Kentucky Football will play Iowa in the 2022 Music City Bowl

Get out your bowling shoes, Big Blue Nation. The Wildcats will be taking their talents to Tennessee this postseason. Mark Stoops’ Kentucky football team will play in Nashville’s Music City Bowl against Iowa. It’s a rare postseason rematch a year after the Wildcats’ defeated the Hawkeyes 20-17 in the Citrus Bowl.

The TransPerfect Music City Bowl kicks off Dec. 31 at Noon EST on ABC. It’s in a coveted time slot on broadcast national TV before the CFB Playoff kicks off later that afternoon at 4 pm EST. Even though it conflicts with Kenny Payne’s return to Rupp Arena as Louisville’s head coach, the Kentucky football team could not turn down this valuable exposure.

This is Kentucky’s sixth Music City Bowl appearance since 1999. The Wildcats won back-to-back Music City Bowls with Andre Woodson under center in 2006-07, but lost in all three other trips to Nashville. You can visit UKAthletics.com to purchase tickets through the Wildcats’ allotment or find tickets offered to the general public here.

Kentucky earned the bowl bid after posting a 7-5 record in 2022, capping off the season with a win over Louisville. It’s Kentucky’s seventh-straight bowl appearance, a school record. Mark Stoops has won four straight bowl games. The Wildcats look to extend a 20-game winning streak over non-conference opponents, the longest in the nation. Kentucky’s last non-conference loss was actually in the 2017 Music City Bowl, a 24-23 loss to Northwestern.

Iowa is also 7-5 entering the Music City Bowl. The Hawkeyes were one win away from returning to the Big Ten Title for the second straight season, but fell to Nebraska in the season finale. The Iowa defense is once again one of the best in all of college football, ranked No. 2 by SP+, yet like the Wildcats, their offense struggles to put up points. Both teams rank in the 100s in points per game. Prepare for a low-scoring rock fight at Nissan Stadium on New Year’s Eve.