Music City Bowl: Iowa vs Kentucky Game Thread

Dec 31, 2022 - 4:01 PM

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The 2022 football season is set to come to a close for the Iowa Hawkeyes as they prepare to take on the Kentucky Wildcats in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s a rematch of last year’s Vrbo Citrus Bowl, but this one is set to feature a slew of new names and faces as both the Hawkeyes and Wildcats come into the day with myriad injuries, opt outs and transfers.

Both teams also enter the day reeling a bit. For Iowa, the worst power five offense in the nation finally cost the Hawkeyes as they fell in the regular season finale 24-17 to the Nebraska Cornhuskers to lose the Big Ten West. The Wildcats, meanwhile, emerged victorious in their season finale against in-state rival Louisville, but enter the day losers of three of their final five games, including two of their last three.

So which bunch will show up with more energy and enthusiasm for this launchpad into the 2023 season? Can Iowa get something going offensively with third string QB Joey Labas? Can the Hawkeye defense again prove their dominance despite the opt out of Kaevon Merriweather and departure of Terry Roberts? Or will it be the Kentucky Wildcats, riding a backup QB and third string RB who move the ball and put points on the board?

We’re about to find out as the Hawkeyes and Wildcats kick off in Nashville!

Here’s one last reminder on the details for today’s game:

Date: Saturday, December 31st
Time: 11:00 am CT
Matchup: Iowa Hawkeyes (7-5, 5-4) vs Kentucky Wildcats (7-5, 3-5)
Location: Nissan Stadium - Nashville, TN
TV: ABC
Weather Forecast: cloudy with temps in the upper 50s, 60% chance of rain fading as the day progresses
DraftKings Sportsbook Line: Iowa -2.5, O/U 31

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.

Don’t forget to tune in to @BHGP on Twitter after the game as we break down all of the day’s events, including what went right, what went wrong and what we’re drinking, live and uncut on Twitter Spaces.

The usual rules apply. Play nice in the comments. That means no personal attacks, keep the politics to your yard signs and please don’t feed the trolls. Report any spambots and enjoy the game!

Go Hawks!