Tonight, the Bulldogs of UNC Asheville and the Kentucky Wildcats duke it out in Freedom Hall here in Louisville.  This is a game I usually attend, but will have to settle for TV tonight.  It should be interesting to see how the Wildcats rebound off a very near loss to Stanford at the Cancun Challenge last week, and this game represents the tune-up for the big boys from North Carolina -- Chapel Hill this Saturday in Rupp Arena.

This week, the 'Cats get a chance at a two-fer, to beat the University of North Carolina -- twice!

After losing to Tennessee in overtime on Saturday, the football team awaits their bowl fate.  As it turns out, an intriguing possibility has emerged -- the possibility that Kentucky and North Carolina will meet on the gridiron in the Music City Bowl.  From where I am sitting, that looks like a can't-miss scenario for the MCB -- two traditional basketball powerhouses who are rising in football.  I find myself hoping it happens, even though I would prefer a sunnier destination not named Birmingham.  But I'm afraid Saturday's loss made that unlikely.

The news follows the jump.

• Orlando Sentinel - Florida early favorite over 'Bama in SEC Title Game spreads by
  Doing a quick search this morning, Im seeing Florida as between a 3.5- and 5.5-point favorite in the latest odds, which might have been lower without weekends festivities.
  
  Yeah, Auburn gave Alabama their first real scare since the Tennessee game. But I still like them to beat the Gators this weekend.
• For UK, 7-5 season is half bad | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
  "We lost some close ones, and we won some close ones," offensive head coach Joker Phillips said. "I think it's kind of a wash. When you get as close as we did — as we are — it's kind of a disappointment to finish 7-5."
  
  Yes, it is. I am bitterly disappointed we lost to Tennessee, but given the adversity this team had to deal with, we can be proud of three SEC road wins and the breaking of two long streaks. I just wish we could have disposed of the most bedeviling of them.
• The Daily Gamecock - Ten Things We Learned: Week 13 of College Football
• Belly of the Beast: From the Weekend That Was
  Heh. Funny.
• Mother of all UK streaks lives on
  The Cats inability to throw the ball allowed Tennessee to load up on the run. After carrying eight times in the first half, Derrick Locke had only three rushes in the second half and one in the overtime. Locke was held to 30 yards, well below his average of 80.2 yards per game.
  
  Three rushes? I don't get that. I really don't.
• Cats Carry 6-0 Record to Freedom Hall - KENTUCKY OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
• No. 11 UNC avoids upset | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
  North Carolina escapes again. Sounds kind of like another team I know.
• UK Practice quotes before UNC-Asheville Game
  On what impresses him [John Calipari> about Ramon Harris…
  
  "His steadiness, his toughness, his defensive skill. What I see we need is a couple perimeter stoppers and that guy is going to play. Now we’ve got to get him to make easy plays offensively, don’t try to be a play starter, don’t do things that get him in trouble-turnovers, bad shots-and if he eliminates those there’s no reason for me not to put him in the game. I’ll say this; Darius Miller has really gotten better. We all forgot, he didn’t play last year, he never played. And so he gets in the game and he looks like a deer in headlights. Since then you see a steadier player, a player making big plays, big shots, big free throws. He’s not afraid, trying to get better defensively and rebounding. He’s very far from being adequate in those areas, but he’s trying."
• UK to host 2 rounds at NCAA volleyball tourney | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
• Updated Top 25 (and one) - CBSSports.com
  Gary Parrish still thinks we're pretty.
• Light, Whole-Grain Breakfast of Champions 11/30/2009 - Storming The Floor
• Rick Bozich | Same old daze for Kentucky football as Tennessee wins again | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
  When it was over, Ashton Cobb took his helmet and tossed it toward the University of Kentucky student section. Corey Peters walked around in dazed circles in the center of Commonwealth Stadium.
  
  Frustrating.
• Kentucky football in middle of muddled bowl picture | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
  Louisiana State is 9-3 and likely headed to the Capital One Bowl (Jan. 1, Orlando, Fla.), and Mississippi (8-4) probably is Cotton Bowl- or Outback Bowl-bound. UK, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Auburn and South Carolina are all 7-5 and could be headed anywhere.
  
  I expect we'll be playing the bowl guessing game all week.
• " BBL: "Kentucky experiences Deja Vol" John Clay’s Sidelines
  John Clay's Big Blue Links.
• John Clay: Is UK's succession plan still guaranteed to succeed? | KentuckySports.com
  Says here the succession plan was a solid move that is still solid. For a program suffering a crippling lack of continuity, the decision to promote from within was the right move two years ago, and it stays so today.
  
  Saturday's loss not withstanding, UK's strides under Brooks have been concrete and continuous. No reason to blow up the blueprint now.
  
  I think so, too. The problem here is, UK fans hate incremental progress. Welcome to SEC football.
• Cal wants to expand Cats' presence in Louisville | KentuckySports.com
• Kentucky basketball players scolded for stomping on Cardinal logo in Freedom Hall | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal
  So when the University of Kentucky basketball coach learned, toward the end of a media session Sunday night, that several of his players had stomped on the University of Louisville's halfcourt Cardinal logo during an open practice at Freedom Hall, it was another criticism to add to the list.
  
  "Like I said, we do dumb things," Calipari said.
  
  Oh, good grief, coach. This is a big rivalry, and a little light-hearted silliness does not hurt a thing. The UK and U of L signees often do similar things in the Derby Festival Classic.
  
  Better get used to this rivalry, Coach Cal, because it is only going to get more and more intense.
• Cats prepare for Bulldogs | The Kentucky Kernel
• Wildcats Thunder Blog: UK vs UNC-Ashevillle....A Preview
• Observations from the 50-yard Line: Bowl outlook: UNC-Kentucky shaping up
  I don't see how bowl organizers can resist this -- the all-time winningest basketball programs facing off in football. Both fan bases travel well. It just seems like fate to me.
• 5 Things to watch this week - Beyond the Arc - msnbc.com
  The race for 2,000
  
  Hoopheads and fans of Kentucky and North Carolina can’t wait to see which school reaches 2,000 career victories first. (More on that here.)
  
  But Saturday allows the two to go head-to-head – and maybe even let UNC make up a little ground (the Heels are four behind through Sunday). And rest assured, Big Blue Nation badly wants to win this one.
  
  Rest assured, Mike -- you could not be more correct. The Big Blue Nation wants this one so bad they can taste it.