Music City Bowl

LEXINGTON ? Morgan Newton laughs when he thinks about this time last year when he would have been playing high school basketball and maybe finding time to watch a college football bowl game or two. He even only watched the second half of Kentucky's win over East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl. Now he's preparing to lead the Wildcats in the Dec. 27th matchup against Clemson in the Music City Bowl in Nashville after starting the final seven regular-season games following an injury to Mike Hartline.

LEXINGTON ? Tennessee native Randall Cobb was one of the more vocal University of Kentucky players about wanting the Cats to play in a more prestigious bowl this year, especially after the win at Georgia. However, now Cobb says he's happy as he can be that the Music City Bowl picked Kentucky for the third time in four years and that the Cats will be playing Clemson Dec. 27. "The Music City is better than no bowl. It has been a tough process. We have actually beat out a couple of teams to get to go to the Music City Bowl, so that is fortunate for us. We are excited to be going there," Cobb said.

LEXINGTON ? Tennessee native Randall Cobb was one of the more vocal University of Kentucky players about wanting the Cats to play in a more prestigious bowl this year, especially after the win at Georgia. However, now Cobb says he's happy as he can be that the Music City Bowl picked Kentucky for the third time in four years and that the Cats will be playing Clemson Dec. 27. "The Music City is better than no bowl. It has been a tough process. We have actually beat out a couple of teams to get to go to the Music City Bowl, so that is fortunate for us. We are excited to be going there," Cobb, a sophomore receiver/quarterback/kick returner, said Sunday.

Music City Bowl representative Dale Polley thinks the Kentucky-Clemson matchup in the Dec. 27 bowl in Nashville will be a another exciting game and one that the bowl is glad to have. Polley offered these insights into the upcoming bowl game: Question: How happy is the Music City Bowl to have Kentucky back for the third time in four years? Polley: "We are very excited to have Kentucky back in Nashville. Our bowl selected Kentucky to come back. There has been some conversation and things written about Kentucky being here three of four years.

LEXINGTON ? He didn't officially know until Sunday that his Wildcats would be playing Clemson in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, but Kentucky coach Rich Brooks saw plenty of the Tigers Saturday night. Clemson lost 39-34 to No. 12 Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game and now will play the Wildcats (7-5) Dec. 27 in Nashville in a rematch of the 2006 Music City Bowl won 28-20 by Kentucky. "They are a really good team. They have talent, just like the last time we played them, with great athletes on defense and one of the best running backs in college football," said Brooks Sunday.

Kentucky's football team will celebrate Christmas in Music City. The Wildcats' school-record fourth consecutive bowl berth became official Sunday when the school accepted a bid to the Music City Bowl. It will be Kentucky's third appearance in the bowl in four years. The Wildcats handed Clemson a 28-20 setback in 2006, followed by a 35-28 win over Florida State in 2007. Kentucky will take on Clemson at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 27 at LP Field in Nashville in a nationally televised contest on ESPN.

LEXINGTON ? Linebacker Sam Maxwell, Kentucky's second leading tackler, will not play in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 27. The senior will have surgery on his shoulder for a torn labrum on Dec. 18 that will end his UK career. "He is our leading interceptor and has made a bunch of tackles. It certainly is a blow to us," said Brooks. Maxwell became a full-time starter for the first time in 2009 and had 80 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for loss. He caused two fumbles. On pass defense, he led the Cats with six interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown against Tennessee.

While there's nothing official yet, it looks like Kentucky will be playing in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn., for the third time in four years. The Wildcats had a chance to earn a bid to the Outback Bowl before their overtime loss to Tennessee, and now sources are "cautiously optimistic" that the Wildcats will be back in Nashville to play an Atlantic Coast Conference team on Dec. 27. Kentucky beat Clemson in the Music City Bowl to end its 2006 season and defeated Florida State in the same bowl the following season.