College Sports

No. 24 N.C. State faces Kentucky in Gator Bowl

Posted December 20, 2020 6:00 am

By The Associated Press

Kentucky (4-6, SEC) vs. No. 24 N.C. State (8-3, ACC), Jan. 2, noon EST.

LOCATION: Jacksonville, Florida

TOP PLAYERS

Kentucky: P Max Duffy, preseason All-American, averaging 46 yards per attempt

N.C. State: LB Payton Wilson, 3 1/2 sacks, leads team in tackles

NOTABLE

Kentucky: Mark Stoops is set to become the first coach to lead the Wildcats to five consecutive bowl appearances. The Kentucky defense has allowed opponents only 30 scores in 40 red zone trips this season.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack enter the game on a four-game winning streak. This is the sixth bowl invitation in Dave Doeren's eight seasons as N.C. State's coach.

LAST TIME

Kentucky beat N.C. State 27-2 on Oct. 31, 1970.

BOWL HISTORY

Kentucky: Second appearance in this game, 20th bowl appearance overall. Kentucky owns a 10-9 bowl record and beat Virginia Tech 37-30 in the Belk Bowl on Dec. 31, 2019.

N.C. State: Fifth appearance in this game, 33rd bowl appearance overall. N.C. State owns a 17-14-1 bowl record and lost to Texas A&M 52-13 in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 31, 2018.

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and twitter.com/ap_top25

North Carolina State head coach Dave Doeren, right, talks with linebacker Payton Wilson (11) before an NCAA college football game against Liberty in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. (Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer via AP, Pool) The Associated Press

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