden has 1,530 career rushing yards as a Wildcat, moving into 21^st place on the UK career rushing list.
  • He averaged 7.9 yards per rushing attempt this season, breaking Stanley “Boom” Williams’ record of 7.1 per attempt in 2015.
  • UK has a 6-2 record since Bowden took over as starting quarterback.
  • He now has 4,660 all-purpose yards in his career, finishing his career in fifth place in UK history.
• Redshirt freshman running back Christopher Rodriguez Jr. rushed six times for 18 yards. He had a two-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter, his sixth TD of the year.
• Junior running back Asim Rose rushed 10 times for 69 yards, averaging 6.9 per carry.
  • He has 1,305 career rushing yards, moving up to 28th on the UK career list.
• Junior wide receiver Josh Ali led the Wildcat wide receivers with four catches for 52 yards, including two huge plays on the final drive – a nine-yard contested catch on 4^th-and-7 and what proved to be the game-winning 13-yard touchdown grab. It was his third touchdown catch of the season.
• Fitting, senior captain Kash Daniel led the defensive effort with eight tackles.
• Senior defensive tackle Calvin Taylor Jr. had three tackles, including a quarterback sack that ended the first half.  He finished the season with 8.5 sacks, ranking seventh in one season in school history.
• Sophomore linebacker Chris Oats had five tackles, including two for loss.
• Junior linebacker Jamar Watson had three tackles, including two for loss.
• Sophomore linebacker Jordan Wright put the icing on the cake with a 28-yard fumble return for a touchdown on the game’s final play. He also had three tackles, including one for loss, and a pass breakup.
• Junior punter Max Duffy punted twice for a 36.5-yard average. He finished the season with a 48.1-yard average (49 punts for 2,358 yards), breaking the single-season school record average of 45.6 by Glenn Pakulak in 2002.
  • He entered the game leading the nation in punting.
  • Duffy also holds UK’s career record for punting average.
• Junior kicker Matt Ruffolo came up big, keeping the Wildcats in the game with a 40-yard field goal in the third quarter.  He also nailed the pressure-packed game-winning extra point with the score tied at 30 with 15 seconds remaining.  He made all four of his extra point tries in addition to his only field goal attempt.