Considering where the program was just a few years ago, it says something about James Franklin that it's just a 9-3 season and a New Years Day bowl feels a little hollow. But he went 0-3 against his East Division rivals, making him 3-12 against them in his 5 years in Happy Valley, and his best win? Iowa at home I guess? Maybe Appalachian State at home in overtime? But he did win those, and he continues to avoid bad losses. When you have Penn State's talent, and you avoid bad losses, you find yourself at about 9-3 every year. This game serves two very different functions for the program. It is both a swan song for Trace McSorley, who is the face of the Nittany Lions' resurgence under James Franklin, but also a chance to get ready for 2019, when Penn State probably has a better overall roster, even with some drop off at the most important position. Penn State only starts 4 seniors aside from McSorley, so this is a chance for Penn State to make a statement that will be remembered when preseason polls enter voters minds next summer. None of the computer metrics like Kentucky, they win ugly, but for most of the season, they were winning. Kentucky showed patience with Mark Stoops, staying with him after his first three seasons in Lexington failed to produce a single bowl game, or even a .500 record. They were a combined 4-20 in SEC games over those three years. But he rewarded their patience with a pair of bowl games, and then a pair of wins over ranked teams in September this catapulted the program as high as #11 in the nation going into a massive home showdown with #6 Georgia, with a likely SEC Championship on the line. The Bulldogs didn't just win that game, they beat them two weeks in a row, as the Wildcats followed that with a dormant showing in a loss at Tennessee. So Kentucky remains one of three programs to be in the SEC since the inception of the Championship Game who have not participated, but they do reach the Citrus Bowl. It's their first New Years Day bowl game since the 1999 Outback Bowl with Tim Couch, and probably their most marquee bowl game since Bear Bryant to them to the Orange, Sugar and Cotton Bowls in consecutive years from 1949-1951. The Wildcats have been doing it with defense, led by one elite talent on each side of the ball. Offensively it's tailback Benny Snell Jr., who was knocked out of Kentucky's bowl loss last year, making his second straight All-SEC First team, and adding 3rd team AP All-American honors. Defensively, it's linebacker Josh Allen, who was set to go to FCS Monmouth, until his high school coach called in a favor, and got an additional evaluation from Kentucky. Allen was a consensus All-American, and won the Bednarik, Lott and Bronco Nagurski Trophies, in addition to being named SEC Defensive Player of the Year. He's the best defensive player at Kentucky since Art Still, who was from Allen's home state of New Jersey. Penn State's offense depends on big days from the running backs, as the passing game simply hasn't been there, due to a disappointing season out of the receivers. Against a Kentucky pass defense that ranks in the top 15 nationally, it seems unlikely that they find their footing. But at least the Nittany Lions have options. To stop Kentucky's offense the plan, if not the execution, is easy, stop Snell. The Wildcats averaged on 164.8 passing ypg, on only 23.4 attempts, both SEC lows. The Penn State defense is allowing only 4.0 ypc on the ground, and while Terry Wilson has some mobility, the better teams Kentucky faced kept him in the pocket. In their 3 losses, Wilson averaged 3.3 ypg. Not per carry, per GAME. In their 9 wins, he averaged 56.4. A big loss for Kentucky is linebacker Jordon Jones, who is ineligible for the game, and might be Kentucky's second best defender. It's bit easier to plan around Allen when the guy playing opposite him is a true freshman, as it appears it will be. |