Kentucky’s 3-1 start has done more than just get people talking - it has the Wildcats firmly in the bowl picture.
After September wrapped with a top-10 road win in College Station and a cover against South Alabama in Week 4, postseason projections started leaning Kentucky’s way in a more serious way. The Wildcats opened the Will Stein era with an objectively successful month, and now the bowl chatter looks like it’s sticking.
The broader poll picture reflects that. Kentucky moved into the AP Top 25 on Sunday at No. 24 and landed just outside the latest Coaches Poll, receiving votes at No.
- ESPN’s FPI still isn’t nearly as bullish, slotting the Wildcats at No. 36 overall, but even that model has Kentucky projected to finish 6.1-5.9.
It also gives the Cats a 64.4 percent chance to reach a bowl and, for those keeping score, a 4.0 percent chance to make the College Football Playoff.
That last number can wait. For now, the interesting part is where Kentucky is being sent.
On3’s Brett McMurphy has the Wildcats headed to the Texas Bowl on Dec. 31 in Houston, where they would meet Baylor.
CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford has Kentucky in the Gasparilla Bowl against USF, while also noting that “Oddsmakers set Kentucky’s win total at 5.5 in Will Stein’s first season, and the Wildcats (3-1) are already halfway to eclipsing the total,” and, “Thanks to a 31-21 victory at Texas A&M in Week 3, this team is confident ahead of their return to SEC play up next at South Carolina. We laid out five reasons in July why Kentucky could be one of college football’s most-improved teams, and thus far, the Wildcats are proving just that.”
CBS also listed a Music City Bowl projection, with Kentucky matched against Michigan at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., in a Big Ten-SEC tie-in game set for Dec. 30.
College Football News went a different direction entirely, projecting Kentucky in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl against Kansas State. That game is listed for Saturday, January 2, 2027, at 7:30 on ESPN from Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, TN, with bowl affiliations involving the Big 12, SEC, or AAC.
For Kentucky, just getting back to the postseason would be a step forward after failing to reach six wins in back-to-back seasons to close out Mark Stoops’ time in Lexington. The Wildcats also haven’t won a bowl game in a while, with their last victory coming against Iowa in the Citrus Bowl to cap off that magical, since-vacated 2021 season.
Still, the bigger takeaway right now is simple: a quarter of the way through the regular season, Kentucky’s bowl path is real, and even the College Football Playoff remains on the board, however unlikely.
In Other News...
Kentucky Fans Can Exhale After Brief Louisville Recruiting Scare
Tristin Hughes gave Kentucky fans a small scare when his recruitment briefly pointed toward Louisville, but the four-star safety from Rocky River High School in Ohio never really got far off the Wildcats track. Hughes committed to Kentucky in April, and after initially setting an official visit to Louisville, he opted not to take the trip.
For a program trying to keep momentum in its 2027 class, decisions like that matter because they can calm nerves quickly and keep the focus on building around the players already in the fold. Kentuckys class also includes several other prospects with their own positions, rankings and high school backgrounds, giving the Wildcats a group worth following as the cycle develops. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky May Have Found Another Receiving Threat At Last
Kentucky keeps looking for answers in the passing game, and Week 4 offered a small but encouraging sign. Against South Alabama, Shane Carr hauled in his first two catches as a Wildcat, including a 15-yard touchdown from Kenny Minchey in the fourth quarter, while true freshman Kenny Darby stayed involved with three receptions for 43 yards and a 27-yard grab that helped set up a scoring run.
For a Kentucky offense that has leaned on spreading the ball around, those developments matter because every new target changes how defenses have to account for the field. Carrs breakthrough and Darbys early-season emergence give the Wildcats a little more depth at receiver, even as the group continues to sort out who can become a consistent threat week after week. [Read more 🡒]
Rob Dillingham Just Landed In A Spot Kentucky Fans Should Watch
Rob Dillinghams NBA path has already taken another turn, and Kentucky fans have reason to keep an eye on it. The former Wildcats guard, the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, was dealt from the Chicago Bulls to the Charlotte Hornets in a move that sent Buddy Hield and cash the other way. It is the latest change of scenery for a player whose professional career started with Minnesota before he landed in Chicago and began to settle in.
Charlotte could be a meaningful spot for Dillingham because the opportunity looks real. He has one year left on his rookie contract, and the expectation is that he will have a significant role with the Hornets. For Kentucky followers, that makes this more than just another transaction line, since the next stretch of his development may now come with more touches, more responsibility and a clearer chance to show what kind of NBA guard he can become. [Read more 🡒]