The Kentucky Wildcats and Northwestern Wildcats took every conceivable risk in seeking to win the 20th annual Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl.
Kentucky quarterback Stephen Johnson failed to connect on a two-point conversion pass with 37 seconds left to play, allowing Northwestern to escape Nashville with a 24-23 victory.
“I’m good with call,” said Kentucky coach Mark Stoops afterwards. “We came up inches short and I hurt for the team because they gave everything they had.”
Kentucky (7-6) was hoping it could notch an 8-win season for the first time since 2007.
Northwestern likewise threw caution to the wind numerous times, attempting to convert on fourth down four different times and coming up short in crucial situations – once at the Kentucky two yard line and again at their own 39 with just two minutes left in the game.
That set up Kentucky’s last-minute touchdown and allowed the outcome to be decided by a winner-take-all two-point conversion effort.
Northwestern (10-3) now has 27 victories over the last three seasons.
The only other time that has happened was in the span of the 1903-1905 seasons. It’s also the first time the school has had eight consecutive victories and bowl wins in back-to-back seasons.
This is just the fifth 10-win season for Northwestern – three of those under the direction of head coach Pat Fitzgerald.
“Why not go for the win,” Fitzgerald said in explaining his decision to go for it on fourth down late in the game. Replay seemed to show that Northwestern actually picked up the first down, despite the call otherwise.
Both teams played most of the game without their most productive starters.
UK running back Benny Snell Jr., the SEC’s leader this season in rushing touchdowns with 18, was ejected in the first quarter for “contact with an official.” Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson – his school’s all-time most productive quarterback – was knocked out of the game with a knee injury early in the second quarter.
The injury occurred on a trick play. Thorson handed off to running back Jeremy Larson, who then passed back across field to Thorson. The QB carried all the way to the Kentucky five yard line, where linebacker Jordan Jones tackled him from behind. The impact drove Thorson’s right knee hard into the ground. He was carted off the field and never returned.
Backup QB Matt Alviti played the rest of the way, rushing for 54 yards and completing four of 11 pass attempts for 50 yards.
Northwestern running backs Justin Jackson and Larkin rushed for more than 100 yards each in picking up the slack. Jackson earned MVP honors with 157 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns.
After the game, Referee Chris Coyte explained his reasoning for ejecting Snell.
“The player got up and grabbed my arms and pushed them away. That’s a foul.”
The impression by almost everyone who saw the replay was that Snell merely declined the referee’s gesture to help him up after Snell was tackled by five Northwestern defenders. The outcry against the call was intense and included the likes of Tim Tibow and Andre Ware.
In a postgame interview Snell declined the opportunity to criticize the call, other than to explain, “I don’t feel like I did anything. I don’t need help getting up.”
Northwestern all-Big Ten linebacker Paddy Fisher was ejected for targeting – a call that coach Fitzgerald called perhaps “one of the worst calls I have ever seen in the history of football.”
There were several other questionable calls from the Pac 12 crew.
Kentucky’s starting quarterback Johnson appeared to be tackled out-of-bounds by Northwestern lineman Joe Gaziano. But it was the Kentucky coaching staff that was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for reacting to the play. The penalty pushed Kentucky out of field goal range and resulted in punt.
More significantly, Johnson had to be evaluated in the locker room following the hit and missed several offensive series. Kentucky relied upon his backup, Drew Barker, during Johnson’s absence.