Blue Preview: UK seeks bowl-eligibility vs. winless Austin Peay
Austin Peay at Kentucky
When: 4:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Commonwealth Stadium
TV: SEC Network (play-by-play Mike Morgan; analyst Kevin Weidl)
Radio: WLAP AM-630, WBUL FM-98.1, XM Channel 108, Sirius Channel 192
Records: Austin Peay 0-10; Kentucky 5-5
Series: First meeting
Favorite: No line
The storyline
In the final home game of 2016, Kentucky seeks to send out 14 seniors with a victory and become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2010 by extending Austin Peay’s losing streak to 27 games.
On the spot
Mark Stoops. Over the past three seasons, the Kentucky head coach is 0-9 in games that could have made the Wildcats bowl-eligible. Not to get the elusive sixth victory against an FCS program that has not won a game since Oct. 18, 2014, (20-13 over Murray State) would be unpardonable.
The big threat
Is complacency. About the only way to lose a game in which there is all but no realistic chance to lose is to go into the game with the mindset you don’t have to be at your best to win.
The mood
Would have been a lot more ebullient if Kentucky had gotten bowl-eligible by beating either Georgia or Tennessee the past two weeks. Nevertheless, getting the sixth victory that has eluded Mark Stoops and UK in back-to-back 5-7 seasons in 2014 and ’15 and earning a trip to the postseason for the first time since the 2010 season would both be small steps in the right direction for the Kentucky football program.
Mark Story: 859-231-3230, @markcstory
This story was originally published November 15, 2016 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Blue Preview: UK seeks bowl-eligibility vs. winless Austin Peay."