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The Kentucky Wildcats got some help during their Week 8 bye to help boost their odds at landing a New Year’s Six bowl bid.
Kentucky moved from No. 15 to No. 12 in the AP Poll after teams ranked ahead of them following Week 7, such as Penn State, Oklahoma State and Coastal Carolina, lost this week.
The loss by Penn State came at home against unranked Illinois in nine overtimes and was the Nittany Lions’ second loss of the season, putting UK ahead of their 2019 Citrus Bowl foes in the running for a New Year’s Six bid.
At 6-1, the Cats will likely need at least 10 wins to secure a New Year’s Six Bowl, but their schedule is manageable enough to expect the team to reach that 10-win mark and perhaps even hit 11 wins.
They’ll travel to Mississippi State next Saturday (4-3, 2-2), host Tennessee (4-4, 2-3) and travel to Vanderbilt (2-6, 0-4) before finishing the regular season by hosting New Mexico State (1-7) and traveling to Louisville (4-3). Thus, if they handle business, a trip to the New Year’s Six is likely.
Here’s where several outlets see the 6-1 Cats going bowling after eight weeks of action across the nation.