1999 Music City Bowl was a college football postseason game matching the

University of Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

against the Syracuse University Orangemen. Both teams entered the game with 6–5 records, unranked in the polls, though Syracuse had been ranked as high as #16 in the AP poll during the season. Kentucky was favored by 3 points.

Phil Steele's Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, prod ...

2007 College Football Preview, p.55 Kentucky fielded the opening kickoff and mounted a 79-yard touchdown drive on the game's opening possession. Kentucky's first team All American tight end James Whalen Jr. led the drive with a 45-yard reception and Kendrick Shanklin scored on a 3-yard run. Kentucky's defense forced a punt on Syracuse's first possession and Kentucky drove inside the Syracuse 10-yard line but the drive stalled when Whalen was suddenly lost (for the remainder of the game) to injury, leaving halfway through the first quarter already having four catches for 79 yards. Kentucky settled for a 22-yard field goal kicked by Marc Samuel and led 10-0 at the end of the first quarter after stopping Syracuse with two fumble recoveries and a blocked field goal attempt.2000 Kentucky Football Media Guide, '1999 Music City Bowl', p.170 With 1:56 left in the second quarter Syracuse scored on a 2-yard Johnson touchdown run. Neither team scored in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter a 35-yard field goal put Kentucky up 13-7. Syracuse countered with

James Mungro James Olevia Mungro II (born February 13, 1978) is a former American football running back. He retired from the National Football League (NFL) due to a severe ACL injury he received in a pre-season game in 2006. His entire NFL career was with ...

touchdown runs of 32 yards (with 9:08 to play) and 20 yards (with 1:42 to play). Syracuse failed to convert after the second touchdown, leaving them with a 20-13 lead as Kentucky resumed possession on its own 4-yard line with 1:35 remaining and no time outs. Kentucky drove to the Syracuse 41-yard line but the game's final play was an incomplete Hail Mary. Syracuse finished with 19 first downs to Kentucky's 18 and 404 yards of offense to Kentucky's 365. Syracuse had 276 rushing yards on 47 attempts; Kentucky had 57 on 23 attempts. Kentucky had 308 passing yards to Syracuse's 128; each team fumbled three times with Syracuse losing two and Kentucky losing one. Syracuse's

Keith Bullock Keith Joseph Bullock FTSE (1931–2015) was an engineer and academic at the University of Queensland. Early life Bullock was born in Brisbane, Queensland in 1931. He attended Moorooka State School and the Church of England Grammar School. Bul ...

had 20 tackles; Ryan Murphy had 15 and

Marlon McCree Marlon Tarron McCree (born March 17, 1977) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Kentucky. McCree also played for the Houston Texans, Carolina ...

10 for Kentucky. Syracuse's James Mungro was the game's MVP with 12 rushes for 162 yards and two touchdowns.

References

{{Syracuse Orange bowl game navbox

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by TransPerfect and is officially known as the ''TransPerf ...

Music City Bowl Kentucky Wildcats football bowl games Syracuse Orange football bowl games

December 1999 sports events in the United States