Kentucky Football bowl projection roundup Week 8

Following two straight losses, the Kentucky Wildcats fought to stop the bleeding and picked up a much-needed victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday. Now they enter a well-timed bye week and will try to get several key players back to 100%.

Following the bye, Kentucky will face off against a red-hot Tennessee Volunteer team at Neyland Stadium that just jumped to No. 3 after beating Alabama.

Before we look any further, new bowl projections have been released and there are some interesting potential matchups, including playing a basketball blue-blood like North Carolina or Kansas.

Let’s take a look.

247 Sports

• Brad Crawford: AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. Kansas Jayhawks (Dec. 28, 5:30 p.m., ESPN, Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, TN)

Action Sports Network

• Brett McMurphy: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Purdue Boilermakers (Jan. 2, 12 p.m., ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)

CBS Sports

• Jerry Palm: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (Jan. 2, 12 p.m., ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)

College Football News

• ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (Jan. 2, 12 p.m., ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)

ESPN

• Kyle Bonagura: TaxSlayer Gator Bowl vs. North Carolina Tar Heels (Dec. 30, 3:30 p.m., ESPN, TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville, FL)
• Mark Schlabach: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (Jan. 2, 12 p.m., ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)

Sporting News

• Bill Bender: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Purdue Boilermakers (Jan. 2, 12 p.m., ESPN2, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)

With five games left on the schedule, including two against top-three opponents, Kentucky could push toward a better bowl. Then again, if they lose both or drop an unexpected one, the Wildcats will have to settle for just making a bowl. They are in control of their destiny.