12:05 pm
January 2

Gator Bowl: #23 North Carolina State v. Kentucky

Who will WIN this matchup?

#23 North Carolina State Wolfpack (8-3)

Kentucky Wildcats (4-6)

 

Current odds:

North Carolina State Wolfpack: (+115)

Kentucky Wildcats: (-135)

 

•  The line for this game is Kentucky by 2.5 points.

•  By the end of the regular season, there were positive feelings for both No. 23 North Carolina State and Kentucky. One of the teams will extend that good mood when they meet in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2 in Jacksonville, Fla.

•  Despite NC State (8-3) holding twice as many victories as Kentucky (4-6), the Wildcats were listed as early favorites in this bowl matchup. Four of Kentucky’s losses came to nationally ranked teams.

•  Both teams ended their regular seasons by winning on Dec. 5 — NC State topping Georgia Tech while Kentucky throttled South Carolina.

•  NC State went 2-3 against nationally ranked opponents, though the Wolfpack didn’t face Atlantic Coast Conference championship game combatants Clemson or Notre Dame. The Wolfpack closed the regular season with four consecutive victories — the team’s best such stretch to end a regular season since 2008.

•  NC State’s most recent bowl outing came two years ago in the Gator Bowl, where it was blown out by Texas A&M. The Wolfpack are 1-3 all-time in the Gator Bowl.

•  Kentucky lost four years ago to Georgia Tech in its lone Gator Bowl appearance. The Wildcats won against Virginia Tech in last year’s Belk Bowl (now named Duke’s Mayo Bowl) in Charlotte, N.C. Albeit playing 10 conference games (rather than the normal eight), NC State set a school record by winning seven ACC games this year. In 2019, it was 1-7 in league play.

•  Linebacker Payton Wilson of NC State leads the ACC with 10.8 tackles per game. Wilson joined defensive lineman Alim McNeill as All-ACC first-team selections. Kentucky’s lone All-SEC first-team selection was senior center Drake Jackson.

•  The Kentucky-NC State series is tied 1-1. NC State won in 1909 at home and Kentucky won in 1970 at home.

3/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Kentucky Wildcats
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