Kentucky spent the weekend on the sideline, but the Wildcats still moved plenty in the national conversation.
Coming out of the bye week, the projections are still treating Kentucky like a real College Football Playoff threat. The range is wide - anywhere from No. 4 to No. 9 - but the message is the same: at 7-1 and 5-1 in the SEC, Kentucky is very much in the mix with four regular-season games left.
Andy Staples of On3 has Kentucky at No. 6 and set up in a first-round matchup with No. 11 Ole Miss.
In his projection, the Wildcats would face the Rebels after No. 12 New Mexico plays No.
5 Indiana, with the winner moving on to meet No. 3 Utah in the Fiesta Bowl.
Staples noted that Kentucky is headed straight back into a tough one at Tennessee, writing: “Kentucky was off Saturday, but the Wildcats get thrown right back into the fray with a visit to two-loss Tennessee. The Volunteers need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Wildcats would like to keep a valuable mulligan if they can. That will be tough, because the Vols have won five in a row in the series.”
Ari Wasserman of On3 also has Kentucky at No. 6, and he pointed to the way the season has flipped since the Alabama loss. “Kentucky got blown out by Alabama in its SEC opener, a game that made us feel like the Will Stein build was going to take a while.
Boy, were we wrong. Kentucky has since rattled off six consecutive wins, the most recent a 34-17 win over Vanderbilt.
Kentucky had an open date in week nine, so it’s going into November as a one-loss team and atop the SEC. Can the Wildcats contend for a CFP spot?
Absolutely. Quarterback Kenny Minchey has been one of the breakout players of the season.”
Heather Dinich of ESPN slotted Kentucky at No. 8 and highlighted the committee-friendly parts of the résumé. “Why they could be here: Kentucky entered its bye week leading the nation in ESPN’s strength of record metric and No. 8 in strength of schedule, according to ESPN Analytics.
The committee will hold both of those in high regard, along with road wins, and Kentucky has three against SEC opponents Texas A&M, South Carolina and Oklahoma. Kentucky won’t wow anyone in the committee meeting room with its stats, though.
The Wildcats rank outside the top 20 in offensive and defensive efficiency, and have won their games by an average of 8.1 points.”
ESPN’s staff projections were all over the map, but Kentucky kept showing up near the top of the bracket. Andrea Adelson had the Wildcats at No.
5, Kyle Bonagura at No. 8, Bill Connelly at No.
7, David Hale at No. 4, Eli Lederman at No.
9, Max Olson at No. 8, Adam Rittenberg at No.
4, Alex Scarborough at No. 4, Mark Schlabach at No.
5, Jake Trotter at No. 6, Paolo Uggetti at No. 5 and Dave Wilson at No.
Brad Crawford of CBS Sports said Kentucky knows exactly what it needs to do to get there: “win two of its final three SEC matchups and beat Louisville. That would mean 10 wins, likely a spot in the SEC title game and a near auto-berth in the 12-team bracket. The Wildcats have played with extreme confidence all season long under a first-year coach, and how about this matchup: ex-Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey against his former program.”
Matt De Lima of Sports Illustrated also had Kentucky at No. 8 and leaned on the road wins that have carried the season. “Kentucky beat LSU in overtime and won at Texas A&M, South Carolina and Oklahoma, a road resume few contenders can match.
The 45-17 home loss to Alabama is the obvious flaw. Still, Will Stein’s team has stacked more quality SEC wins than any two-loss team below it.”
The official College Football Playoff rankings come out Tuesday evening, which will give the first real read on how the selection committee views Kentucky. For now, the Wildcats are still right in the middle of the national race.
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