When the clock ran out in Austin, Texas, the score read 31-14 Texas, which meant Kentucky football’s bowl streak had come to an end.
The eight consecutive bowl appearances was the longest in school history with the previous record being five straight appearances from 2006-2010.
The streak was just one of many ways that Head Coach Mark Stoops had changed the program and brought it to heights that few could have imagined when he was hired back in 2012.
It took him four years, but on Dec. 31, 2016, the Wildcats took the field for a bowl game for the first time in five seasons to face off against Georgia Tech in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
The ‘16 campaign saw the Wildcats record flipped from 5-7 in 2015 to 7-5 and it was the first sign that Kentucky football was on the upswing.
As for the game, the Cats fell 33-18 as Dedrick Mills rushed for 169 yards and a touchdown in what turned out to be an impressive performance by the Yellow Jackets.
Stephen Johnson was the man under center for the Cats and he finished the game 19/34 for 175 yards and a touchdown. The dual-threat also finished with 49 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
When bowl season rolled around in 2017, Kentucky was primed for a Music City Bowl matchup with No. 21 Northwestern in Nashville at Nissan Stadium.
One of the more memorable moments of this game happened with around 13 minutes remaining in the second half when breakout running back Benny Snell Jr. was tackled by a host of defenders.
An official tried to go over and help Snell up, but when he declined the help by removing the officials hands from him, a flag flew in the air and Snell was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct and disqualified from the game.
As the fourth quarter rolled around, Kentucky found itself down 24-14, however, as the clock ticked just under 40 seconds, Johnson collided with a defender at the goal line to plunge in for a 9-yard rushing touchdown to cut the lead to 24-23.
Instead of going for the game-tying extra point, the offense stayed on the field for a game-winning two-point conversion attempt, but it came up short as Johnson fired a pass that went in and out of the receiver’s hands.
The loss meant that Stoops was 0-2 in bowl games in Lexington and his team finished with a 7-6 record for the second year in a row.
The 2018 season, however, was a memorable one in the Bluegrass for many reasons, but mainly because No. 14 Kentucky was 9-3 and set for a Vrbo Citrus Bowl clash with No. 12 Penn State on New Year’s Day in 2019.
This game was not short of star power as it included Kentucky legends Snell and Josh Hines-Allen, who were both having historic seasons. The game also included Trace McSorley, who was having a stellar season at quarterback for the Nittany Lions.
In the game, Snell capped off his career at UK by rushing for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He also became the all-time rushing leader for Kentucky, which is a record that still stands today.
Hines-Allen finished off his Kentucky career by adding three more sacks to his records in career sacks and single-season sacks at Kentucky, which also still hold today. He also blocked a field goal in the bowl game that proved critical as a late comeback effort by McSorley and Penn State was fended off to result in a 27-24 Kentucky victory.
The victory was Stoops’ first at Kentucky and the first 10-win season for UK since 1977.
The next season saw the Wildcats enter the Belk Bowl with a 7-5 regular season record and take on Virginia Tech for the first time since 1987.
The star of this edition of Kentucky football was Lynn Bowden Jr., who had moved from wide receiver to quarterback just five games into the year and ignited the offense.
The game was his last at Kentucky and he delivered a 233-yard rushing performance, though the biggest plays of the game came with his arm.
With just under 20 seconds to go in the game, Bowden Jr. hit Josh Ali with an over-the-shoulder touchdown pass that turned out to be the game winner as the Cats took a 37-30 lead that stuck until the final whistle.
The 2020 season was one of the most unique in the history of football and all of sports. In a normal year, a 4-6 regular season would not be good enough to be bowl eligible, but the NCAA waived bowl eligibility requirements due to the Covid-19 pandemic forcing an all-SEC schedule.
Kentucky found itself in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville yet again, this time against No. 23 NC. State.
There, the Wildcats took home a 23-21 victory where Chris Rodriguez Jr. turned in an 84 rushing yard and two touchdown performance on offense while Jamin Davis finished his stellar season with 13 tackles and an interception.
The win marked the Cats’ third straight bowl game victory, which improved Stoops’ record to 3-2 in bowl games.
Unfortunately for the Wildcat faithful, news broke shortly before the 2024 campaign that, due to NCAA violations, Kentucky would have to vacate its entire 10-3 2021 season, including a 20-17 Vrbo Citrus Bowl win over No. 15 Iowa.
Nonetheless, in that game, No. 22 UK was led by quarterback Will Levis, who threw for 233 yards, a touchdown and one interception. Also, Rodriguez rushed for 107 yards on 20 carries and punched in a touchdown.
Furthermore, the connection between Levis and Wan’Dale Robinson was on fire as the duo connected for 10 passes for 170 yards.
The now vacated win marked the fourth consecutive bowl win for Stoops and Kentucky.
The 2022 season, the first of the downward spiral, then saw the Wildcats enter bowl season with a 7-5 record, which landed them in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.
As the college football landscape changed, more and more players began to opt out of bowl games, and this happened to the Cats in 2022.
With opt-outs, true freshman Destin Wade was propelled into his first career start and it did not go well as the Cats were unable to generate any offense.
The inability to score led to Iowa getting its revenge with a 21-0 win over the Cats, snapping their four-game bowl winning streak.
The final game of the bowl streak took place in the same place and bowl that began the streak as Kentucky faced off against No. 22 Clemson in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
Unlike the season before, the Wildcats were very close to full strength as there were very few opt outs and none from prominent players.
The game overall was mundane until a chaotic fourth quarter made it one of the most memorable bowls in the streak.
The chaos began when Devin Leary was sacked and the ball popped out. The Tigers recovered. On the next play, Cade Klubnik gave it right back with an interception of his own.
The game of hot potato kept going as Leary threw an interception on the ensuing drive to give the ball back to the Tigers, but, this time, Clemson took advantage and got a field goal out of it to cut the Cats’ lead 21-19.
That deficit would be short lived as an attempt to Barion Brown on the first play of the next drive was fumbled and the ball was given right back to the Tigers. This time, they punched it in for a touchdown and two-point conversion to take a 27-21 lead.
The track meet continued as the next drive only lasted two plays before Leary found Brown for a 60-yard touchdown to retake a 28-27 lead with 6:12 left to play.
After a strong return by the Tigers, the Cats’ defense stiffened up and forced a 52-yard field goal attempt that Jonathan Weitz hit off the crossbar and through the uprights to give Clemson a 30-28 lead.
Kentucky responded right back with a drive that ended in a 1-yard Ray Davis touchdown run to give the Wildcats a 35-30 lead with 2:39 to go in regulation.
This turned out to be too much time, however, as Phil Mafah scored his fourth touchdown of the day before another successful two-point conversion gave Clemson a 38-35 lead with 17 seconds to go.
While it wouldn’t have shocked anyone if the back-and-forth fourth quarter resulted in overtime, it did not as Leary threw an interception that sealed the 38-35 Clemson victory.
Overall, Kentucky finished 4-4 during the streak that featured some of the best athletes and most memorable moments in program history.
With a lot of uncertainty surrounding Kentucky football at the moment, one thing that is certain is that it will look to make the 2024 bowless campaign a one-and-done and start a new streak with the 2025 season.
