Kentucky is a MUST win for bowl selections

If UGA wins out, we're going to the CapitalOne Bowl in Orlando versus most likely Michigan State. There's an outside shot at facing Ohio State, but it requires several long shot scenarios to fall into place.

However, if we lose a variety of problematic scenarios start to unfold.

• Kentucky's Upside - If the Wildcats (6-3) win tomorrow, they are well positioned to finish 9-3. They host Vanderbilt next week, and they get a week off after that to get ready for a game in Neyland Stadium against a struggling Volunteer squad. UK has only played in one New Year's Day bowl since Bear Bryant left in the early 1950s. If they win out, they would be more attractive to the Capital One, Outback and Cotton Bowls than UGA because of fan enthusiasm. Additionally, Outback Steakhouse's founder (a UK Alum/Booster) is an active member of the Tampa sports group that created the Outback Bowl.
  
  
• South Carolina's Upside - The Gamecocks are currently 6-3 with games remaining vs Arkansas, at Florida and at Clemson. It's entirely reasonable to see the Chickens going 8-4 against that slate. As I understand it, the SEC Bowl selection rules will allow a bowl to pick a team with a lesser record as long as its only 1 conference loss behind the higher ranked team. That means the Outback Bowl could (and likely would) select South Carolina over UGA if LSU or UK were in the Capital One Bowl.
  
  
• The Bottom Dropping Out - A loss to the Wildcats could send an already disappointed UGA squad off the deep end, and set up an upset to the Yellow Jackets or Aubies.

The team still has a lot to play for in terms of bowl seeding. I'd wager that being in Atlanta for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl is totally unappealing. To avoid that, we need to take care of business.

Besides...there's always the outside shot of tangling with The Ohio State Suckeyes in Orlando. If you want to see that, pull for Illinois to de-pants the tOSU again in two weeks.

See Also:
-- Bowl Implications for both teams - State Journal (KY)
-- UK Bowl Possibilities - Lexington Herald
-- SEC Bowl Situation - And the Valley Shook
-- Georgia vs. Auburn Tickets - Stubhub

PWD