Nell Redmond/Associated Press
The Kentucky Wildcats are entering the new decade as winners after topping the Virginia Tech Hokies 37-30 in the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on New Year's Eve.
Tensions ran high as Wildcats quarterback Lynn Bowden Jr. threw a punch amid a pregame altercation between Kentucky and Virginia Tech:
And the bad blood seeped into the actual game. Both squads were chippy throughout with Bowden taking hard shots and penalties for "abusive language" and "taunting" in the first half followed by two targeting calls that eventually were not confirmed.