Kentucky Football already receives a New Year's Day Bowl Projection

The 2022 Kentucky football season will not kick off for 199 more days. One person is already picking the Wildcats to finish the season in a New Year’s Day bowl game.

Brett McMurphy of the Action Network is cooking up what’s on the slate for college football’s postseason before postseason play begins in college basketball. While you may think it’s irrelevant now, it’s good to know an SEC team will play in the Las Vegas Bowl for the first time in 2022. Even if things don’t go according to plan for the Wildcats, a seven or eight-win season could send the BBN to Sin City in December. Not too shabby.

In addition to forecasting where teams will play in the postseason, Action Network has used power rankings to create early spreads for the postseason games. If all goes according to plan in this model, Notre Dame will be a one-point favorite over Kentucky in the Outback Bowl.

The Wildcats have a 43-21 record over the Fighting Irish on the hardwood, but the two teams have never played on the gridiron. Kentucky has appeared in one Outback Bowl, falling 26-14 to Penn State in 1999. Mark Stoops has taken UK to a school record six straight bowl games. Kentucky’s four-game postseason win streak is the longest in the FBS.

Much can change over the next 199 days. Players will come and go via the portal, a spring game will be played and there could be an offensive coordinator search. No matter what happens in the coming months, if Kentucky’s 2022 season ends against Notre Dame in the Outback Bowl, the BBN will be grinning ear-to-ear to kick off 2023.

[ACTION: 2022 Never-Too-Early College Football Bowl Projections]