Citrus Bowl Fun Facts: Kentucky vs. Iowa, Jennifer Lawrence edition

What’s more fun than a Citrus Bowl?

OK, a Rose Bowl. But not a TaxSlayer Bowl or a Pinstripe Bowl or an Outback Bowl. So don’t worry. Be happy. And be even happier with Fun Facts about the Iowa-Kentucky Citrus Bowl.

1. With Mark Stoops leading Kentucky in this game, three Stoops brothers will have coached against Iowa. Bob was 1-0 against the Hawkeyes when he coached Oklahoma. Mike was 1-1 against Iowa when he coached Arizona.

2. Iowa and Kentucky are tied for the longest current nonconference winning streaks in the nation at 15. The Hawkeyes’ last loss was to an SEC team, Florida. The Wildcats’ last loss was to a Big Ten team, Northwestern.

3. The two teams have never met. Iowa is 12-14 against current SEC teams. That’s 6-7 against Missouri, 6-7 against everyone else.

4. Kentucky is 29-37-4 against current Big Ten teams, with 36 of those games against Indiana.

5. Both teams have won their last three bowls. The winner will tie Texas for the longest current winning streak in bowls. Texas is bowl-less this season.

6. The two teams have their conference’s offensive lineman of the year. The Big Ten’s is Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum. The SEC’s is Kentucky tackle Darian Kinnard. Linderbaum will become the only Hawkeye offensive player to start all 14 games. Tight end Sam LaPorta wasn’t in the game for Iowa’s first play against Iowa State.

7. Jennifer Lawrence, George Clooney and Tom Cruise were born in Kentucky. Abraham Lincoln, too.

8. Wildcat running back Chris Rodriguez has eight games of 100-plus rushing yards this season and is second in the SEC in rushing. But he doesn’t have nearly as cool a name as backup running back Kavosiey Smoke.

9. Iowa is 5-7 in Florida. Kentucky is 12-34 in Florida.

10. The Hawkeyes have a 24-year-old sophomore punter from Melbourne, Australia in Tory Taylor. The Wildcats have a 23-year-old freshman punter from Maribyrnong, a Melbourne suburb, in Wilson Berry. He punted four times this season. Kentucky’s No. 1 punter, however, is Colin Goodfellow of Cleveland.

11. This is the fourth-straight year the Wildcats have been finalists for the Joe Moore Award, for the nation’s top offensive line. Michigan won it this season.

12. Kentucky has outgained opponents by 1,128 yards. Iowa has been outgained by 199 yards.

13. The Hawkeyes lead the nation in interceptions with 24. The Wildcats began bowl season tied for 108th, with six.

14. Since 1985, Iowa has finished in the final AP Top 25 on 16 occasions, Kentucky once.

15. Kentucky nose guard Marquan “Bully” McCall is 6-foot-3 and 379 pounds. His dog’s name is Honey. “My dog definitely encourages me,” McCall said.

16. McCall and several other UK linemen signed an NIL deal with a personal injury law firm, and he also has an NIL deal with Central Equipment in Lexington, which sells lawn mowers and tractors.

17. Former Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock was the MVP of the Jan. 1, 2016 Citrus Bowl when Michigan beat Florida, 41-7. Rudock threw three touchdown passes.

18. Kentucky has more running water per square mile than any U.S. state.

19. Twenty-seven counties in Iowa have the same name as counties in Kentucky, but the Bridges of Madison County are exclusive to Iowa and Bourbon County is exclusive to Kentucky.

20. The standard one-day ticket at Disney World is $109. You can go to the Citrus Bowl for less. You can do a lot of things for less.