Kentucky football vs. Iowa in Music City Bowl: Score prediction, scouting report

Kentucky and Iowa played on the first day of 2022 and will meet again on the last day.

The Wildcats (7-5) and Hawkeyes (7-5) square off in the 25th annual TransPerfect Music City Bowl on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC) at Nissan Stadium. It will be a rematch of the 2021 Citrus Bowl played on Jan. 1, which Kentucky won 20-17.

It will be the sixth time for Kentucky, representing the SEC, to play in the Music City Bowl and the first for Iowa, which is from the Big Ten.

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Destin Wade, Barion Brown coming home

Two former Nashville-area high school standouts − Destin Wade from Summit and Barion Brown from Pearl-Cohn − are expected to play key roles for Kentucky.

Wade, a freshman quarterback, will reportedly make his college debut stepping in for Will Levis, who opted out of the bowl game and declared for the NFL Draft. Wade is competing with redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron and Iowa transfer Deuce Hogan, a sophomore, to be the starter. Sheron played in four games in the regular season completing 17-of-29 passes for 187 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Wade was the Class 6A Tennessee Mr. Football in 2021 after throwing for 1,436 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushing for 2,308 yards and 30 touchdowns. He guided Summit to a 40-5 record in his three years as a starter.

Brown, a freshman receiver and return specialist, has been a major contributor since the start of the regular season when he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown against Miami (Ohio).

He made the All-SEC Freshman Team, was a freshman All-American and was named third-team All-SEC after leading Kentucky in receiving with 45 catches for 604 yards and four touchdowns and in kickoff returns with 15 for a 28.3 yard average and a touchdown.

Jack Campbell's draft status

While Levis' decision not to play is a setback for Kentucky's offense, Iowa middle linebacker Jack Campbell's decision to return this season and play in the Music City Bowl is a huge benefit for the Hawkeyes' defense, which is ranked fourth nationally (277.9 yards).

Campbell, the Butkus Award winner as the nation’s top linebacker and the defensive player of the year in the Big Ten, has the potential to be a first-round draft pick. He had 14 tackles against Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl and another big game Saturday would improve his chances to be selected in the first round. He heads into the game tied for 14th nationally averaging 9.8 tackles per game.

Missed date

While Kentucky has played in the Music City Bowl more times than any other team and has a 2-3 record, Iowa missed its only opportunity in the past to play in the game because of COVID-19.

The Hawkeyes had accepted an invitation to the 2020 Music City Bowl against Missouri, but the game was canceled three days before the scheduled kickoff due to a COVID-19 breakout in Missouri's program.

In Kentucky's previous trips the Wildcats lost to Syracuse in the second-annual game in 1999 then claimed back-to-back wins over Clemson in 2006 and Florida State in 2007. They lost in their last two trips to Clemson in 2009 and Northwestern in 2017.

Score prediction

Iowa 17, Kentucky 14: Kentucky, which lost three of its last five games in the regular season, went from being favored in the game to being an underdog when Levis opted out. Wade is talented but making his first start against Iowa's mighty defense on a big stage is simply too big of a challenge.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Kentucky football vs. Iowa in Music City Bowl: Score prediction