Closing the Book on a Music City Bowl that Followed a Predictable, Boring Script

by:Nick Roush•01/03/23•

RoushKSR

While traveling up I-65 on a foggy New Year’s Eve night, the thoughts that filled my head were familiar. That’s because they were the same thoughts that filled my head when it was announced that Kentucky would play Iowa in the Music City Bowl.

“Really? Who wants that?”

The point of bowl games, especially at the middle and lower levels, is to reward teams by playing unfamiliar opponents in atypical venues. This game had none of that. It was the same opponent the Wildcats played last year in a bowl game they’ve played in more than any other team. Kentucky has been to 15 bowl games in the last 30 years and six of those have been the Music City Bowl.

The indifference toward the game was reflected on the UK roster and in the attendance figures. Kentucky had three NFL Draft opt-outs, including their top two offensive playmakers, and a handful of other injury absences. Throughout the week you’d find one UK fan for every five Iowa fans on Broadway. By kickoff there was a surprising number of Kentucky fans that decided to make the quick day trip, but it still only brought an announced attendance of 42,312, the smallest Music City Bowl crowd since 2005.

The pieces de resistance was the conflict with the Kentucky-Louisville game. I don’t have to tell you how much it sucked to try to keep up with both games. But that wasn’t even the worst part.

The Music City Bowl Went According to Script

Not only were the actors and setting all familiar, the game went exactly how everyone predicted. It was similar to the feeling one receives before walking into a high school production of West Side Story. You know how the story unfolds and that the characters aren’t the best, but you’ll bite the bullet and sit there for three hours just to show your support.

That’s exactly what happened in Nashville, save for Tony’s dramatic death. We knew Iowa had arguably the best defense in America. We knew both offenses would struggle to move the ball. And of course, the first quarterback that made a mistake would cost his team the game.

Destin Wade threw a couple of picks, Sam LaPorta made the one big offensive play of the day and that was the ball game. The Iowa punter was the best player on the field in a game that had as many punts as first downs up until the Hawkeyes’ final drive in garbage time.

As Mark Stoops said in the lead-up, we cannot take bowl games for granted. I remember the not so distant past in which we sold “Make Kentucky Bowl Eligible Again” hats. That is not lost on me. However, this was clearly the worst bowl experience of the Mark Stoops era. It provided a dissatisfying ending to a season that left everyone wanting more.

Jury is Still Out on Destin Wade

Can Destin Wade be a future starting quarterback for Kentucky? I hoped that question would be answered in the Music City Bowl, but there’s no way to provide a definitive answer one way or another.

It’s not just because Wade was going up against one of the best defense’s in America in his first start as a true freshman. Kentucky asked him to do everything in his first start as a true freshman against one of the best defenses in America.

Kentucky ran 69 plays in the Music City Bowl. He either ran or threw the ball on 46 of those snaps. To his credit, he never looked uncomfortable, despite playing under duress most of the afternoon. In high school he nearly doubled the amount of rushing yards to passing yards. Instead of being a run-first QB in Nashville, he showed touch and consistency on short passes, although he never could get the right timing to connect on explosive passes down field. Once thought to be a lock to change positions, after one game in the pocket, I’m more intrigued by Destin Wade as a quarterback prospect than ever before.

One Music City Bowl Silver Lining

Unlike some other bowls where players get to go on a ride in a stock car or take a trip to Universal Studios, in Nashville they got to eat hot wings and sing country music songs. As lame as it sounds, it was the highlight of the entire trip, thanks to the enthusiastic audience. The song the Wildcats composed was so bad it was good. Kentucky Joe would be proud. Now I can’t get the catchy (sometimes NSFW) tune out of my head.

WE IN NASH-VILLE! MUSIC CITY BOWL!