Jacksonville, Fl– TIAA Bank Field will be hosting the No.23 NC State Wolfpack (8-3) and the Kentucky Wildcats (4-6) for the 76th annual Gator Bowl.
How They Got Here: Kentucky
The Wildcats started their season 0-2 then won two straight against Mississippi State and Tennessee. The team is led by head coach Mark Stoops.
Terry Wilson Jr. started all but one game for the Wildcats this season due to a wrist injury that kept him from playing against No.9 Georgia. Kentucky’s offensive system throughout the year has incorporated a look that will sometimes feature two quarterbacks for gadget plays. Along side Terry Wilson Jr. would mostly be backup quarterback Joey Gatewood. Wilson had just 1,095 passing yards with 7 touchdown passes and 4 interceptions in 9 of Kentucky’s 10 games.
Kentucky was competitive with their unranked opponents and managed to win four games but against ranked teams the Wildcats looked lost. In their three games against ranked opponents (No.1 Alabama, No.9 Georgia, and No.7 Florida) they have been outscored 16-111.
Kentucky’s defense (obviously) hasn’t helped the team a lot, allowing an average of 26.3 points per game. Including a performance that saw the Wild Cats allow Alabama (No.1 11-0) to score 63 points and surrendered 35 points to Vanderbilt (0-9), their season high in points.
It should be noted that Kentucky also had a schedule that featured exclusively SEC schools.
How They Got Here: NC State
NC State comes into the Gator Bowl 8-3 and on a 4-game win streak. The Wolfpack took a huge blow when they lost quarterback Devin Leary to broken fibula early in October and was scheduled to miss 4-8 weeks of time. He had 890 passing yards to go with 8 touchdown passes and 2 interceptions in four games of action. This won’t be a huge challenge for NC State because they’ve been switching quarterbacks left and right throughout the season.
They will be rolling with quarterback Bailey Hockman who has been the starter since late October. In nine games of action Hockman put up 1,820 passing yards along with 12 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions.
The team is led by head coach Dave Doeren and has his team averaging 31.1 points per game throughout their 11 game all ACC schedule. The team finally faces an out of conference team. The offense also had consistent production from their two running backs Ricky Person jr. and Zonovan Knight, who usually combine for 150 yards a game if not more.
The Wolfpack played two ranked opponents the whole year being (No.13) UNC and (No.18) Miami. The games were back to back starting with UNC who they lost to by 27 points, then showed improvement the following week putting up 41 on Miami’s defense in a 3-point loss.
The defense has given up an average of 30.3 points per game, which is almost right on par with how much their offense scores (31.1 PPG). It makes sense that these two are so alike because NC State played in five games decided by seven points or less, so most of the year they proved they were a competitive team.
Betting & Predictions
According to our friends at BUSR Sportsbook they currently have Kentucky as the 2.5-point favorite in the Gator Bowl over the Wolfpack. Personally, I like NC State in this game so I would take the “underdogs” in this one.
The over/under is set at 48.5. If I were a betting man I would take the over. The money line is also set: Wolfpack +115, Wildcats -135
Prediction: NC State 28, Kentucky 24
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