Kentucky is back in the AP Top 25, and this time the Wildcats are in the poll on their own merit after a 45-21 home win over South Alabama pushed them into No. 24 in week four.
It’s the first time Kentucky has been ranked in the AP Top 25 during the Will Stein era. The Wildcats had been the second team out before this jump, sitting on 98 votes last week. Now they’re in at No. 24 with 150 votes.
The move came during a wild week across the poll, one that saw plenty of reshuffling after voters took heat the previous week for sticking too closely to preseason expectations. Florida made the biggest splash, vaulting 13 spots to No. 8 after a 52-28 win over then-No.
4 Ole Miss. The Rebels fell five spots to No. 9, while LSU dropped one place to No. 11 even after hammering Texas A&M 35-6.
Texas A&M, the same team Kentucky stunned in Texas when it was ranked No. 9, didn’t just tumble - it vanished from the poll entirely and didn’t receive a single vote.
Elsewhere, Oregon climbed five spots and Mississippi State rose eight. Oklahoma State entered at No. 19 with an 11-spot jump, while Boise State and UCLA also moved in with big gains of nine and 14 spots, respectively.
USC slid six places to No. 18.
At the top, Texas and Georgia held down the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, with Alabama up one place to No. 7.
Florida followed at No. 8 and Ole Miss at No. 9.
LSU landed just outside the top 10, Mississippi State checked in at No. 16, Tennessee dropped three spots to No.
17, Kentucky arrived at No. 24 and Missouri slid six spots to No. 25 after losing to Mississippi State.
One notable wrinkle: no SEC team that went unranked received even a single vote. Oklahoma, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Auburn, Vanderbilt and Arkansas all came away empty.
Louisville also dropped out after a home loss to Wake Forest, collecting only 25 votes - 68 fewer than the Demon Deacons.
For Kentucky, the ranking also changes the look of the road ahead. The Wildcats now have four ranked games left on the schedule at the time of publication, after Louisville fell out and South Carolina, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt remain unrepresented.
Kentucky still has a top-10 matchup with Florida on Nov. 14, a top-15 game against LSU on Oct. 10, a top-20 meeting with Tennessee on Nov. 7 and a ranked game against Missouri on Nov. 21.
A full list of the week four AP Top 25 Poll is available below: *[] denotes first-place votes
Texas Longhorns (4-0) [62]
Georgia Bulldogs (4-0) [6]
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-0)
Miami Hurricanes (4-0) [1] (+2)
Ohio State Buckeyes (3-1) (+2)
Indiana Hoosiers (4-0) [1] (-1)
Alabama Crimson Tide (4-0) (+1)
Florida Gators (4-0) (+13)
Ole Miss Rebels (3-1) (-5)
BYU Cougars (3-0) (-1)
LSU Tigers (3-1) (-1)
Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-0) (-1)
Utah Utes (4-0) (+2)
Iowa Hawkeyes (4-0) (+3)
Oregon Ducks (3-1) (+5)
Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-0) (+8)
Tennessee Volunteers (3-1) (-3)
USC Trojans (4-1) (-6)
Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-1) (+11)
Houston Cougars (3-1) (+5)
SMU Mustangs (3-1) (+1)
Boise State Broncos (3-1) (+9)
UCLA Bruins (4-0) (+14)
Kentucky Wildcats (3-1) (+3)
Missouri Tigers (3-1) (-6)
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Charlotte could be a meaningful spot for Dillingham because the opportunity looks real. He has one year left on his rookie contract, and the expectation is that he will have a significant role with the Hornets. For Kentucky followers, that makes this more than just another transaction line, since the next stretch of his development may now come with more touches, more responsibility and a clearer chance to show what kind of NBA guard he can become. [Read more 🡒]