Kentucky football bowl projections: Where will the Cats end up?

Kentucky’s 29-26 win against Tennessee on Saturday made the Wildcats bowl eligible in October for the first time since 2007.

After missing the postseason from 2011-15, the Wildcats are headed to back-to-back bowl appearances. Though last year seemed like a season-long countdown to the all-important six wins, bowl eligibility hasn’t been brought up this season. It was an expectation rather than a goal.

“Hopefully we have moved beyond that,” coach Mark Stoops said of settling for a bowl appearance.

There’s still plenty of time for chaos before bowl destinations are announced in early December, but here’s where things stand for Kentucky.

The process

New Year’s Six Bowls

Kentucky’s College Football Playoff chances crashed in Starkville, Miss., but the Cats can’t be counted out from the Orange, Fiesta, Cotton or Peach bowls. Kentucky likely has to win out to have any chance of playing in the New Year’s Six. This is the least likely bowl scenario.

Citrus Bowl

The College Football Playoff committee is in charge of the New Year’s Six slate. And after those selections, the Citrus Bowl gets the first pick of available SEC teams. For example, if Alabama is in the playoff and Georgia plays in the Orange Bowl or another New Year’s Six Bowl, the SEC’s third-most attractive team could be selected for the Citrus Bowl played in Orlando, Fla. Auburn is a popular pick here for the time being.

Pool of Six 

Here’s the most likely scenario for Kentucky. After the Citrus Bowl makes its pick, there is a pool of six bowls for SEC teams to swim in. These bowls work in collaboration with the bowl-eligible schools and the conference to find the right fits. They’ll try to avoid repeat destinations and opponents in hopes of finding attractive matchups.

For example, the TaxSlayer Bowl is in the Pool of Six. Because Kentucky played Georgia Tech in last year’s TaxSlayer Bowl, that leaves five legitimate landing spots for the Cats.

• Outback Bowl (Tampa, Fla.) vs. Big Ten on Jan. 1
• Music City Bowl (Nashville, Tenn.) vs. Big Ten/ACC on Dec. 30
• Texas Bowl (Houston, Texas) vs. Big 12 on Dec. 27
• Belk Bowl (Charlotte, N.C.) vs. ACC on Dec. 29
• Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tenn.) vs. Big 12 on Dec. 30

The rest

If there still are eligible SEC teams remaining after the Pool of Six, the Birmingham Bowl gets the next pick. The Independence Bowl gets the final SEC pick if there’s a last eligible team. Kentucky would have to fall apart to wind up here.

Kentucky bowl projections

CBS Sports: Kentucky vs. Iowa in the Music City Bowl (Dec. 29, Nashville, Tenn.)

Sports Illustrated: Kentucky vs. West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl (Dec. 30, Memphis, Tenn.)

SB Nation: Kentucky vs. Iowa State in the Liberty Bowl (Dec. 30, Memphis, Tenn.)

*ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura: Kentucky vs. Georgia Tech in the Music City Bowl (Dec. 20, Nashville, Tenn.)

*ESPN’s David M. Hale: Kentucky vs. Georgia Tech in the Belk Bowl (Dec. 29, Charlotte, N.C.)

*Neither of ESPN’s predictions are likely since Kentucky played Georgia Tech last season in the TaxSlayer Bowl. 

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