Kentucky is going back to the Sunshine State for the postseason.

The Wildcats have accepted a bid to play in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1 in Orlando against their head coach's alma mater, the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Mark Stoops was a three-year letterman for Iowa from 1987-89 under Hayden Fry. He was also a graduate assistant with the Hawkeyes in 1990 and 1991.

It will mark Kentucky's sixth consecutive bowl appearance under Stoops -- the best run in program history -- and the first-ever matchup between the Cats and Hawkeyes in football. UK will be seeking its fourth straight bowl victory after beating Penn State in the 2019 Citrus Bowl, Virginia Tech in the 2020 Belk Bowl, and NC State last year in the Gator Bowl.

No. 15 Iowa (10-3, 7-2 Big Ten) is coming off a 42-3 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten championship game.

Offensively, the Hawkeyes are paced by quarterback Spencer Petras, who threw for 1,669 yards and nine touchdowns this year while also adding five rushing touchdowns. Junior running back Tyler Goodson (1,151 yards and six touchdowns) leads the Hawkeyes rushing attack, while tight end Sam LaPorta (548 yards and two touchdowns) and wide receiver Keagan Johnson (352 yards and two touchdowns) pace the Hawkeyes receiving corps.

No. 22 Kentucky (9-3, 5-3 SEC) defeated Louisville 52-21 last week in the regular season finale.

The UK offense is led by quarterback Will Levis, who ranks in the top 50 nationally and top five in the SEC in passing yards (2,593 yards) and has 32 total touchdowns (23 passing, nine rushing) this season. Junior Chris Rodriguez is Kentucky's top-producing running back with 1,272 yards and eight rushing scores, while Wan'Dale Robinson (1,164 yards and seven touchdowns) and Josh Ali (601 yards and three touchdowns) lead the Wildcats wideouts.

Kickoff for the Citrus Bowl will be 1 p.m. ET at Camping World Stadium. The game will be broadcast nationally by ABC.