The 2017 Music City Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 29, 2017, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee . It was one of the 2017–18 bowl games concluding the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The 20th annual Music City Bowl , the game was sponsored by Franklin American Mortgage and was officially known as the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl .
2017 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
1 2 3 4
Total
Kentucky
7 0 7 9
23
Northwestern
3 14 0 7
24
Date December 29, 2017 Season 2017 Stadium Nissan Stadium Location Nashville, Tennessee MVP Justin Jackson (RB, Northwestern)[ 1] Favorite Northwestern by 6.5[ 2] National anthem Trace Adkins Referee Chris Coyte (Pac-12 ) Attendance 48,675[ 2] Payout US$ 2,750,000[ 3] Network ESPN ESPN Radio Announcers TV: Taylor Zarzour, Andre Ware , Olivia Harlan Radio: Mike Corey, Rene Ingoglia , Desmond Purnell
The 2017 Music City Bowl featured the Kentucky Wildcats (7–5) from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Northwestern Wildcats (9–3) from the Big Ten Conference .[ 4] [ 5] Northwestern beat Kentucky by a score of 24–23.[ 6]
This was only the second time that Kentucky and Northwestern had played against each other. Their previous match-up was on October 20, 1928, and was won by Northwestern, 7–0.[ 7]
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
UK
NU
1
12:42
5
67
2:18
UK
Benny Snell 3-yard touchdown run, Austin MacGinnis kick good
7
0
1
03:14
11
55
4:00
NU
33-yard field goal by Charlie Kuhbander
7
3
2
14:07
7
80
2:09
NU
Justin Jackson 5-yard touchdown run, Charlie Kuhbander kick good
7
10
2
05:12
5
52
2:05
NU
Justin Jackson 2-yard touchdown run, Charlie Kuhbander kick good
7
17
3
07:11
6
74
2:30
UK
Stephen Johnson 3-yard touchdown run, Austin MacGinnis kick good
14
17
4
07:49
2
14
0:35
NU
Kyle Queiro 26-yard interception return, Charlie Kuhbander kick good
14
24
4
04:24
10
44
3:25
UK
48-yard field goal by Austin MacGinnis
17
24
4
00:37
4
39
1:54
UK
Stephen Johnson 9-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass by Stephen Johnson failed
23
24
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
23
24
[ 8]
1
2
3
4
Total
UK Wildcats
7
0
7
9
23
NU Wildcats
3
14
0
7
24
Statistics
UK
NU
First downs
17
20
Plays–yards
338
442
Rushing–yards
65
333
Passing yards
273
109
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
21–39–2
9–21–0
Time of possession
24:08
35:52
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
UK
Passing
Stephen Johnson
19–36 257 yards
Rushing
Sihiem King
30 yards
Receiving
Tavin Richardson
5 rec 89 yards
NU
Passing
Matt Alviti
4–11 50 yards
Rushing
Justin Jackson
157 yards
Receiving
Charlie Fessler
1 rec 28 yards
^ "Fantasy College Football Breaking News - Rotoworld.com" . Archived from the original on December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017 .
^ a b "Kentucky vs. Northwestern – Game Summary – December 29, 2017 – ESPN" .
^ Bowl payout
^ Greenstein, Teddy (December 29, 2017). "Northwestern vs. Kentucky: Music City Bowl Matchup and Prediction" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved December 29, 2017 .
^ McGuire, Kevin (December 29, 2017). "CFT Previews: Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl" . NBC Sports . Retrieved December 29, 2017 .
^ Greenstein, Teddy (December 29, 2017). "Northwestern Earns 10th Win in Wild Music City Bowl Against Kentucky" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved December 29, 2017 .
^ "Homer and Purple Claw Way to 7–0 Win Over Kentucky Wildcats" . Decatur Evening Herald . Decatur, Illinois . Associated Press . October 21, 1928. Retrieved December 29, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Kentucky vs. Northwestern" . ESPN . ESPN. Retrieved February 6, 2018 .