Ole Miss could be key in opening up Outback Bowl bid for Kentucky

Last season, Ole Miss represented the Southeastern Conference in the Outback Bowl and knocked off No. 11 Indiana in Tampa. Now the Rebels could help open that spot for Kentucky.

At one point in the season, a New Year’s Six bid was open for Kentucky and a backup plan appeared to be a second Citrus Bowl appearance in four seasons. However, both of those now seem to be off the table. Kentucky finds itself in an awkward bowl spot to close the season.

How can the Wildcats lock up a bid to the Outback Bowl for a trip to Tampa for New Year’s? KSR is here with the blueprint.

Win out

There is no getting around this. Kentucky must beat New Mexico State and follow that up with a win over Louisville on Thanksgiving Saturday. If the Wildcats can not get to 9-3, a trip to Nashville for the Music City Bowl or Memphis for the Liberty Bowl would seem most likely.

No one wants that. Kentucky must win two games to close the season.

Get three SEC teams into Playoff and/or New Year’s Six

No matter what happens, Georgia is a lock to make the college football playoff. So that’s one we should not have to worry about unless Charleston Southern or Georgia Tech can play spoiler against the best team in college football.

Meanwhile, Alabama is likely headed to the playoff or New Year’s Six at worst. An injury to Bo Nix now makes the Iron Bowl at the end of the season less of a trap spot for the Crimson Tide. As long as Alabama finishes 11-1 following wins over Arkansas and Auburn, Nick Saban will be taking his team to the New Year’s Six at worst.

Now comes Ole Miss.

On Saturday night, the Rebels picked up a huge home win by knocking off No. 11 Texas A&M to take full control of second place in the SEC West. Lane Kiffin’s squad now sits at 8-2 (4-2) and jumped to No. 10 in the most recent AP Top 25. The Rebels should see a similar move on Tuesday night when the College Football Playoff committee drops another top 25.

Why is it important for Ole Miss to stay in the top 10? It would give the SEC a third team into the New Year’s Six.

That would create a step up for everyone else in the league which would mean good news for Kentucky. The Wildcats would likely be ranked behind a 9-3 Texas A&M team who would grab the Citrus Bowl bid. However, if Ole Miss were to take a loss to Vanderbilt or Mississippi State to end the season, the conference could have just two playoff/New Year’s Six teams.

That would place the Wildcats in a bad situation. Ole Miss would get the Citrus Bowl bid which could open up the Outback Bowl for Texas A&M. Even with identical 9-3 records, Kentucky could fall behind both pending the last College Football Playoff Top 25.

It’s worth noting that there is a group of six bowls that all fall in the same tier after the Citrus Bowl — Outback Bowl, Gator Bowl, Music City Bowl, Texas Bowl, Duke’s Mayo Bowl, and Liberty Bowl.

However, A&M was just in the Texas Bowl in 2019 so the league would likely try to send the Aggies somewhere else. In this scenario, Kentucky would fall to Music City or Liberty due to location and no recent visits to either bowl.

The Lane Train needs to keep rolling.

If chalk holds

There is still a lot of football to be played. However, if chalk holds, this is what we could be looking at come bowl season:

• Playoff: Georgia vs. Cincinnati, Oregon vs. Ohio State
• Rose: Utah vs. Michigan State
• Sugar: Baylor vs. Alabama
• Peach: Notre Dame vs. Ole Miss
• Fiesta: Michigan vs. Oklahoma State
• Citrus: Texas A&M vs. Iowa
• Outback: Kentucky vs. Wisconsin
• Gator: Mississippi State vs. Clemson
• Texas: Arkansas vs. Iowa State
• Music City: Tennessee vs. Minnesota
• Duke’s Mayo: Auburn vs. NC State
• Liberty Bowl: Florida vs. Texas Tech

It is important to remember that a berth for Cincinnati into the playoff would take away the automatic Group of Five bid into the New Year’s Six. That could help open things up for the Wildcats. However, Kentucky’s best chance is to hope one SEC West team keeps winning.

Looking for a team to cheer for to close the season? Jump on the Lane Train and get Ole Miss into the New Year’s Six to open up a trip to Tampa for Kentucky.