1. THERE MIGHT NOT BE ANOTHER UK FOOTBALL PLAYER LIKE LYNN BOWDEN
Art Still. Babe Parilli. Derrick Ramsey. Tim Couch. Josh Allen. If there’s a Mount Rushmore for Kentucky football, Lynn Bowden would certainly be deserving of having his face go right up there with the UK greats. Tuesday’s Belk Bowl clinched it.

First, Bowden broke the record for most rushing yards in a bowl game (any bowl) by a quarterback with 233 yards on 34 carries. Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel had the old record of 213 yards in the Cotton Bowl. Then, Bowden finished off an 18-play, 85-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass, just his 12th pass of the afternoon, to Josh Ali with 15 seconds left to give Kentucky a 31-30 lead.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to replace him,” said UK Coach Mark Stoops of Bowden, a junior who has already declared for the NFL Draft.

Remember, Bowden is actually a wide receiver who was moved to quarterback five games into the season because of injuries to starter Terry Wilson and backup Sawyer Smith.

“If he had been the quarterback all season there’s no doubt in my mind he’d be in New York,” said Stoops, speaking of the Heisman Trophy presentation.

And what did Virginia Tech Coach Justin Fuente have to say about Bowden afterward? Fuente shook his head before saying, “It’s what he’s done to everybody. I mean he’s a great player.”

2. KENTUCKY’S DEFENSE GOT A REALITY CHECK ON TUESDAY
The Wildcats’ young defense improved as the season progressed for first-year coordinator Brad White.

But the Cats had their struggles against Fuentes’ Virginia Tech offense. The Hokies’ tempo especially seemed to bother the Cats, who had an abnormal number of missed tackles. Tech ended up with just 329 total yards but made those yards count with one rushing touchdown, two passing touchdowns and three field goals on just nine possessions, not counting the ones at the end of each half.

Still, Kentucky did come with a big three-and-out late in the game. Down 30-24, having given the ball to the Hokies on an interception, White’s unit forced an incompletion on a third-and-4 slant pass. After the Tech punt, the Kentucky offense took over on its own 15 with 8:25 to play.

A grand total of 8 minutes and 10 seconds later, well, you know what happened.

3. THE BIG MO SHOULD CONTINUE INTO NEXT YEAR
A 10-win season last year. A fourth straight bowl berth this year. A recruiting class that might end up ranked as the highest during Stoops’ seven seasons. And now a dramatic Belk Bowl victory. The momentum continues for this program.

Stoops said Monday he full expects quarterback Terry Wilson to be ready for next season. The senior-to-be was lost for the year in the season’s second game with a torn patellar tendon. While the Cats do a few players on both sides of the ball, a vast majority return.

Better still, the program has built an expectation of winning that we haven’t seen around Kentucky football in a long while. That was evident on that final drive in which UK ran 18 plays with just one play going for more than 9 yards. And that was the final play.

“This will be a great class,” said recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow after the game. “This is the SEC, bro. Remember that.”