The game was played between the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference and the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference.
[6] The teams had previously met five times, with Penn State holding a 3–2 edge; their most recent meeting was the 1999 Outback Bowl, won by Penn State.
[6] Penn State received and accepted a bid to the Citrus Bowl on December 2.
[6] The Nittany Lions entered the bowl with a 9–3 record (6–3 in conference).
Kentucky received and accepted a bid to the Citrus Bowl on December 2.