Kentucky Football Bowl Projections after the Ole Miss loss

We don’t need national media members to tell us this, but the Cats really squandered a big opportunity in Oxford. Kentucky’s 22-19 loss to Ole Miss is reflected in this week’s bowl projections. Last week, the Cats were penciled into the Citrus or Sugar Bowl; now, they’ve slipped a rung to the ReliaQuest Bowl, formerly the Outback Bowl, per most prognosticators. ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, who has Kentucky in the Gator Bowl, said the Cats were the team that hurt themselves the most in college football this week.

“Undefeated, ranked No. 7, no Alabama on the schedule — things were set up nicely for Kentucky to pursue a historic season. And maybe that can still happen, but the Wildcats’ 22-19 loss to Ole Miss derailed things for now.”

Ugh. Here’s the rundown of all the major bowl projections.

• ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura: Gator Bowl vs. Florida State (Dec. 30, 3:30 p.m., ESPN, TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, FL)
• ESPN’s Mark Schlabach: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. NC State (Jan. 2, Noon, ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)
• CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Wake Forest (Jan. 2, Noon, ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)
• Brett McMurphy: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Illinois (Jan. 2, Noon, ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)
• 247 Sports’ Brad Crawford: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Illinois (Jan. 2, Noon, ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)
• College Football News: TaxAct Texas Bowl vs. Oklahoma (Dec. 28, 9:00 p.m. ESPN, NRG Stadium, Houston, TX)

The Texas Bowl vs. Oklahoma is intriguing, but give me Florida over Houston any day.