Week 4 Bowl Projections

The College Football Season is mature enough that I can start the annual ritual of surveying the pundits' bowl projection for where UK might end up. Of course, this is all art and no science at this point in the season. Doing this correctly would require these guys to predict the outcome of almost every major college game for the rest of the year. So take it all with a grain of salt.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach has UK in the dreaded Shreveport hole, playing Kansas State, which was just dismantled by Louisville, in the Independence Bowl on December 28th. The thought of trying to convince my wife that this would be a fun trip turns my stomach.

His ESPN colleague, Bruce Feldman, has us in the Papajohns.com Bowl against Pitt. Hey, Birmingham isn't exactly Tampa, but at least I can drive there. Reportedly, this bowl must select the lowest ranked eligible SEC team. I take that to mean that the Independance Bowl, which previously picked last, will get a clear priority. In other words, a school that falls to Shreveport and is picked to go there cannot opt for Birmingham instead. I'll break down how all the tie-ins work in a later post. Like when UK gets that sixth win.

Both ESPN guys have Ole Miss going to a better bowl. Am I missing something?

Scout.com has us playing Tulsa in the Liberty Bowl on January 2. This is a good game on par with the Music City. It also falls on a Friday at 5pm. Ideal road trip. Beale Street, holiday weekend, the only work being missed is a Friday where no work will get done anyway whether you're there or not. (Incidentally, my office is open that day, which will result in nearly all lawyers taking the day off and the staff being totally unproductive because no one is there to generate work. This simultaneously defeats the purpose of being open, and leaves the staff resenting us in the process.) The thought of the Liberty Bowl has me geeked up to no end, but I am instantly brought back down to earth by the prediction of . . .

. . . CBS, which has Troy taking the last SEC spot in the Pizza Web Site Bowl and UK going nowhere, based on an a belief that not enough SEC teams will be bowl eligible. So basically, the folks at CBS think we are going 5-7. CBS has 1-3 Mississippi State grabbing the last eligible spot in the Independence Bowl. Dude, they are 1-3. Did I mention that they lost to Louisiana Tech?

All in all, these picks span the acceptable gamut of what could happen. It is hard to picture UK breaking into the Cotton, Outback, Chick-Fil-A trio or being invited back to Nashville for the proverbial third slice of pie (though those folks should want us back). That leaves Memphis, Shreveport, Birmingham or bust.

Did I mention we need to win this game Saturday?