12 Days to Kentucky Wildcats Football: 1999 Outback Bowl
By Paul Jordan
With another Kentucky Wildcats football season upon us, the staff at Wildcat Blue Nation are digging into their memory banks and recounting our favorite moments in Wildcat football. Over the next month, we will be looking at these games and sharing our thoughts and memories on them. It’s not a countdown, but a look back at what has made Wildcats football important to us and what stood out. Hopefully Mark Stoops and his staff will be able to add a few more special moments this upcoming season.
Being a lifelong Kentucky Wildcats Football fan, there have been few and far moments where you get the feeling that Kentucky football had arrived and was on the verge of finally breaking through. One of those moments for me was going to the 1999 Outback Bowl in Tampa at the “Old Sombrero”, the venerable Tampa Stadium. Never mind the fact the Outback Bowl was still the bottom rung of bowls, it was a NEW YEARS DAY bowl. And travelling there and seeing my Kentucky Wildcats take on Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions was a special moment.
This was to be the topper to a special Kentucky season. Tim Couch was on his way to being the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft and was shattering records. Kentucky started the season by crushing the hated Louisville Cardinals 68-34 at Louisville. The Cats were tough in the SEC with a win over then #21 LSU on the road and a heartbreaking two point loss at Commonwealth to then ranked #11 Georgia.
Kentucky finished the season 4-4 in the tough SEC and carried a 7-4 record into the Outback Bowl. Nevermind the fact that Penn State was having a down year. They had been ranked #7 earlier but came into the game with an 8-3 mark.
Regardless, this was Kentucky versus Joe Pa on New Years Day. And for the first time in the history of the Outback Bowl, the game was sold out, You can thank the blue clad member of the BBN for that.
Tim Couch was hot early, hitting Lance Mickelson for an early 7-0 lead. Penn State countered with a FG, but Couch was not done. he it Anthony White for a 16 yard TD and the Big Blue Nation part of the Big Sombrero was basking in a 14-3 lead.
Penn State’s defense camped down and UK still had a 14-13 halftime lead, but that was the last hurrah. Penn State dominated the second half en route to a 26-14 win.
Regardless the outcome, you can not take away the thrill of that New Years Day on a crisp Tampa morning.