Favorite bowl win?

[UKFBFAN]

Penn State, VaTech, Florida State and Clemson. Attended the last two and then walked the Gaylord Hotel wearing my BLUE.

[Old School]

What’s the first UK bowl game you followed live (radio, TV, in person)? What are your best memories from it, whether or not game related?

[Blue Heaven]

What’s the first UK bowl game you followed live (radio, TV, in person)? What are your best memories from it, whether or not game related?

The ‘83 HoF Bowl vs West Virginia was the first bowl that I remembered. I was 12 at the time and was upset about the loss. At least we got the win in the same game the next season vs Wisconsin.

That next season in ‘84 had some good memories for me. We had a pretty good team that year but still couldn’t beat the big dogs in the conference. We won at UT and I remember that day well. I was helping my Dad and Grandpa fix up my great grandmas house and we were listening to it on the radio.

[40bill]

Peach Bowl against North Carolina.

[SBCatMan]

Whalen got hurt the next year in the Music City Bol against Syracuse. If Mumme had put Couch under center on a fourth and inches and run a sneak in the second half we could have won the Outback Bowl.

This is sooooo true, and so frustrating about Mumme. By the second half, Penn State effectively pulled their DL off the field. My grandmother could have run on them. And Mumme just kept throwing.

[Old School]

Peach Bowl against North Carolina.

Were you there? I was not, but have heard it was very, very cold, yet Kentucky had a huge, avid crowd there.

[Old School]

This is sooooo true, and so frustrating about Mumme. By the second half, Penn State effectively pulled their DL off the field. My grandmother could have run on them. And Mumme just kept throwing.

My recollection is that Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington kept getting into the backfield throughout the second half. In the second half, one of those two (I think) blocked a Kentucky FG attempt. On the drive mentioned in those two posts, after it was first and goal, Brown sacked Couch twice and Kentucky didn't score. I think that Penn State DL and set of LBs was the difference in that game, especially in the second half. Kentucky had a very good OL that year, but played without much of it in that bowl game. Jason Watts had been arrested for his fatal drunk driving crash and was replaced at center by Aaron Daniel, who was new, inexperienced, undersized, and not able to play well against that outstanding Penn State unit. Jonas Liening, the big, outstanding tackle, had been dismissed from the team after the last game of the season, and was replaced by a very inexperienced young lineman (Nolan DeVaughn, I think). The line had played well all year, and had played together all year, and those changes were a really big deal. After Kentucky jumped out to a lead, Penn State started playing very aggressively at those two linemen, and created a lot of problems throughout the second half. I really think that (Penn State DL vs. replacement Kentucky OL) was what turned the game in the second half.

[Old School]

The ‘83 HoF Bowl vs West Virginia was the first bowl that I remembered. I was 12 at the time and was upset about the loss. At least we got the win in the same game the next season vs Wisconsin.

That next season in ‘84 had some good memories for me. We had a pretty good team that year but still couldn’t beat the big dogs in the conference. We won at UT and I remember that day well. I was helping my Dad and Grandpa fix up my great grandmas house and we were listening to it on the radio.

I remember the 1983 game too, though I only got to watch it on TV. Jeff Hostettler was WVU's QB, and was highly regarded and had played very well that year. In the first half, he was either 0 for 10 or 0 for 11, I think, with one throw being an interception. Kentucky led, but had missed an XP. The second half didn't go well; Kentucky had its chances but didn't hang on. It was disappointing.

The win against WIsconsin the next year was the opposite: Kentucky came from behind to win in dramatic fashion. It was exciting. That was a very talented Wisconsin team that sent many players to the NFL.

EDIT: the missed XP came in the second half of the West Virginia game...after a TD catch by Joker Phillips.

That Wisconsin team that Kentucky beat in the 1984 bowl game had beaten Ohio State that year. Ohio State went to the Rose Bowl.

[Old School]

Any favorite memories of bowl games, especially farther back in time? I'd love to hear from anyone who attended the 1970s-1980s bowls against Wisconsin, West Virginia, or North Carolina.

[40bill]

North Carolina was in retrospect bittersweet. First bowl game in years at the Peach, and a win at that.....but it turned out we found out the school had the option to forfeit that or the next season. They chose the next, and that was likely the best UK team in my lifetime: Still, Bryant, Ramsey and the wrecking crew. One loss, no bowl.
Wisconsin was a bigger win than it gets credit for. That Wisconsin team had ended the season being the BEST team in the Big10 at the time, Beating tOSU. Jerry Claiborne didn't get his due for that one.

[Old School]

North Carolina was in retrospect bittersweet. First bowl game in years at the Peach, and a win at that.....but it turned out we found out the school had the option to forfeit that or the next season. They chose the next, and that was likely the best UK team in my lifetime: Still, Bryant, Ramsey and the wrecking crew. One loss, no bowl.
Wisconsin was a bigger win than it gets credit for. That Wisconsin team had ended the season being the BEST team in the Big10 at the time, Beating tOSU. Jerry Claiborne didn't get his due for that one.

Ohio State (#13) and Iowa (#16) were the only Big Ten teams that were ranked at the end of that season, as Kentucky knocked Wisconsin out of the Top 20 (as it was at the time). Wisconsin beat Ohio State and tied Iowa. Ohio State finished with the best record in the Big Ten, 9-3, the same as Kentucky. Kentucky beat their common opponent, Ohio State lost to them. Yet Ohio State finished #13, and Kentucky #19.

Those teams had a common opponent in Indiana.

Kentucky 48, Indiana 14, at Indiana
Iowa 24, Indiana 20, at Indiana
Ohio State 50, Indiana 7, at Ohio State

The Big Ten was 1-5 in bowl games that year. Iowa's win over then-#19 Texas kept the conference from getting swept. Kentucky was the only SEC team to play a Big Ten team in a bowl game that year.

[CATHYnKY]

Were you there? I was not, but have heard it was very, very cold, yet Kentucky had a huge, avid crowd there.

It was very cold. I did not dress warm enough

[Pobilly]

WISCONSIN game I think was Marty Moore's last game. Loved it.

[Blue Heaven]

WISCONSIN game I think was Marty Moore's last game. Loved it.

Nope. Moore played in the 93 Peach Bowl. He tried to run with an interception and fumbled, leading to a loss for us. He just had to fall down. Marty Moore was the only Mr. Irrelevant to play in a Super Bowl.

[Matt Dillon]

I don't mean this as a knock on you, BH. As a matter of fact, like you, I remember the Peach Bowl game first when Marty's name is mentioned. It's a shame, that with all he accomplished, the Peach Bowl gaffe is what he's most remembered for.