Music City Bowl

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Sorry for the late post, but tonight is the game the Kentucky and Clemson programs have been playing for all year. The Tigers and Cats will meet tonight in Nashville in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl. These two teams have seen each other before in this same bowl game back in 2006. In that game, the Tigers were a pretty big favorite, giving up 10 points in the spread to Kentucky. That year, Tommy Bowden and Clemson were not ready for Andre Woodson and Kentucky's offensive attack, losing the game 28-20. Enough about the past, let's talk about tonight's game.

Kentucky (7-5, 3-5) and Clemson (8-5, 6-2) are both coming into this game after respectable seasons. On paper, Kentucky's record can be misleading. When I see 3-5 in the SEC, I see a losing team, but you have to remember that the Cats had a rough three-game stretch early in the season, playing then-#1 Florida, then-#3 Alabama, and at then-#25 South Carolina. Any team in the country would like to come out of that stretch with one win. While UK lost those games, they played tough and kept the games close (except the Florida). UK really showed what they are made of by winning to big road match-ups, at Auburn and at Georgia. Auburn came into that game at 5-1 and had been ranked in the Top 25, and even in a "down" year for Georgia, those are two big wins for the Cats.

In this game, I expect to see UK utilizing their rushing attack early and often. Kentucky has two primary rushers that can be dangerous when they have the ball in their hands. Junior Running Back Derrick Locke accumulated 843 yards on the ground and 6 touchdowns, but is averaging 4.8 yards a carry. Even though he has the highest total of yards, he's not the runner that the Clemson defense needs to worry about. Sophomore Randall Cobb has 537 yards on 84 carries for an average of 6.4 yards a carry, not to mention his 10 touchdowns. For me, Cobb is the difference to UK winning this game, but he needs to do it on the ground. Clemson's defense has struggled in their last two games against the run. In the regular season finale, Clemson 223 yards rushing to South Carolina, almost 100 yards more than their season average. In the ACC title game, Clemson could not stop Georgia Tech on the ground, giving up a ridiculous 333 rushing yards. In order for Kentucky to be effective on offense, they need to establish the run early. This will give them a chance to open the play-action and put the Clemson Defense on it's heels. Kentucky will be using the inexperienced Morgan Newton at QB and it will be interesting to see how he performs in a bowl-game atmosphere. Newton has played well for the Cats this year, but I think their success tonight relies on how well they can run the ball.

For Clemson, this game starts and ends with CJ Spiller. This year has been special for the ACC Player of the Year, but has met some disappointment, personified by the lose to Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship. Spiller came back to Clemson for his senior year for a chance to win a bowl game, something that Clemson hasn't done in their last 4 bowl appearances. Spiller is 4th in the country averaging 194 all-purpose yards a game and will be involved in all aspects of the Tigers' offense. Kentucky saw a glimpse of Spiller in their previous Music City Bowl match-up, but the true Freshman was nothing like the Senior who will be playing his final collegiate game in Nashville tonight.

Spiller is certain to give the WIldcat defense fits from the opening gun. Kentucky will be playing without their best defensive player, Linebacker Sam Maxwell, who is recovering from shoulder surgery. Even with Maxwell, Kentucky has struggled against the run defensively. They have given up an average of 183.1 yards per game, which lands them 100th out of 120 FBS programs. In order for Kentucky to slow Clemson's offense, they need to contain Spiller and put the game in redshirt Freshman QB Kyle Parker's hands. Much like Newton for Kentucky, I will be interested to see how Parker handles a bowl game because he has seemed lost at times in big games, most notably the ACC Championship. Against GA Tech, Parker wen 10/17 for 91 yards and 2 INTs. Clemson was only in that game because of the play of CJ Spiller and I expect a similar outcome in Nashville.


This year's game is expected to be even closer than the game back in 2006. Sportsbetting.com has Clemson coming in has a 6 point favorite, which seems about right to me. Kentucky is a "middle of the road" SEC team, but those have been the teams that have caused trouble for the ACC's better teams. If you remember, South Carolina and Georgia upset their ACC rivals (Clemson and Georgia Tech) in the last week of the regular season. For this game, I am not going to make a pick as to who I think will win. It is obvious that I am a Clemson fan, since I go to school there, and I will be pulling for the Tigers, but I also contribute to this site and I don't want to make a "homer" pick. I expect this game to be very competitive throughout and will be a game that both Clemson and Kentucky fans can be proud of. Both teams have had great years, ending in Coach of the Year honors for the coaches on both sidelines and should be a great stepping stone for the programs into the future. No matter who you are rooting for, and I suspect I'm the only one pulling for the Tigers, enjoy the game.


GO TIGERS!