Belk Bound: UK Faces Virginia Tech in Charlotte
After rampaging through the final three weeks of the regular season Kentucky will play in a fourth-consecutive bowl game when it faces Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl as Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on New Year’s Ever. The game is set for a noon ET kickoff and will air on ESPN.
The Cats rallied to win five of their final seven games after an onslaught of injuries at the quarterback position led to a 2-3 start to season and re-vamping of the offensive with Lynn Bowden Jr. as QB1. Three straight games of at least 400 yards rushing culminated in a school-record 517-yard rushing performance against Louisville in the finale.
Bowden’s onslaught on defenses led to six 100-yard rushing games, the most rushing yards for a quarterback in school history, the most rushing yards (284) in a game by a SEC quarterback ever and the second-highest yards per carry (8.2) in FBS.
The UK defense also has shown stark improvement and continues to give the team a chance to win despite its inexperience on that side of the ball, particulary in the secondary. It has held six consecutive opponents to 305 total yards or less, the best such stretch since 1977, and finished fourth in FBS in passing defense.
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| Tue., Dec. 31 – 12 p.m. ET Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, N.C. Game Notes: UK | VT Digital Gameday Program Gameday App |
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TV: ESPN |
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| UK | Team Stats | VT |
| 7-5 | Record | 8-4 |
| 3-5 | Conference Record | 5-3 |
| 26.3 | Scoring/game | 30.9 |
| 391.5 | Total offense/game | 389.8 |
| 274.4 | Rushing yards/game | 172.5 |
| 117.1 | Passing yards/game | 217.3 |
| 21.0 | Kickoff returns (avg) | 19.2 |
| 7.4 | Punt returns (avg) | 10.0 |
| 48.6 | Punting (avg) | 46.4 |
| 31:51 | Time of possession/game | 31:22 |
| 38.3% | Third down conversion | 38.7% |
| 45.8% | Fourth down conversion | 66.7% |
| 18.4 | Points allowed/game | 23.7 |
| 321.6 | Total yards allowed/game | 359.9 |
| 148.9 | Rush yards allowed/game | 123.3 |
| 172.7 | Pass yards allowed/game | 236.6 |
Cat Scratches: Bowl Win Would Be ‘Icing on the Cake’ for Rewarding Season
Over the last month, nearly every moment has made Kash Daniel think about the end of his journey as a Kentucky football player.
Having gone from a Senior Day win over Louisville to graduation 10 days ago to his final practices as a Wildcat, Daniel doesn’t need to think hard about what he wants the conclusion of his career to look like.
Sitting at media day on Monday with the Belk Bowl trophy just a few feet behind him, Daniel can picture it clearly.
“If we get this win,” Daniel said. “A win and hugging Coach (Mark) Stoops and embracing it with my teammates and seeing that confetti fall and just holding that trophy up. That would be the moment.”
For his four years in Lexington, Daniel hasn’t known anything but bowl games. The last of the four will kick off for Kentucky (7-5) at noon on New Year’s Eve against Virginia Tech (8-4) at Bank of America Stadium….Read More
Kentucky in Bowl Games
• The Wildcats own a 9-9 all-time record in bowl games.
• The last bowl appearance came in the VRBO Citrus Bowl in Orlandon on Jan. 1, 2019. The Cats defeated Penn State, 27-24.
• UK went to five consecutive bowls from 2006-2010.
• This is UK’s first appearance in the Belk Bowl.
Scouting Virginia Tech
• Virginia Tech is 8-4 on the season, including a 5-3 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
• The Hokies’ current streak of 27 consecutive seasons reaching a bowl game in the nation’s longest active streak and third-longest in college football history behind Nebraska’s 35-game streak (1969-2003) and Michigan’s 33-year stretch (1975-2007).
• Head coach Justin Fuente is in his fourth season after arriving from Memphis where he revitalized that program and led it to bowl games each of his final two seasons. He also has a .625 winning percentage in ACC games since taking over at Tech.
• After a rough start that saw the Hokies lose their first two conference games, they rebounded in a big way and won five of their final six ACC contests.
• The defense posted back-to-back shutouts against Georgia Tech and Pitt in November.
• Like Kentucky, Virginia Tech uses a stable of runners to fuel a strong ground game, with Deshawn McClease leading the way at 717 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
• Quarterback Hendon Hooker has thrown for 11 touchdowns against just two interceptions while completing 62 percent of his passes.
• Kicker Brian Johnson has been excellent, connecting on 16-of-20 field goal attempts this season.
• Like UK’s Max Duffy, Va. Tech punter Oscar Bradburn has been terrific, averaing 46.75 yards on 51 punts this season.
• The Hokies’ defense is 10th nationally in red zone defense and 14th in sacks per game.
• Defensive back Caleb Farley is among the nation’s leaders in pass breakups (12) and interceptions (four).
Series vs. Virginia Tech
• UK leads the all-time series 11-6-2.
• The first meeting came in 1926, a 13-13 tie. The last meeting was a 14-7 Kentucky win in Lexington on Halloween in 1987.
• The Cats won seven straight from 1971 to 1978, including a 31-26 win in 1973 in the first game played in the new Commonwealth Stadium.
• Largest Kentucky win: 31, 38-7 in 1974.
• Largest Virginia Tech win: 26, twice, most recent in 1982 (29-3).
• Games decided by seven points or less: Kentucky leads 4-3-2
• One of Kentucky’s nine 400-yard rushing games in its history came against Virginia Tech when the Cats piled up 441 yards on Sept. 14, 1974.
Kentucky-Virginia Tech Connections
• Kentucky does not have a player on its roster from Virginia.
• Virginia Tech does not have a player on its roster from Kentucky.
• Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente graduated from Murray State University in 1999. College Football Hall of Fame Coach Jerry Claiborne was head coach at both Virginia Tech (1961- 70) and UK (1982-89)
• Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster also graduated from Murray State. He played for the Racers from 1977-80 and graduated in 1981. Although he has been with the Hokies for 33 seasons he began his coaching career at Murray State, serving on the staff there from 1981-86.
A UK Win Would…
• Give Kentucky at least eight wins for the second consecutive season.
• Give UK back-to-back wins in bowl games, including last season’s VRBO Citrus Bowl.
• Make Kentucky 5-1 and over its final six games of the season.
• Give Kentucky its 10th straight non-conference win.
• Make the Cats 16-3 in their past 19 non-conference games.
• Give coach Mark Stoops 44 career victories at UK, third place on the school’s all-time list behind Paul “Bear” Bryant (60) and Fran Curci (47).
