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

The Kentucky football team is back in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl for the sixth time but only the second time in 13 years. The Wildcats will face Iowa in the New Year's Eve game at Nissan Stadium (11 a.m., ABC) for the first time.

It will be the seventh consecutive bowl appearance for Kentucky (7-5) and the 10th straight bowl for Iowa (7-5).

Here are three things to know and a score prediction for the 25th annual bowl game:

Will Levis play?

Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, a transfer from Penn State, is a pro prospect who announced last week his intentions to enter the 2023 NFL Draft. He has not yet said whether he will play in the bowl game or not.

The native of Madison, Connecticut, has completed 185-of-283 passes for 2,406 yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. He has battled several nagging injuries, including a shoulder stinger and turf toe.

Levis helped Kentucky get off to a 4-0 start and top-10 national ranking after beating then-No. 12 Florida. After that, the Wildcats didn't play well during a stretch when they lost five of seven conference games.

Kentucky was able to finish the regular season with a 26-13 win over Louisville in a game in which Levis completed 11-of-19 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Barion Brown coming home

Kentucky's leading receiver and one of its most dynamic players is freshman Barion Brown from Pearl-Cohn.

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Brown was named to the Pro Football Focus All-Freshman Team. He led Kentucky with 45 catches for 604 yards and four touchdowns.

He is also second in the nation averaging 28.3 yards on 15 kickoff returns. Brown had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the season opener against Miami (Ohio).

Brown earned the Tennessee Titans Class 4A Mr. Football Award as a senior at Pearl-Cohn.

All defense, no offense

Iowa finished the regular season with the nation's No. 4 total defense (277.9 yards) and No. 6 scoring defense (14.4 points).

The Hawkeyes feature the Big Ten defensive player of the year and linebacker of the year Jack Campbell, along with All Big-Ten first team defensive back Riley Moss and defensive lineman Lukas Van Ness, linebacker Seth Benson and defensive back Cooper Dejean, who made the second team. Campbell is the second-leading tackler in the Big Ten with 117 stops.

The Hawkeyes are not nearly as good on the other side of the ball. They are last in the conference and 130th nationally in total offense (255.4 yards) and 13th in the conference and 122nd nationally in scoring (17.4 points).

Iowa failed to score 20 points in seven games.

Music City Bowl score prediction

Kentucky 16, Iowa 13: With Kentucky being the worst offensive team in the SEC and Iowa being the worst in the Big Ten, there won't be any fireworks. Brace for a good old-fashion slugfest with the Wildcats making it two straight over the Hawkeyes, who they beat in the Citrus Bowl last season, 20-17.

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