Thursday Headlines: ReliaQuest Bowl Edition

The ReliaQuest (formerly Outback) Bowl is looking like a possible bowl destination for UK.

By Zac Oakes@ZacOakes Nov 10, 2022, 6:40am EST

We’ve still got three more regular-season games left for the Kentucky Wildcats football team, but the bowl picture is starting to get a little clearer down the home stretch of the season.

Kentucky is squarely in the SEC’s “Pool of 6” for postseason bowls, which the Cats are no stranger to. These bowls are, of course, the Las Vegas Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Texas Bowl, Gator Bowl, Music City Bowl, and ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly known as Outback Bowl).

Any of these bowls are possibilities for Kentucky, but right now, the trendy thought is that Kentucky will head to Tampa for the ReliaQuest Bowl and a matchup with a Big 10 (or possibly ACC) team on January 2.

If Kentucky can win the games it will likely be favored in (Vanderbilt and Louisville) and finish the season at 8-4, while nothing crazy happens in the rest of the conference, the Cats will likely head to Tampa.

The other popular thought is the Music City Bowl, which would be in direct conflict with the Kentucky-Louisville basketball game. It’s hard to imagine UK would want to do that, despite the appeal of a Nashville bowl game and the national projections that Kentucky will ultimately land there.

The Texas Bowl for a matchup with the Big 12 (Kansas, anyone?) is also on the table, as is the Liberty Bowl or another trip to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville.

Despite a little more clarity, the bowl projections are still a little foggy.

KSR’s Adam Luckett has a thorough breakdown of the bowl scenarios, so make sure to check that out for a more in-depth look.