According to the folks at UK, the motto originated from the Citrus Bowl, specifically, when Kentucky sniffed out Penn State’s fake punt on fourth down at the start of the game. If you remember, a fiery Mark Stoops was captured yelling, “BRING IT ON” on the sidelines:
Stoops amped after Kentucky sniffs out Penn State’s fake punt: “Bring it on!” pic.twitter.com/Ah5L9iC6qy
— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) January 1, 2019
It’s a shame they couldn’t use Stoops’ entire comment there, but I get it. No one wants deforestation on their hands.