Penn State takes on Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl on January 1, in Orlando, FL. The game will air live on WNEP at 1:00 PM.
"This will be an important game for both of us," Penn State Head Coach James Franklin said. "Obviously, you want to win the game because it's the next opponent, but sending the seniors out the right way is important. I also believe that it just propels you into spring ball and into the season as well. There's a lot of reasons why this game is important to both programs."
"Kentucky mostly, you think about basketball, but over the last couple of years, especially in a tough conference like the SEC, they've done a great job recruiting and they have talented guys," Penn State senior safety Garrett Taylor added. "They're starting to put it together."
Like Penn State, Kentucky enters the Citrus Bowl with a 9-3 record, the Wildcats best regular season in 41 years.
"It's hard to win 10 games two years in a row, but I think it's even harder to do it three years in a row," Penn State senior quarterback Trace McSorley said. "You look at teams that are able to do that. It's Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, those programs that are always at the top. If we can do that, it puts us in a really good spot in the future and it's something that shows all the hard work we've put in this year."
Kentucky's defense has allowed 16 points per game this year and is led by one of the best players in the country in senior linebacker Josh Allen.
"How twitchy he is, how productive he is," Franklin said of Allen. "His length. In terms of what those guys are looking for at the next level, he kinda fits the model."