Kentucky is Bowl Eligible for an 8th Straight Season
What once eluded the Kentucky football program for so long has now become routine. With a 24-3 victory over Mississippi State, Kentucky improved to 6-3 on the season, securing a bowl bid for the eighth straight year.
Some may scoff at the 6-win threshold. Even Mark Stoops knows there is more work to be done.
“We do have bigger goals but we can’t just take that for granted,” the Kentucky head coach said after the win. “It’s not easy. It’s not an easy league because as you know, you see it, you get physically and mentally drained. You get challenged. That’s the type of resolve that I like to see from our team, just that type of grit. Hopefully we can build on that and put some things together.”
We will not take it for granted at Kentucky Sports Radio. Once upon a time, we were so desperate for postseason football, we made hats clamoring for a .500 record and a bowl berth. Drew Franklin’s ingenious idea worked. Even though Kentucky lost to Southern Miss in the first game they played after this hat was made, the Cats capped off that 2016 season with a win over Louisville to punch a ticket to the Gator Bowl. The Big Blue Nation has gone bowling every year since.
Eight consecutive years of postseason football is a Kentucky school record. That streak included four straight postseason wins, three of which were in the state of Florida.
Stoops now accounts for eight of the 23 bowl appearances in school history. Kentucky went to eight bowl games from 1985-2015, and now has one in every year since. The Wildcats only had eight postseason wins before Stoops started the streak after the 2016 season.
Potential Bowl Destinations for Kentucky
A home game with Alabama and road trips to South Carolina and Louisville are left on the schedule. Winning out to finish 9-3 is unlikely, but possible, which would put Kentucky back in contention for the Citrus Bowl.
An optimistic Kentucky fan foresees a win at South Carolina and a fifth-straight victory over Louisville. An 8-4 campaign would put the Cats in contention for the artist formerly known as the Outback Bowl. If Kentucky splits the road games to finish 7-5, there are a few different destinations in play: Charlotte, Memphis and Houston. The Texas Bowl is almost exclusively reserved for SEC West teams. Kentucky has not played in the Liberty Bowl since after the 2008 season, but did play in what is now called the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in 2019.
When handicapping the possible bowl games, a weekend on Beale Street feels like the most likely destination. There’s still plenty of football to be played, leaving this year’s bowl site up in the air until Dec. 3.
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