A bowl game is in reach for Kentucky football again. Here are the options
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Consecutive wins over Auburn and Florida position Kentucky to reach bowl eligibility.
- If Kentucky hits six wins, Duke’s Mayo or Liberty Bowl rank as likely destinations.
- SEC selection rules and other teams’ records could push Kentucky to lower bowls.
Consecutive wins over Auburn and Florida have placed Kentucky football in a position that seemed almost inconceivable just a couple of weeks ago.
The Wildcats are popping up in bowl projection stories again.
Assuming Mark Stoops and company take care of business against FCS Tennessee Tech on Saturday, they would need to upset one of Vanderbilt or Louisville to reach six wins and bowl eligibility. Do that and the 4-8 2024 season suddenly looks like more of a blip than a concerning downward trend.
One year after its eight-season bowl streak ended, Kentucky would be back in postseason play.
“I think it’s important,” Stoops said of returning to a bowl game. “I don’t deny the things that are right in front of you that are true, that are real.
“It is important, but let’s just win this week. That’s not coach-speak. That’s truth. You keep on stacking good things on top of good things, and you know the results will be there.”
Two of the most prominent national bowl projections posted this week included Kentucky in recognition the Wildcats could still get to six wins:
- ESPN: Liberty Bowl versus Iowa State or Kansas State
- The Athletic: Duke’s Mayo Bowl versus Clemson
If Kentucky does return to a bowl game, the possibilities for its postseason destination are numerous depending on how many SEC teams are bowl eligible and how many reach the 12-team playoff.
The Citrus Bowl has first pick of SEC teams after the playoff is filled. We can safely rule Kentucky out of that position, even if the Wildcats win out to finish the regular season at 7-5. With five SEC teams (Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas) in playoff position in Tuesday’s ranking update, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt would likely be the options for the Citrus Bowl.
Kentucky football bowl options
The SEC assigns schools to its next tier of bowls known as the “Pool of Six” based on a number of criteria, including avoiding repeat trips and matchups in a short window. That group includes the ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa, Florida), Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Florida), Texas Bowl (Houston), Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, North Carolina), Music City Bowl (Nashville, Tennessee) and Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tennessee).
While the bowls in the “Pool of Six” technically all have the same weight in the selection process, the ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly known as the Outback Bowl) has generally been the top preference for teams due to its status as a New Year’s Day Florida bowl. Teams with the best record are generally given preference in the process, meaning Kentucky is unlikely to have a chance to play in Tampa.
The Gator Bowl is also an unlikely destination for Kentucky since the Wildcats played there in 2023. UK last played in the Music City Bowl in 2022, so it’s likely both Kentucky and the Music City Bowl would prefer other options if they are available. The SEC has usually sent a team from the former west division to the Texas Bowl.
That leaves the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and Liberty Bowl as Kentucky’s most likely destinations at either 6-6 or 7-5.
There are scenarios where picking Kentucky’s bowl becomes much more challenging.
If only three SEC teams reach the playoff, kicking two more teams down into the “Pool of Six,” and both Mississippi State and LSU reach six wins, Kentucky could get pushed out of that tier of SEC bowls. That would leave the Wildcats for either the Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, Alabama) or Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Florida). ESPN selects the teams and matchups for those games.
In the unlikely event only three SEC teams are in the playoff and four teams from the group of Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Auburn, South Carolina and Florida reach six wins, there would be more bowl-eligible teams than SEC contracted bowls. In that scenario, the team lowest in the SEC’s ranking would be left for a bowl whose contracted league did not have enough eligible teams to fill all its slots.
That scenario is barely worth considering, but given the unpredictability of Kentucky’s season to date maybe chaos should be expected.