Kentucky didn’t have to take the field to climb in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll.
A wild upset by USC over previously unranked Ohio State opened the door, and the Wildcats walked right through it, rising one spot to No. 7 heading into Week 9. That puts Will Stein’s team behind only three undefeated programs - Miami (FL), Utah and UCLA - plus three one-loss teams in Georgia, Indiana and Notre Dame.
It also leaves Kentucky sitting at No. 2 in the SEC, with Georgia’s win over Jon Sumrall’s Florida Gators creating a share of the league’s top spot with the blue and white at 5-1.
The headline detail for Kentucky is the one first-place vote. That’s the kind of thing that makes you stop and look twice.
The Wildcats are 7-1 overall, and the road ahead is loaded: at No. 16 Tennessee, vs.
Florida, at No. 19 Missouri and vs.
Louisville. Win three of those four and Kentucky is in the College Football Playoff conversation.
Win out, and the Wildcats would lock up a CFP berth and a trip to the SEC Championship in Atlanta. Lose two, and the path gets more complicated, though the season would still be alive.
At the top of the poll, Miami (FL) stayed No. 1, followed by Georgia, Indiana, Utah, UCLA and Notre Dame. Kentucky’s rise came as Ohio State tumbled from No. 2 to No. 10 after the loss to USC, while the Trojans surged from No. 25 to No. 17.
The updated Coaches Poll also featured Missouri at No. 19, Tennessee at No. 16 and Florida dropping out of the rankings after sitting at No. 20 last week. The AP Poll is set to come out shortly, with the official CFP rankings due Tuesday.
In Other News...
Kentucky Faces A Huge Tennessee Chance With The Vols Still Unsettled
Kentuckys next trip back onto the field comes with plenty more than bragging rights attached. When the Wildcats head to Tennessee on Nov. 7, theyll do so with both teams sitting in the thick of the SEC race, Kentucky tied for first and the Vols trying to stay close enough to keep their own championship hopes alive.
The stakes stretch well beyond one November afternoon, with the outcome carrying real weight for the league title picture and the College Football Playoff conversation. Tennessee still has one major question hanging over the matchup, too, as the Vols continue sorting through two candidates at quarterback and the uncertainty adds another layer to an already pivotal game. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Gets An Early Chance To Silence Doubts At Tennessee
Kentucky heads into Week 10 with a chance to answer plenty of questions in one of the SECs oldest rivalries. The Wildcats are 7-1 overall and 5-1 in league play, but the early betting line still has Tennessee as a 6.5-point favorite, a reminder that respect around this team has not quite caught up with the record.
Tennessee brings a 6-2 mark and a 3-2 SEC record into a matchup that has long tilted in the Volunteers favor. The series dates to 1893, Tennessee has won the last five meetings, and Kentucky now gets an early chance to change the tone of the rivalry while giving doubters something harder to dismiss. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys Spotlight Stretch Just Added More Stakes For Florida
Kentuckys November run is starting to take on a bigger stage, and the SECs latest game-time announcement only adds to the intrigue. The Wildcats are set for a primetime ESPN slot against Tennessee on Nov. 7, and now the league has placed the Florida matchup on Nov. 14 in the same window, with kickoff slated for somewhere between 6 and 7 p.m. ET pending final confirmation after this weekends results.
For Kentucky, it means another spotlight game in a stretch that will ask a lot of the team and keep the attention fixed squarely on what happens in Lexington. Florida has long been one of the more watched dates on the schedule, and with the Wildcats already lined up for consecutive night games, the stakes around that mid-November meeting only feel higher as the full slate continues to come into view. [Read more 🡒]