2016 TaxSlayer Bowl Preview and Predictions
It is time for the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl Preview and Predictions here at Last Word on College Football. This year’s game between Kentucky and Georgia Tech serves as an appetizer for the main course of College Football Playoff games. With two high-powered offenses on display this could be one of the best games on New Year’s Eve.
Formerly known as the Gator Bowl the game has been played continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest bowl game. Throughout its history it has played host to some big moments in college football.
The 1978 game between Ohio State and Clemson featured the last game of the storied career of Woody Hayes. After a late interception by the Tigers Hayes punched nose tackle Charlie Baughman as he ran out of bounds. Hayes was fired the next day.
In 2010 Bobby Bowden coached his last game at Florida State against West Virginia. The Seminoles won 33-21 before a record crowd of over 84,000.
How Kentucky Got to Jacksonville
The Wildcats are making their first bowl appearance since 2011. However the season certainly didn’t start in a good way.
Mark Stoops’ club stumbled out of the gate 0-2 and lost starting quarterback Drew Barker to a back injury. Enter junior college transfer Stephen Johnson who led the Cats to a 7-3 record the rest of the way. The Wildcats finished 4-4 and third place in the SEC East, their best conference record since 2006.
Johnson threw for nearly 1,900 yards and 12 touchdowns. He did more damage on the ground rushing for 448 yards and found the end zone twice.
In the last game of the season, he went head to head with eventual Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson and outplayed him. Kentucky beat Louisville 41-38 on a field goal by Austin MacGinnis in the last minute.
Not only was the win the biggest in for Kentucky football since beating No. 1 LSU in 2007, they went from playing in Shreveport to Jacksonville.
Excluding bowls & FCS teams, today was the first time in school history that UK defeated an opponent with at least 9 wins entering the game
— Corey Price (@coreyp08) November 27, 2016
Under offensive coordinators Eddie Gran and Darrin Hinshaw, Kentucky has arguably the best 1-2 rushing combination in the SEC.
Junior Stanley “Boom” Williams led the ground attack with 1,159 yards and seven touchdowns. His sidekick is SEC all-freshmen Benny Snell. After not playing in the season’s first two games, Snell ran for 1,079 yards and scored 13 times. He is the first Wildcat freshman to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and the “Benny and Boom Show” gave the Cats two players over 1,000 yards for the first time in history.
How Georgia Tech Got to Jacksonville
Paul Johnson’s Yellow Jackets won five of its last six to finish with an 8-4 record. Tech is famous for running the triple option offense and had three players rush for more than 600 yards. Even though Johnson says they only run the option 20 percent of the time, defenses have to be ready for it on every snap.
Quarterback Justin Thomas leads the Tech attack with almost 1,500 yards passing and eight touchdowns. He ran for 562 yards and five more touchdowns.
Tech has a formidable 1-2 punch in the running game as well. Freshmen Dedrick Mills ran for over 600 yards and found the end zone 11 times.
His running mate is sophomore Clinton Lynch. He averaged an amzaing 11 yards a carry and scored six touchdowns via the pass.
However one player Tech will not have is running back Marcus Marshall. The sophomore who ran for 624 yards announced after their win over Georgia he will transfer to James Madison and not play in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
We're happy to welcome running back Marcus Marshall to the family! https://t.co/DqRPPWS5RJ
— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) December 22, 2016
A Former Rivalry Renewed
Though Kentucky and Georgia Tech haven’t played since 1960 for many years they were bitter rivals.
The two schools were charter members of the SEC when the league formed in 1932 and had many memorable games over the years. With legendary coaches Bear Bryant on the sidelines for Kentucky and Bobby Dodd for Tech the two traded wins and each won a national championship.
Dodd’s feud with Bryant only intensified when he went to Alabama and an ugly event in a game in 1961 led to Tech withdrawing from the SEC and landing in the ACC.
Overall Georgia Tech leads the series with Kentucky 11-7 with one tie. They have won four of the last five games against the Wildcats and the Cats last win came in 1958.
Bowl History
Kentucky is 8-7 all-time in bowl games while Georgia Tech is 24-19. The 24 wins ranks them ninth all-time. The Yellow Jackets played in a post season game every year from 1997-2014 before the streak ended last season.
Kentucky played in five straight bowls from 2006-2011. This will be the first time the Cats have played in the TaxSlayer Bowl while the Yellow Jackets are 3-4.
Prediction Time
Kentucky comes into this game with a ton of momentum after Louisville win. The excitement around the first bowl game in five years is as high as it has been in years. This is the highest profile bowl the Cats have played since losing 26-14 to Penn State in the 1999 Outback Bowl.
Paul Johnson’s offense can be difficult to prepare for but Stoops and defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot have previous experience. Stoops’ last game as Florida State defensive coordinator was the 2012 ACC Championship game in which the Seminoles won 21-15.
On the other side of the ball the Yellow Jackets will have to try and stop Johnson, Williams and Snell. Teams have tried to force the Cats to beat them with the pass and that is what Tech will do as well.
Even though both teams are run oriented and will put up some big numbers, the bowl game rushing rushing records seems safe.
Kentucky ran for 318 yards in a 21-0 win over North Carolina in the 1976 Peach Bowl. In a 49-34 win over Mississippi State in the 2014 Orange Bowl Georgia Tech rushed for 452 yards.
This looks to be a fast paced high scoring game that could come down to who has the ball late in the fourth quarter. A defensive stop late might be the game winner. Kentucky wins and has their first eight win season since 2007.
Kentucky 31 Georgia Tech 27.
Thanks for reading and we will see you next time here at Last Word on College Football.
