Bowl games often come down to which team most wants to play. Will that be UK or Iowa?

When handicapping bowl games, your first task — sometimes your only task — is to figure out if one team will have a substantial motivational edge over the other.

Bowls often come down to nothing more than which team actually wants to be there.

From Kentucky football history, the classic example of the “Who Wants to be There?” bowl dynamic was the 2006 Music City Bowl.

Having saved its season and the Rich Brooks coaching era with a late-season turnaround, UK was making its first bowl appearance of the 21st century — and was pumped.

Conversely, bowl-perennial Clemson had started 7-1 with wins over No. 9 Florida State and No. 13 Georgia Tech. Subsequently, the Tigers collapsed and lost three of their final four, killing their chances to win the ACC.

So Tommy Bowden’s crew came to Nashville dispirited and disinterested.

As a result, Kentucky’s 28-20 upset of Clemson wasn’t really that surprising.

This New Year’s Day, when Mark Stoops and the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats (9-3, 5-3 SEC) face Kirk Ferentz and the No. 15 Iowa Hawkeyes (10-3, 7-3 Big Ten) in the VRBO Citrus Bowl, will the “Who Wants to be There?” dynamic favor one team over the other?

In a sense, UK and Iowa have had the same seasons.

Both teams started 6-0.

Each team then hit a lull.

Having risen to No. 11 in the polls, Kentucky lost three straight games — at No. 1 Georgia, to Mississippi State in Starkville and a disappointing home defeat to continual nemesis Tennessee.

Having risen to No. 2 in the polls, Iowa lost two straight — stunned in Iowa City by Jeff Brohm and Purdue, then, after an open date, blown out on the road at Wisconsin.

After hitting the rocks, both teams rallied down the stretch.

Kentucky ended the season on a three-game win streak, scoring decisive wins against overmatched foes Vanderbilt, New Mexico State and archrival Louisville.

Iowa closed its regular season with a stretch of four straight wins, claiming the Big Ten West title by rallying from 21-9 down in the fourth quarter to win at Nebraska 28-21.

That put the Hawkeyes into the Big Ten championship game — only to get crushed by No. 2 Michigan 42-3.

One Citrus Bowl motivational variable is whether Iowa comes off that beat down at the hands of the Men of Harbaugh with its spirit dissipated or angry and looking to prove a point.

Another wild card in the motivation sphere for the Citrus Bowl is the fact that UK’s Stoops is a former Hawkeyes safety.

That Bob, Mike and Mark Stoops all wore No. 41 while playing for Hayden Fry at Iowa is a big piece in the lore of the Stoops family coaching tree.

At a Sunday night video news conference to promote the Citrus Bowl, Mark Stoops acknowledged that the emotions of facing his college alma mater for the first time will be unlike any other game in which he has coached.

“It will be different for me,” Stoops said. “Being that my (late) father has my game jersey from the Hawkeyes, very neatly folded and put — and placed in his casket where he’s buried in my jersey with the black and gold. It definitely will mean something to me different than anybody else I’ve played, that’s for sure.”

Veteran UK center Luke Fortner said the Wildcats players will be motivated to play well for their coach in a game of extra meaning for Stoops.

“To get a win over Iowa for Mark Stoops, it would mean a lot to us,” Fortner said. “He works his butt off for us, and his coaching staff works as hard as they can for us. And to reward him with that win would be really big for us.”

Yet Stoops’ status as an Iowa alumnus may also provide motivational fodder for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa’s Ferentz, 66, and his son and offensive coordinator, Brian Ferentz, 38, are not going to want to lose to a sitting head coach who is a notable Hawkeyes alumnus.

One of the most telling manifestations of the positive culture Stoops has built in the UK football program has been the approach of the Wildcats’ star players to bowl participation.

Kentucky stars — Josh Allen, Benny Snell, Lynn Bowden, Logan Stenberg, Jamin Davis — headed to the ensuing NFL Draft have nevertheless played in the bowls.

The UK players have, correctly, recognized that bowl victories are important building blocks in the process of elevating Kentucky’s program.

Iowa, too, has a recent history of bowl success.

Like Kentucky, the Hawkeyes have won their past three postseason contests.

This is a year in which a wild coaching carousel and a transfer portal operating with immediate eligibility available for players figures to create bowl-season chaos.

Yet the VRBO Citrus Bowl between Iowa and Kentucky shapes up as a rarity:

A bowl game in which both teams seem likely to show up intent on playing with vigor.

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