Mark Stoops is honored to be playing his alma mater in the Music City Bowl.

The Kentucky head coach and his Wildcats will go head to head with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday. As a player, Stoops was a Hawkeye from 1986 to 1988. In 1989, Stoops became a graduate assistant at the school, serving in that position for two years.

Since 2012, Stoops has served as head coach at Kentucky, where he is the winningest coach in school history. The head coach captured that title with a win against Florida in Week 2. In his tenth season, the head coach has lead Kentucky to a 7-5 record and fourth spot in the SEC East.

In the press conference before the game, Stoops promised a “tough, physical game”, and one that would be “close”. The head coach called it “an honor” to be facing his alma mater and place where he got his start as a coach.

The Hawkeyes and Wildcats will face off in the Music City Bowl on New Year’s Eve at noon EST on ABC.