Kentucky Football is back in Bowl Projections

There are 122 days until Kentucky kicks off the 2026 football season. That means it’s the perfect time to start looking at bowl projections.

Bowl games do not carry the same weight they once did. Nevertheless, it’s something Kentucky fans grew accustomed to when Mark Stoops took the Wildcats to a program-record eight straight from 2016-23. With a Top 10 schedule on the horizon, returning to the postseason would be a significant achievement in Will Stein‘s first season as the Wildcats’ head coach.

College football prognosticators believe that Stein will turn things around, but there aren’t too many who think he can get to at least six wins in year one. There is at least one who believes the Cats will go bowling this year.

Brad Crawford of CBS Sports updated his 2026 bowl projections after spring practices wrapped up across the country. He has the Cats playing postseason football in the Cure Bowl against East Carolina. The Cure Bowl has been around since 2014 and is played in Orlando’s Camping World Stadium, the same site where the Wildcats won a pair of Citrus Bowls.

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Kentucky vs. East Carolina in the Postseason

It’s unlikely that this projection will become a reality, HOWEVER, it would scratch a nostalgic itch for many Kentucky football fans.

The Wildcats faced the Purple Pirates in the Liberty Bowl following the 2008 season. It turned into an absolute slugfest in Memphis, coined by some as “The Kneecap Bowl.”

The Kentucky offense needed a spark, trailing 16-3 at halftime, when David Jones returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. That’s when the defense put the clamps on East Carolina. Kentucky turned a stop into a score, with Kyrus Lanxter providing the equalizer.

With the game tied in the fourth quarter, East Carolina methodically moved the ball into Kentucky territory with just over three minutes remaining. The tables were turned by a turnover. Ventrell Jenkins picked up a fumble, then delivered a stiff-arm that knocked the quarterback’s mouthpiece to the turf, en route to the end zone for a 57-yard return touchdown. What an insane way to win a football game.

There’s one more interesting anecdote from this game. East Carolina’s backup quarterback was Joe Sloan, who is Kentucky’s offensive coordinator this fall. A postseason date with the Purple Pirate in the Cure Bowl would be an interesting twist of fate.