But if the Cats beat Tennessee, the Outback Bowl is a possible destination for UK with its 8-4 record, star quarterback Andre Woodson and Big Blue fans.
Of course, the Outback could also opt for Auburn and send Tennessee to the Cotton Bowl.
The Chick-fil-A Bowl could be tempted to think about South Carolina (6-5) if the Gamecocks beat Clemson on Saturday and Kentucky loses to Tennessee.
That's why UK benefits if Clemson beats Steve Spurrier's team and also if Auburn hands Alabama (6-5) a fourth straight loss, including defeats by Mississippi State and Louisiana-Monroe. It won't hurt UK for LSU to beat Arkansas, either.
But what happens if the Chick-fil-A would pick a team other than Kentucky if UK loses to Tennessee, especially if the loss is one-sided?
The Music City Bowl in Nashville and Liberty Bowl in Memphis both get next choice.
The Music City Bowl might worry how UK fans would react to a 2-5 finish to the season and coming to Nashville for the third time in 12 months since UK played in this bowl last year and also played at Vanderbilt earlier this month.
"But UK would still be 7-5 even if it loses to Tennessee and is still an exciting team to watch," one bowl official, who asked not to be identified, said. "Rafael Little will be fully healthy for a bowl game. Keenan Burton and Jacob Tamme will likely be, too.
"But that Kentucky crowd travels. What if the Chick-fil-A Bowl or Music City Bowl had a Kentucky-Florida State or Kentucky-Georgia Tech. Both those games have a lot of sex appeal for TV."
Mississippi State (6-5) could be the wild card team. When it beats Mississippi on Friday, it will be 7-5. That's the same record Arkansas would have. However, both those teams would seem better suited for the Liberty Bowl or Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La.
"Mississippi State would have wins over Auburn, Alabama and Kentucky. They would bring a lot of fans, but not like a Kentucky or Alabama would. It's a lot more natural for Mississippi State to go to Memphis," the bowl official said.
Don't think the Kentucky fans won't influence the bowl selection. If Boston College loses the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, it might drop to the Chick-fil-A Bowl because Boston fans do not traditionally travel well likes those at Clemson, Virginia Tech or Virginia do.
If the Chick-fil-A takes Boston College, it will need a SEC team to bring fans. Can you say Kentucky when it comes to putting butts in the seats?
"Also TV could see a matchup of quarterbacks Matt Ryan of Boston College and Andre Woodson of Kentucky. TV folks like a matchup like that because viewers pay attention," the bowl official said.
The Music City Bowl on Dec. 31 has a later kickoff this year. It's part of a CBS tripleheader, with the final game being the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
So where will Kentucky go?
"If Kentucky beats Tennessee, I still think it could be the Outback Bowl or certainly the Chick-fil-A Bowl. If they lose to Tennessee in a great game that is exciting, the Chick-fil-A could still be very interested, especially if South Carolina and Alabama both lose," the official said. "And you know the Music City Bowl has not forgot those 45,000 fans UK brought last year."
