Written by Garin Turner
The VRBO Citrus Bowl welcomes No. 12 Penn State and 14th ranked the University of Kentucky in a Big Ten vs. SEC Matchup on ABC on January 1, 1PM EST in Orlando, Florida at Camping World Stadium. This is the sixth all-time meeting between the two teams. Penn State leads the series 3-2 with the last game coming in 1999 which saw Penn State victorious.
Penn State has held its opponents to 20 points per game on the year and rank second nationally in sacks and fourth in tackles for a loss. Miles Sanders has 1,223 rushing yards and nine touchdowns while Trace McSorley has thrown for 2,284 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 723 yards and a team high 11 touchdowns. The Nittany Lions are 9-3 on the season. They needed overtime on opening week to hold off Appalachian State. Penn State won its first four games of the season before dropping two winnable games to Ohio State (ranked 4th at the time) and Michigan State. The Nittany Lions went on to win its next two games before getting blown out by Michigan (ranked 5th at the time). Penn State’s only ranked victory this year was against the Iowa Hawkeyes (ranked 18th at the time). Penn State is on a three-game winning streak.
Kentucky enters the bowl game with a 9-3 record. It’s the teams best showing since 1977. The Wildcats rank eighth nationally in scoring defense with 16.3 points allowed per game. Linebacker Josh Allen leads the SEC in sacks with 14 on the season. On the offensive side of the ball, Benny Snell Jr has 1,305 yards rushing with 14 touchdowns. The Wildcats opened the season with five straight wins before losing in overtime against Texas A&M. They beat ranked teams Florida (25th at the time), and Mississippi State (14th at the time). They lost to Georgia (6th at the time), and Tennessee. Kentucky enters the bowl game on a two-game win streak.
