Kentucky Football bowl projections following first CFP rankings

The first College Football Playoff rankings were released last night, and your University of Kentucky Wildcats are No. 18. That’s behind Georgia (No. 1), Alabama (No. 2), Auburn (No. 13), Texas A&M (No. 14), Ole Miss (No. 16), and Mississippi State (No. 17) in the SEC. If you’re rooting for the Cats to make a New Year’s Six Bowl (and you should be), that is not good news.

For Kentucky to have a shot at the Sugar, Peach, or Fiesta Bowls, they’re going to have to win out and get some favors from the opponents of the teams ahead of them. Luckily, Kentucky’s road ahead is much easier than that of most of the SEC teams ranked ahead of them. Ole Miss plays Texas A&M and Mississippi State. In addition to the Egg Bowl, Mississippi State travels to Auburn, which plays A&M this weekend. The Tigers end the season vs. Alabama. Lots of potential losses ahead.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura updated their bowl projections today to reflect the CFP rankings. Schlabach kept the Cats in the Citrus Bowl (Jan. 1, 1 p.m., ABC, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL), facing Minnesota instead of Iowa. Bonagura dropped Kentucky from the Citrus Bowl to the Gator Bowl (Dec. 31, 11 a.m., ESPN, TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, FL) for a matchup with Pittsburgh. Not NY6, but still Florida.

The picture will be clearer after this weekend. Beat Tennessee and the hopes for a New Year’s Six bowl, or simply the best of the rest bowls like Citrus, Outback, and Gator, are alive. If not, well, we’ll get there.