WKU Football

UK defeats Virginia Tech 37-30 to win the 2019 Belk Bowl

/ Dan Martin / Leave a comment

The University of Kentucky football team took a page out of Western Kentucky’s book and won their 2019 bowl game in the closing moments of regulation.  Kentucky scored a seeming game-winning touchdown with 15 seconds remaining taking a 31-30 lead.

Kentucky tacked on another 6 as their defense squashed a lateral and ran the ball into the endzone with no time remaining to make the final score UK 37 – Va Tech 30.  Kentucky started their season 2-0, but their starting quarterback, Terry Wilson, who was a more than respectable 12-3 as a starter.  Kentucky lost the next 3-games prior to shifting to a remade offense.

The new offense featured former wide-receiver Lynn Bowden, Jr. playing quarterback for a run early and run often offense that bedeviled many of UK’s remaining opponents.  The Wildcats closed their season out by winning 6 of 8 games including back-to-back wins over ACC teams that finished 2019 with 8 wins.  Bowden threw a touchdown pass to tie the game allowing the Wildcats to kick an extra point to take a 31-30 lead.  Bowden also ran for two touchdowns and claimed 2019 Belk Bowl MVP.

Kentucky had their best season in decades in 2018 winning 10 games including wins over perennial powers such as the Florida Gators and the Penn State Nittany Lions.  Their 2018 Citrus Bowl trophy was a testament to Mark Stoops’ slow rebuild of a program that has always been hard to build.  Another bowl victory, another solid recruiting class, and 8 wins in 2019 help to establish that Kentucky is in a new place as football program.  Consolidating the gains and momentum of a historic 2018 by overcoming adversity in 2019 and winning four-consecutive games places Kentucky onto more solid and lofty football ground than it has occupied in decades.  The Wildcats’ have a bright outlook on 2020.

Here is a Look at Mark Stoops’ 7 Seasons as Head Football Coach at the University of Kentucky:

  1. 2013 2-10
  2. 2014 5-7
  3. 2015 5-7
  4. 2016 7-6 Reached the Camping World Bowl
  5. 2017 7-6 Reached the Music City Bowl
  6. 2018 10-3 Citrus Bowl Champions
  7. 2019 8-5 Belk Bowl Champions

 

Louisville & Western Kentucky Win Bowl Games on December 30, 2019

/ Dan Martin / Leave a comment

One year after both Louisville and Western Kentucky endured disappointing seasons that resulted in coaching changes, both programs won bowl games.

Western Kentucky went 3-9 in 2018 and subsequently parted ways with coach Mike Sanford.  In 2019, Tyson Helton coached the Hilltoppers to an 8-4 regular season.  Today, WKU beat Western Michigan at the SERVPRO First Responder bowl 23-20 on a field goal with no time remaining on the clock.  The victory in Dallas pushed WKU to a 9-4 record and completed a remarkable turnaround from 2018.

Louisville endured a brutal 2018 season finishing 2-10 after posting 8-consecutive winning seasons that included a 2012 Sugar Bowl Victory for coach Charlie Strong and a 2016 Heisman Trophy award for the preternatural Lamar Jackson.  2018 was a cratering experience for a program that has had wins at the Sugar, Orange, and Fiesta Bowls since 1990.

Bobby Petrino was released after U of L fell to 2-8 in 2018.  Louisville hired Scott Satterfield from Appalachian State, won 7-regular season games, finished second to Clemson in the Atlantic division, and won for an 8th time in 2019 by beating Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl.  Louisville rallied from a 14 point deficit to win 38-28.

WKU went from 3-9 to 9-4, and U of L went from 2-10 to 8-5.  Each program has to look toward 2020 with far greater certitude than it approached 2019.