New Years Day Bowl still in reach for Cats?

A win on Saturday against Steve Spurrier's South Carolina Gamecocks would put the Cats in an excellent position to win seven or eight games this season. If they win out, they could even win 9. It sounds crazy at this point, but UK's game with Auburn showed that the Cats are improving and the easier part of the schedule is near. After Saturday's game with South Carolina, the Cats should be favored in each of their remaining five games against Georgia (2-4), Mississippi State, Charleston Southern, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee (2-4). The Cats find themselves at a disappointing 3-3 at the midway point of the season. All of the remaining games are winnable, but realistically, Kentucky should lose a few- especially considering the psychological effect of ending long streaks against Spurrier and Tennessee.

The crushing loss to Auburn at home last week was tough and the Gamecocks won't be any easier to beat this week, but South Carolina is coming off of a very emotionally draining win over #1 Alabama. History tells us that it's very difficult to come off of a big win like that and follow it up with a second straight strong performance on the road in the SEC, even when you're expected to win. Spurrier is calling the Kentucky game, "the biggest in program history". Much of that is "coach speak", but Spurrier recognizes that his team has to continue to perform and not be content with the win over Alabama if he wants to finally take the South Carolina program to the next level. Kentucky fans are also dying to get to that next level and it's not coming as quickly and easily as many fans would like. The South Carolina program under Spurrier, however, is an example of how long it can take for a good program to become elite. It's much easier to go from bad to good, but the next step can be a long process.

What the Cats will need to do is continue to get just a little bit better each year and they'll need to earn a bowl trip outside of the state of Tennessee in the near future to excite an increasingly bored fan base that has grown accustomed to turn attention towards basketball season in October. A warm weather bowl game would also be huge for recruiting. A new SEC bowl lineup will make this a much easier task. Last year, the SEC ended its ties with the Independence Bowl and added a new, bigger bowl to their lineup for this season: the Gator Bowl. The Gator Bowl is rich in tradition and is played on New Years Day. Recently, it has been played between some of the top non-BCS Bowl bound teams out of the Big East and ACC. This year, the Gator Bowl will feature the SEC #6 or 7 team against the Big 10 #4 team.

In the new SEC bowl pecking order, the Gator Bowl will be slated behind the BCS, Capital One, Cotton, Outback, and Chick-fil-a Bowls. Yep, that's right- a major New Years Day Bowl Game will now be slated at the exact same position that the Music City Bowl has been previously been granted in the SEC bowl pecking order (the MCB now has the 7th or 8th pick behind the Gator, depending on the BCS picture). The Music City Bowl, of course, has been the Cats' destination in three of the last four seasons. If the Cats can repeat what they have done in three of the last four years in winning seven regular season games, or if they can match last year's 4-1 finish in the remaining five games...then they should be destined for Jacksonville instead of Nashville and will have the chance to continue the SEC's dominance over the Big 10, likely against a team such as Wisconsin or Michigan. Is that enough for Kentucky football fans to be a little more excited for the stretch run?

Where will the Cats go bowling?

Possible Opponents in Atlanta

Clemson

Virginia Tech

Boston College

Georgia Tech

Possible Opponents in Tampa

Wisconsin
Penn State
Iowa
Michigan State

With the huge win over Georgia last night, the Cats have finally positioned themselves in the upper echelon of the mighty SEC East. With three straight SEC road wins: @Auburn, Vanderbilt, and Georgia, they've finally taken that next step. They will not be playing a bowl game in the state of Tennessee this year. For the first time since Tim Couch led the Cats to the 1999 Outback Bowl on New Years Day, the Cats will be playing in a very significant warm-weather New Years (Eve or day) bowl game and can finish in 2nd place in the SEC East, 2nd only to the Florida Gators, with a win over Tennessee at Commonwealth on Saturday night. So far this has been a year of ending huge losing streaks to Auburn and on the road against Georgia. Ending the nation's longest losing streak against Tennessee and earning a ticket to Tampa to face Penn State, Iowa, or Wisconsin on New Years Day, would be icing on the cake for this roller coaster season that has seen highs, lows, injuries, and plenty of surprises along the way.

After beating Miami (OH) in the opener at Paul Brown Stadium, the Cats struggled in a win over Louisville before losing three straight games in a row in SEC play, two of them against the top two teams in the nation. They never gave up on the season, however, just like they never gave up down by 14 points towards the end of the 3rd quarter last night between the hedges against the Bulldogs. With a 2-3 record, their starting quarterback hurt and possibly out for the season, and just experiencing a devastating two point loss at South Carolina, it looked like it could be a long season for the Cats. Instead, the Cats shocked the Auburn Tigers the very next week. Two weeks later, the Cats experienced another very disappointing loss to Mississippi State. At this point, it looked like the Cats were headed to yet another Liberty or Music City Bowl. It even looked like that until about the 4th quarter of last night's game.

Then, one forced Bulldog turnover after another, an entire season and possibly an entire football program took a giant step forward with a comeback win at Georgia. A win that positioned the Cats to make it to a New Years Bowl Game, something that Andre Woodson couldn't even accomplish as a junior or senior. This time, a true freshman quarterback and all-around best player Randall Cobb, only a Sophomore, are taking the Cats to levels they've never been before. Saturday's battle with Tennessee will be possibly the biggest November home football game in the history of Commonwealth Stadium. The stakes are high, "the streak" could end, and unlike the similar 2007 matchup, there's a lot of positive momentum going into this game. It's going to be one of the best atmosphere's ever in Commonwealth, and I can't wait to be a part of it!

