Kentucky Wildcats College Football Betting
The Kentucky Wildcats finished the regular season at 7-5 and will be playing in the Music City Bowl on Saturday, December 31 against the Iowa Hawkeyes. On paper it should be an even matchup, as both teams finished 7-5 on the season. The Wildcats went 8-4 ATS, while the Hawkeyes went 7-5 ATS. It should also be a low scoring game, as the Hawkeyes went under the total in eight of their 12 games this season, while the Wildcats went under in 11 of their 12 games. Overall, it was a disappointing season for both teams.
Kentucky finished in fourth place in the SEC East going just 3-5 in conference games. Iowa finished at 5-4 in the West Division of the Big Ten Conference which was good for a tie for second place behind Purdue. Kentucky beat Iowa last year in the Citrus Bowl, winning 20-17. Kentucky is listed as a slight favorite in Music City Bowl odds with a total in the low 30’s.
NCAA Football Betting Odds
Iowa Hawkeyes +2.5
Kentucky Wildcats -2.5
Total 32
Kentucky Wildcats Weekly Matchup
On Saturday, December 31, 2022, the Kentucky Wildcats play the Iowa Hawkeyes in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Kickoff time is set for 12:00 p.m. ET with television coverage on ABC.
Are you ready for a lot of defense? The Music City Bowl has one of the lowest totals you will ever see in college football, as it is in the low 30’s. Kentucky and Iowa have two excellent defenses and offenses that are somewhat suspect, so on paper, this should be a low scoring game.
Iowa will be without starting quarterback Spencer Petras who is out with a shoulder injury. Whether that is good news or bad news is questionable, as Petras didn’t play that well this season. Many Iowa fans were calling for Alex Padilla to replace Petras, but Padilla is also out for this game. Iowa will be turning to freshmen quarterbacks Joey Labas and Carson May, who have played zero snaps of college football. Next year the Hawkeyes will have Michigan transfer Cade McNamara under center. Iowa will also be without receivers Keagan Johnson and Arland Bruce IV.
Iowa averaged only 17.4 points per game which was one of the lowest marks in college football and they put up just 255.2 yards per contest. They were very good on defense, giving up just 14.4 points per game which ranked 6th in the country and the allowed just 277.9 yards per contest. Kaleb Johnson led the team with 757 yards rushing, Spencer Patras threw for 1,725 yards, while Sam Laporta led the team with 600 receiving yards.
Kentucky ended the regular season averaging 22.1 points per game and averaging 339.6 yards per contest. They are giving up 19.1 points per game which ranks 12th in the country and they are allowing only 320.2 yards per contest. Christopher Rodriguez Jr. leads the team with 903 yards rushing, quarterback Will Levis has thrown for 2,406 yards, while Barion Brown leads the team with 604 receiving yards.
Kentucky quarterback Will Levis has announced he will declare for the NFL Draft so his playing status for the bowl game is up in the air.
Kentucky Wildcats Weekly Recap
In their regular season finale, Chris Rodriguez Jr. set a record for 100-yard games, Will Levis threw two touchdown passes, and the Wildcats defeated Louisville 26-13 to win the intrastate rivalry for the fourth time in a row. Levis completed 11 of his 19 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns to Barion Brown and Dane Key. Rodriguez broke Benny Snell Jr.'s record of 100-yard rushing games by rushing 24 times for 120 yards to record his 20th 100-yard game. With four field goals, Matt Ruffolo helped the Wildcat get the win.
Brock Domann, the starting quarterback for the Cardinals, struggled, going 14 of 21 for 129 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Malik Cunningham was 3-for-6 for 16 yards and one interception. Cunningham scored the team's first touchdown while running, giving him 50 career rushing TDs. Additionally, he was responsible for 120 touchdowns overall, breaking Lamar Jackson's previous school record of 119 established in 2016.
Tyler Hudson grabbed a touchdown pass, and Jawhar Jordan carried for a game-high 145 yards on 22 carries.
The game's opening score was produced by Levis in the first quarter when he connected with Key on an 8-yard pass to cap a five-play, 86-yard drive.
The Wildcats stuffed Jordan on fourth-and-1 in the subsequent series and Kentucky 62 yards, ending with Ruffolo's 43-yard field goal attempt. J.J. Weaver sacked Domann, forced a fumble, recovered it, then raced 14 yards to the 6-yard line for Kentucky. Ruffolo added another field goal, this time from 29 yards, to give his team a 13-0 lead.
Louisville brought in Cunningham in place of Domann after failing to score on its first three possessions. Late in the second quarter, the senior energized the offense and led it on its first touchdown drive. The Cardinals were down 13-7 at the break.
At 6:35 in the third quarter, Trevin Wallace picked off Cunningham after Ruffolo's third kick, a 35-yarder and it was Levis' 3-yard lob to Brown that made it 23-7.
Ruffolo made it 4-for-4 in the fourth quarter with a 40-yard field goal and with 7:03 left, Domann connected with Hudson from 27 yards.
2022 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
SCORE |
RECORD |
| Sep 3 |
vs. Miami-OH |
W 37-13 |
1-0 |
| Sep 10 |
at Florida |
W 26-16 |
2-0 |
| Sep 17 |
vs. Youngstown State |
W 31-0 |
3-0 |
| Sep 24 |
vs. Northern Illinois |
W 31-23 |
4-0 |
| Oct 1 |
at Mississippi |
L 19-22 |
4-1 |
| Oct 8 |
vs. South Carolina |
L 14-24 |
4-2 |
| Oct 15 |
vs. Mississippi State |
W 27-17 |
5-2 |
| Oct 22 |
OFF |
| Oct 29 |
at Tennessee |
L 6-44 |
5-3 |
| Nov 5 |
at Missouri |
W 21-17 |
6-3 |
| Nov 12 |
vs. Vanderbilt |
L 21-24 |
6-4 |
| Nov 19 |
vs. Georgia |
L 6-16 |
6-5 |
| Nov 26 |
vs. Louisville |
W 26-13 |
7-5 |
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