Kentucky vs Iowa TransPerfect Music City Bowl Prediction Game Preview
Kentucky vs Iowa prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. TransPerfect Music City Bowl, Saturday, December 31
Kentucky vs Iowa TransPerfect Music City Bowl Prediction Game Preview
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Kentucky vs Iowa How To Watch
Date: Saturday, December 31
Game Time: 12:00 ET
Venue: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
How To Watch: ABC
Record: Kentucky (7-5), Iowa (7-5)
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Kentucky vs Iowa TransPerfect Music City Bowl 5 Things To Know
TransPerfect Music City Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History
– Two teams with a bunch of players wearing Iowa and Kentucky uniforms will run onto the field, and a game of football will be played. After that, good luck trying to figure out what this is going to be.
Kentucky won’t have its top guys in the backfield – QB Will Levis is getting ready to possibly be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, and heart-and-soul RB Chris Rodriguez isn’t going to play, either. It goes on from there with the depth taking a hit along with a few parts on the defensive side.
Iowa is trying to figure out its offense, too, without one of its normal quarterbacks expected to be around for an offense that wasn’t exactly rocking and rolling to begin with.
There are enough regular starters for both teams to make this interesting, but it’s going to be a bit rocky, especially because …
– Iowa had the second-worst offense in college football. There wasn’t any passing game, scoring was like pulling teeth, and there’s a rumor the attack converted on a third down. Even so, the defense was fantastic – a slew of the main men are supposed to be around – and the O managed to not screw it up over a five-game winning streak in the second half of the year.
Kentucky’s offense wasn’t a whole lot better thanks to a ragged offensive line, the defense couldn’t generate a pass rush, and yet it all worked in a Kentucky sort of way to get here. That’s not a knock because …
– Kentucky has been great in bowl games under Mark Stoops. UK lost four straight bowls – with Stoops dropping his first two – and then came the run of four great performances in bowl wins over the last four years. That includes last season’s 20-17 Citrus Bowl win over …
– Iowa was a disaster in bowls from 2011 to 2016, and then it all turned with three nice wins highlighted by a 49-24 whacking of USC in the 2019 Holiday Bowl. Last year’s bowl loss to Kentucky was tough, but it was a good fight.
– When the Music City Bowl hits, it’s cranks up a home run. Purdue’s 48-45 overtime win over Tennessee last year might have been the best bowl of the season. Throwing out the canceled 2020 bowl, 13 of the last 17 Music City Bowls have been decided by eight points or fewer. Considering how these two teams play, this should be low scoring, too.
CFN Experts CFP, NY6, Dec 28-Jan 2
Why Kentucky Will Win The TransPerfect Music City Bowl
Really, this Iowa offense is just that stagnant.
It was only able to hit 200 yards passing twice, the overall attack never came up with 400 yards, and it only got to 300 three times. It’s not a stretch to suggest it’ll only take a few scores for Kentucky to put this away.
As is there’s no Iowa passing game, at least there’s nothing deep. Now it’s throwing out an untested option in Joey Labas as he tries to do something to get the chains moving.
But the Iowa O is the Iowa O. It’s the defensive side that has to own this game, and it starts with needing to come up with takeaways. Kentucky had issues over the first half of the season with giveaways, but it only turned it over twice in the last four games.
And the Wildcats can play a little defense, too. It hasn’t allowed 200 passing yards in any of the last four games, and Iowa doesn’t have the running game to make up for it.
However …
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Why Iowa Will Win The TransPerfect Music City Bowl
Really, the Kentucky offense is just that stagnant.
Will Levis is being panned as a possible top pick in the NFL Draft, but that’s partly because he didn’t get a chance to show what he could do behind an offensive line that was the worst in the SEC in sacks allowed.
That’s where the Iowa defense comes in. If all goes according to plan, a slew of key stars from the nation’s fourth-best D and sixth-best scoring defense. As is UK couldn’t get the attack moving. It’s supposed to rock without Levis and Rodriguez? Not really.
And no, the Iowa offense isn’t going to come out and hang 50 on the board. However, there won’t be anything big coming from the Kentucky pass rush and defensive front.
UK is 7-0 when allowing fewer than 165 rushing yards, and 0-5 when allowing that many or more. However …
TransPerfect Music City Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History
NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, Kentucky vs Iowa Prediction, TransPerfect Music City Bowl History
Kentucky vs Iowa TransPerfect Music City Bowl, What’s Going To Happen
Iowa had the worst rushing offense in the Big Ten and managed more than 165 yards just twice. The team was 4-0 when it ran for 125 yards or more – it’ll get there.
The Hawkeye defense will be strong enough to keep this close throughout, and that will be just enough.
Against a slew of relatively mediocre teams, Kentucky went 5-0 when rolling for at least 345 yards of total offense. Ohio State, Minnesota, and Rutgers – that last one was in a blowout with lots of the yards coming late – were the only teams to get to that mark against Iowa.
It’ll be a low scoring fight with the Hawkeye D doing just a little bit more.
Kentucky vs Iowa TransPerfect Music City Bowl, Prediction, Line
CFN Prediction: Iowa 19, Kentucky 16
Line: Iowa -2.5, o/u: 31
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
TransPerfect Music City Bowl Must See Rating (out of 5): 3
CFN Experts CFP NY6, Dec 28-Jan 2
TransPerfect Music City Bowl History
Dec. 30, 2021 Purdue 48, Tennessee 45 OT
2020 Canceled
Dec. 30, 2019 Louisville 38, Mississippi State 28
Dec. 28, 2018 Auburn 63, Purdue 14
Dec. 29, 2017 Northwestern 24, Kentucky 23
Dec. 30, 2016 Tennessee 38, Nebraska 24
Dec. 30, 2015 Louisville 27 Texas A&M 21
Dec. 30, 2014 Notre Dame 31 LSU 28
Dec. 30, 2013 Mississippi 25 Georgia Tech 17
Dec. 31, 2012 Vanderbilt 38 N.C. State 24
Dec. 30, 2011 Mississippi State 23 Wake Forest 17
Dec. 30, 2010 North Carolina 30 Tennessee 27 (2 OT)
Dec. 27, 2009 Clemson 21 Kentucky 13
Dec. 31, 2008 Vanderbilt 16 Boston College 14
Dec. 31, 2007 Kentucky 35 Florida State 28
Dec. 29, 2006 Kentucky 28 Clemson 20
Dec. 30, 2005 Virginia 34 Minnesota 31
Dec. 31, 2004 Minnesota 20 Alabama 16
Dec. 31, 2003 Auburn 28 Wisconsin 14
Dec. 30, 2002 Minnesota 29 Arkansas 14
Dec. 28, 2001 Boston College 20 Georgia 16
Dec. 28, 2000 West Virginia 49 Mississippi 38
Dec. 29, 1999 Syracuse 20 Kentucky 13
Dec. 29, 1998 Virginia Tech 38 Alabama 7
