Kentucky is heading to a school record six-straight bowl games after accepting a bid to play in the VRBO Citrus Bowl versus No. 15 Iowa, on January 1st in Camping World Stadium (Orlando).
Kentucky is riding a three (bowl) game winning streak, returning to the Citrus Bowl for the first time since that streak started.
Jan. 2, 2021: Kentucky defeats N.C. State in the Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) 23-21
Dec. 31, 2019: Kentucky defeats Virgina Tech in the Belk Bowl (Charlotte) 37-30
Jan. 1, 2019: Kentucky defeats Penn State in the Citrus Bowl (Orlando) 27-24
Iowa is the alma mater of Mark Stoops. He spent two seasons there from 1987-89, then became a Graduate Assistant from 1990-91. The story line is very appealing solely because Iowa is in that short list of schools that Mark Stoops would heavily consider if they ever came calling. Being an alumni, his two brothers playing and being on staff there at some point as well, and now that he's taken his first Head Coaching gig to a legit SEC threat, it seems like this all comes full circle for Mark.
Mini scouting report on the Iowa Hawkeyes football program:
The Hawkeyes won the Big Ten Western Division, finishing with a 10-3 record, reaching the conference championship game. Junior offensive lineman Tyler Linderbaum has been named the Big Ten Conference Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year. Quarterbacks Spencer Petras and Alex Padilla have combined to throw for 2,305 yards and 11 touchdowns. Running back Tyler Goodson has rushed for 1,151 yards and six TDs, while linebacker Jack Campbell paces the defense with 129 tackles. Head Coach Kirk Ferentz is in his 23rd year as head coach at Iowa, and 32nd season overall at the University
Kentucky and Iowa enter the game tied for holding the nation’s longest active non-conference win streak with 15 straight wins. So of course, that streak will be broke for one school, and the record be taken over by the latter. Another thing to note, the last time Kentucky reached 10 wins in a season was in 2018, in the Citrus Bowl. Round two?
For bowl purposes, Kentucky is 11-9 all-time in bowl games, and 2-3 under Stoops. A victory against Iowa will put Mark Stoops just one win behind Paul "Bear" Bryant's school record of 60.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on ABC or the ESPN App.