With Mississippi State-Alabama and Auburn-Georgia on the slate, it’s easy to overlook Saturday’s matchup in Knoxville between Tennessee and Kentucky. But don’t be fooled. It’s a pivotal game for both programs.

Bowl eligibility is on the line, and for second-year coaches Butch Jones and Mark Stoops, that’s the next step in the rebuilding process.

“We’re playing a team that comes in -- there’s no mistake about it -- we all know they’re fighting for the same thing we’re fighting for,” Jones said. “So it comes down to execution, playing our style of play and having a mentality. But execution is the biggest thing, and I know Coach Stoops is telling his team the same thing.”

Playing for a bowl game seems crazy for a tradition-rich program like Tennessee, but the Volunteers haven’t played in one since the 2010 Music City Bowl. They were on the verge last year, Jones’ first year as coach, but four straight losses down the stretch put an end to that and pushed the goal back a year.

This season, the chances looked bleak, but a memorable come-from-behind victory at South Carolina two weeks ago gave the Vols hope. Now, sitting at 4-5, they have games left against Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt, and six wins doesn’t seem that far-fetched.

“The more you win the more that’s at stake,” Jones said, referring back to the South Carolina game. “So what do you do? Does that drive you more? Are you satisfied with it? Last year, I believe we got satisfied at times, and there was nothing to be satisfied for -- where now we’ve put ourselves in position for a postseason opportunity. Go take advantage of it.”

At 5-5, Kentucky is one step closer to that elusive sixth win and the opportunity to play in a bowl game, but the Wildcats are trending in the opposite direction. They have lost four straight games and what looked like a foregone conclusion a month ago now feels as though it might not happen. They’re heading down the same path Tennessee did a year ago.

Stoops has preached the same message to his team all season. It’s not as much about wins and losses as it is about improving every single day. But even he says he’ll try and use that sixth win as motivation for this team heading into Saturday’s game.

“I think it’s OK to talk about that,” Stoops said. “Whatever, by any means necessary, to get our team motivated to go out and play a good game this week -- we’ll try it all.

“Our team knows. They want a sixth win. It’s important. We do discuss it a little bit, but that shouldn’t be your primary motivation. You should be motivated to go out and play because it’s a rival and it’s a big SEC opponent on the road.”

Kentucky’s last bowl game also came after the 2010 season when the Wildcats lost to Pittsburgh in the BBVA Compass Bowl.

At the end of the day, Saturday’s game might not look all that enticing. It’s not determining a division race. It certainly has no playoff implications. But for two upstart programs on the rise, it means everything.