The Week 3 AP poll didn’t just shuffle the top 25. It also left a few teams sitting lower than they probably should be, at least if you’re judging by what happened on the field.
Ohio State is the clearest example. The Buckeyes lost to Texas, but it came on the road and by a point.
Still, they landed at No. 7, and that feels awfully low for a team that many people would still have a hard time ranking behind Indiana or Miami, especially when those teams had their own struggles with Western Kentucky and Wake Forest. Ohio State handled its Week 3 business, and the sense here is that it will keep climbing back toward the top.
LSU got hit with a similar kind of drop. The Tigers lost on the road to the now-No.
4 Rebels, but the punishment looks a little too severe when you stack them against other teams in the poll. BYU, for instance, is 3-0 and sits one spot ahead of LSU.
On a neutral field, how much would LSU really be favored by? A touchdown, maybe a little more?
Whatever concerns LSU has in the SEC race, that wasn’t the main story of Week 3.
Washington is another team that deserves more respect than the poll gave it. The Huskies cruised past Eastern Washington and did exactly what they were supposed to do.
The complaint against them is that their 3-0 start has looked unconvincing, but that criticism gets hard to defend when Texas A&M, SMU and Houston are all hanging around the bottom of the top 25 despite not taking care of business in Week 3. Washington could just as easily have been in the poll instead of sitting as the first team out.
Kentucky also has a strong case. The Wildcats went on the road and beat No.
9 Texas A&M, which is the kind of win the poll should reward. At 2-1, Kentucky is outside the top 25 because its loss to Alabama in Week 2 ended up looking ugly on the scoreboard, 45-17.
But that final margin doesn’t tell the whole story. Kentucky was in that game until late in the third quarter, and it has a better win than SMU, Houston, or the Texas A&M team it just beat.
The Wildcats are second in receiving votes, but they’ve got a real argument to be in the top 25 already.
In Other News...
Kentucky Just Put Will Steins First Season Back In Play
Kentuckys win over No. 9 Texas A&M gave first-year coach Will Stein something every rebuilding program needs: a believable path forward. The 31-21 victory did more than add a quality mark to the rsum, it reset the conversation around a season that had been drifting toward the margins and put the Wildcats back in range of meaningful November football.
There is still plenty of work ahead, and the schedule does Kentucky no favors, but the stakes are clear now. If the Wildcats can navigate the rest of the slate well enough to reach six wins, they would become bowl eligible for the first time since 2023, which would be a notable marker for Steins first season and a sign the program is moving in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky's Freshman Usage Is Already Creating A Roster Dilemma
Kentuckys 2026 recruiting class is already taking shape as a wide-ranging group, with 15 commitments from 11 states and a ranking of No. 38 nationally. The class includes two four-star recruits, and it arrives at a time when college footballs eligibility rules are in transition, with the five-year clock set to begin for the 2027 recruiting class while 2026 signees will still be able to choose between the new system and the old one.
That backdrop matters because early playing time can complicate everything for freshmen, especially on a roster where coaches are trying to balance development with depth. Kentucky is hardly alone in wrestling with the fallout, either, as Alabamas true freshmen have already been pushed into game action this season and their usage has begun to affect remaining eligibility in different ways, with some situations still unsettled as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Got The Kind Of Road Win Wildcat Fans Will Love
Kentucky left Kyle Field with the kind of road win that can change the way a season feels, knocking off No. 9 Texas A&M in a game that showed the Wildcats could win in more than one way. Kentucky outplayed the Aggies in several key areas, with the running game helping set the tone and the offense finding enough explosive moments to keep Texas A&M from settling in.
The turnover battle also tilted Kentuckys way, and that mattered in a hostile environment where momentum can swing fast. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko acknowledged the loss in his postgame remarks and owned the performance, but for Kentucky the bigger story was the complete nature of the result and what it says about a team that can travel and take control against a ranked opponent. [Read more 🡒]