Kentucky's bowl destination, opponent finalized
Winning the final three games of their regular season, the Kentucky Wildcats currently stand at 7-5.
Reaching the seven-win mark for the fourth consecutive season under head coach Mark Stoops, the program found out their bowl destination on Sunday.
Via the Belk Bowl’s official Twitter account:
Our search is complete…@HokiesFB vs. @UKFootballhttps://t.co/7QOEVdYlKv pic.twitter.com/wCCwQNUcOE
— Belk Bowl (@belkbowl) December 8, 2019
Taking place at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte – home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers – the Wildcats and Hokies will meet on December 31.
Wrapping up their regular season at 8-4, Virginia Tech extended their bowl streak to an astounding 27 years. In his fourth season at the helm after coming over from Memphis, Justin Fuente’s team did, however, lose to in-state rival Virginia for the first time since 2003.
After falling to Georgia Tech in the 2016 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville and Northwestern in the 2017 Music City Bowl in Nashville, the Wildcats broke through for Stoops’ first bowl win during his tenure in Lexington by topping Penn State in last season’s Citrus Bowl in Orlando.
Last meeting in 1987, Kentucky and Virginia Tech have played 19 times dating back to 1926, with the Wildcats holding an 11-6-2 edge in the series.
It’s good to see the UK making it back to their fourth straight bowl. I think most of the Cat fans, including myself, thought the season was completely over after the loss to SC and no apparent solution for the QB issue. Yes, I would have preferred the Gator Bowl but the powers that be didn’t see it that way.
Come on CATS… HAMMER THE HOKIES in Charlotte and lets finish strong!!! GBB
Now that we’ve had 3 years of 7 wins and one year of 10 wins, we need to be shooting for 8 wins a season as the new normal for a few years. Then on to 9, etc. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
But I’m just glad we managed to salvage seven wins this year and not get the absolute worst toilet bowl.
I did a post a few months back trying to get a feel from UK fans about what they would expect in the next 3 to 5 years. Unfortunately, I didn’t get much of a response except from Paris10 and one other person (that might have been you).
I agree with you about the win total needing to increase but I’m a little more optimistic or perhaps demanding than you. I really believe we should be looking total wins for the season in the 9 to 10 range.
I hate to slap a set total needed when schedules weigh so heavily in what a team can achieve, but I think it’s telling when you have a year where a ton goes wrong and you still hit 7 wins.
I don’t think Kentucky will ever be in a position to hit 9-10 wins every year, but it seems like that should be the case every couple of years or so. I’d say 35 wins every 4 years is a reasonable goal. There will be better years than others, but a solid-steady program under Stoops.
It’s Great to see this UK Team fight their way into a 7-5 season and another Bowl Bid . They let a few slip away this season but now just go out and beat those Hokies to end the 19 bid! In 2020 it’s time to End that losing streak in Neyland and make them Vols fans cry on Rocky Slop !
Go Cats
Rocky slop… now that is funny!