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Kentucky will play in the Gator Bowl against N.C. State

Wildcats headed back to a bowl they lost in 2016
Posted at 5:33 PM, Dec 20, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-20 19:17:22-05

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky football team has accepted a bowl bid to play N.C. State in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl. It's a match-up that will be played at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.

The game is scheduled for January 2, 2021, and kickoff is at Noon on ESPN.

The Wildcats are making their 5th straight bowl appearance under head coach Mark Stoops. It's happened one other time in school history when UK went to five straight from 2006-'10. But this is the first time one coach has led UK to five in a row.

The last time the Wildcats played in the Taxslayer Bowl was after the 2016 season. UK came up short against Georgia Tech 33-18. The Cats have won their past two bowl games in the January 2019 Citrus Bowl (27-24 against Penn State) and the December 2019 Belk Bowl (37-30 against Virginia Tech)

The Wildcats finished the season with a 4-6 record with wins over Mississippi St., Tennessee, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.

The Wolfpack is ranked No. 23 in the country after finishing with an 8-3 record winning four of their first five games. They would lose two in a row to North Carolina and Miami before winning their final four games.

Kentucky and N.C. State have only met twice. The last came in 1970 where the Wildcats easily won 27-2.