The Kentucky football team could make a bowl game this season, regardless of what happens in Saturday’s rivalry game against Louisville.
Obviously, the Wildcats want to win the game, but a 5-7 Kentucky team would still have a bowl opportunity.
According to Matt Jones of KSR:
BEAT LOUISVILLE: If Kentucky beats Louisville, they become bowl eligible and will be slotted into one of the three bottom places for SEC Bowls…at this moment that would mean the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Birmingham Bowl or Independence Bowl in Shreveport. As of this moment, Auburn and Arkansas both have six wins…Auburn plays Alabama this week so they won’t win another. Arkansas plays Missouri at home, a game it likely wins. Thus the Hogs will probably get the top slot of these three bowls, meaning they go to the Liberty. UK beats Louisville and thus the Cats and Auburn are divided between the other two. Since The Birmingham Bowl is in Alabama and thus Auburn would sell tickets, but likely do little for tourism AND because the Independence Bowl is on the same day as the UK-UL Basketball game…my guess is Kentucky would be sent to Birmingham, likely to play Memphis or Houston. Get your Legion Field Funk-protective clothing ready.
LOSE TO LOUISVILLE: This is much more complicated. The NCAA is meeting tomorrow to decide how they will determine which 5 win teams get to go to a bowl. If its APR score, Kentucky is screwed. Of the 13 teams with 5 wins, we are 12th on the list…so it is a no-go. But I can’t imagine the NCAA is going to rely on that alone…so let’s see who these 5 win teams are:
Tulsa (5-6) at Tulane (3-8)
Virginia Tech (5-6) at Virginia (4-7)
Iowa (11-0) at Nebraska (5-6)
Indiana (5-6) at Purdue (2-9)
Northwestern (9-2) at Illinois (5-6)
Wisconsin (8-3) at Minnesota (5-6)
Florida Atlantic (2-9) at Old Dominion (5-6)
UMass (2-9) at Buffalo (5-6)
Washington State (8-3) at Washington (5-6)
Louisville (6-5) at Kentucky (5-6)
Missouri (5-6) at Arkansas (6-5)
Boise State (7-4) at San Jose State (5-6)
Are you in favor of a 5-7 Kentucky team “earning” a bowl bid?