Win or lose, however, I believe the Cats are a lock to at least play in Atlanta on New Years Eve in the Chick-fil-a (formerly the Peach) Bowl for a number of reasons. Even if we lose to Tennessee, the overall records of UK, UT, and UGA will be identical, with UT having a one game edge in conference play, assuming that Georgia losses to Georgia Tech. This could propel the Vols ahead of the Cats in the bowl pecking order with the Vols in Tampa and the Cats in Atlanta, but as long as Georgia losses, the Cats will have one of the top two bowl spots in the SEC East (with Florida obviously playing in a BCS game).

The only scenario that could possibly take the Cats to another Music City Bowl would be a Georgia win over Georgia Tech combined with a UK loss to Tennessee. Then, the Peach Bowl would possibly prefer the in-state Bulldogs after a big win against their rival to end the season. But I believe that EVEN IF that happens, the Peach Bowl would have a hard time justifying the choice of the Bulldogs over the Cats after the Cats just beat the Dawgs on the road.

Plus, they can make more money off the Cats with more fans spending money on hotel rooms than if the in-state Bulldogs were in town. Big Blue Nation has broken attendance records in nearly every bowl appearance in the program's history. These bigger, non-BCS bowl games are a much bigger deal to us than they are for other SEC schools like UT and UGA, which is why we are a better choice for higher attendance and revenue. No matter what happens, I really like our chances to play in Atlanta. And if we beat UT, I think we're a lock to play in Tampa on January 1st.

It's been a great day for both the football and basketball teams today. But could you imagine bigger back-to-back days than an Outback Bowl appearance on January 1st followed by a certain basketball game scheduled for January 2nd at Rupp? Has there ever been a more exciting time to be a Big Blue fan? I don't think so.

Kentucky vs. Eastern Kentucky

Eastern Kentucky is celebrating 100 years of football this season. The first 100 years has surprisingly only featured two matchups all-time against their neighbors 20 miles up the road in Lexington. Unfortunately for EKU, those 2 matchups were against Tim Couch in 1998 and Andre Woodson in 2007 and the Cats combined to win both games for a score of 102-17.

The Colonels (5-3, 3-2 OVC) are trying to make it a 31st consecutive winning season, one of the longest streaks in the nation at any level. Their goal is to also win the school's 21st OVC Championship and third straight trip to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. They've won two FCS National Championships under legendary coach Roy Kidd in 1979 and 1982. Before the FCS Playoffs were established, the Colonels made appearances in the Rice Bowl and the Tangerine Bowl (winning the Rice Bowl). Danny Hope succeeded Roy Kidd at Eastern and now is the head coach at Purdue, with a win over Ohio State already on his resume. Former Wake Forest Defensive Coordinator, Dean Hood, is now the head boss in Richmond.

In the glory days of EKU football under Kidd, the Colonels were probably the best team in the state in many of those years. In 1982, when Kentucky was 0-10-1 and Eastern was 13-0 and the FCS National Champions, it likely would have been a very embarrassing loss for the Cats that year. They never faced the Cats in that era, but the Colonels did put a 45-21 thumping on Louisville in 1985 and you could say it's questionable as to what the result would be this year if the Colonels had another shot at UofL.

They opened up this season in Bloomington against Big Ten foe Indiana, and scared the Hoosiers to death as they escaped with a 19-13 win against EKU. Down 19-10 at halftime, the Colonels outplayed the Hoosiers in the 2nd half. They only allowed one IU first down in all of the 3rd quarter. Late in the 4th quarter, the Colonels had the ball inside the 5 yard line about to score and take the lead, before fumbling on 2nd and goal.

Although the Colonels are rich in history and tradition, this year's matchup faces a Kentucky program that is building some tradition of their own as they look to win their 4th straight bowl game this season. Three weeks ago, the Cats had a huge win on the road at Auburn. They followed it up with an easy win over Louisiana Monroe before losing a close battle at home with Mississippi State, a game the Cats feel they let slip away. Now, the Cats are angry at themselves and wanting to get back on track, which is not good news for EKU. Their goal is to win out and finish 8-4 and play in a warm temperature bowl game for the first time since 1998 when Tim Couch led the Cats to the Outback Bowl against Penn State. They know that all their dreams and aspirations of playing on New Years Day will not be possible with a loss on Saturday. Coach Brooks has talked this week about taking it one game at a time the rest of the way. There is no margin of error, and with Georgia and Tennessee still on the schedule, losing to EKU would be a disaster.

For EKU, on the other hand, the game is all about pride. Eastern's roster includes 29 players from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, many of whom probably were snubbed by UK in the recruiting process. EKU's goal remains the same: win an OVC Championship. The UK game has absolutely no impact on the Colonels' goal of winning the OVC and getting a third straight automatic birth to the FCS Playoffs, however, it would absolutely make their season if they pulled off the upset in Commonwealth.

In the end, I see UK winning this game fairly easily but closer than the last two times the schools have met. UK needs this game more than EKU does as far as their post-season aspirations are concerned. Despite battling injuries and the flu bug this week, the Cats should have the proper focus after losing last week to avoid it getting too close as they will comfortably extend the 2nd longest non-conference winning streak in the nation. They know they need this game, and they'll take care of business as they make it to a fourth straight bowl win. Eastern will appreciate the experience, learn from it, move on, and hopefully win a third straight OVC Championship. That would be a win-win situation for an EKU Alum and lifelong Cats fan.