Kentucky’s playoff conversation is no longer fantasy football stuff.
A week ago, the Wildcats were still easy to file under “interesting start, but let’s slow down.” Now, after a 5-1 beginning and two wins over top-10 teams - including the latest against LSU - Will Stein’s team is showing up in multiple updated College Football Playoff projections. Kentucky is in the top 15 of the AP Poll, and the résumé is suddenly strong enough that bracketologists are treating the Wildcats like a real part of the 12-team picture.
The most aggressive placement came from Crawford, who slotted Kentucky in as the No. 10 seed after the upset of No. 10 LSU.
That setup would send the Wildcats against No. 6 Indiana in the first round.
"That's right -- Will Stein and Kentucky have entered the CFP zone," Crawford said of Kentucky. "The Wildcats are 5-1 this season with consecutive 35-34 overtime wins, the latest coming against 10th-ranked LSU. It's a devastating loss for the Tigers, who drop out of the CFP mix this week and are one loss away from being out of it altogether."
Crawford’s updated bracket after Week 6 also had UCLA at No. 8 Texas, Ole Miss at No.
7 Utah, Boise State at No. 12 Notre Dame, and the top four lined up as Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and Miami.
Andy Staples of On3 also moved Kentucky into the field, placing the Wildcats at No. 10 against No. 6 Texas in the opening round. His take on the rise was pointed: "Stein has immediately changed the culture at Kentucky, and the Wildcats are stacking wins in a way that suggests they can compete for a College Football Playoff berth."
ESPN’s Heather Dinich had Kentucky just inside the door as the No. 12 seed. But her read came with a clear warning for the Wildcats: the path gets tight fast.
"If the playoff were today, Kentucky would get bumped out of the bracket for the highest-ranked team from the Group of 6 on Selection Day," Dinich noted. "Three of the next five games are on the road, including Saturday at Oklahoma and Nov. 7 at Tennessee. If Kentucky is going to stay relevant in the CFP race, it needs to avoid a second loss before heading to Mizzou."
That’s the big picture now. A third loss, by the look of these projections, likely knocks Kentucky out of the race. Stay at 5-1 through the upcoming stretch, though, and the Wildcats have put themselves in position to make the dream of the College Football Playoff real in Stein’s first season.
In Other News...
Kentuckys LSU Celebration Came With A Price Fans Will Debate
Kentuckys overtime win over LSU had the kind of finish fans talk about all week, but the postgame rush came with a financial sting. The SEC fined the University of Kentucky $500,000 for violating the leagues competition area access policy after supporters stormed the field following the 35-34 victory, a celebration that underscored just how big the moment felt in Lexington.
The leagues updated penalty structure for 2025 made the hit even harder, and the rulebook leaves little room for interpretation when the visiting team and officials are still on the field. Fines can be waived if the crowd waits until both groups have left, but that did not happen here, leaving Kentucky to absorb the cost while the celebration itself remains part of the debate around how far is too far after a win like this. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Turned LSUs Sideline Basketball Stunt Into Pure Humiliation
LSU brought a little SEC theater to Kroger Field in 2026 with a sideline basketball hoop, borrowing a bit of the old Lane Kiffin-era flair that once turned Saturdays at Ole Miss into a running sideshow. The Tigers even got their dunking moment during the game, but Kentucky had the last laugh, rallying late to win and turning what looked like a novelty into part of the backdrop for a comeback the home crowd could savor.
Then came the kind of postgame detail that tends to live on in rivalry lore. One Kentucky fan allegedly made off with the basketball LSU had used for those dunks and took it to Bullitt County, a fittingly cheeky ending to a day when the Wildcats not only beat LSU on the field, but left the visitors without even the prop that helped set the tone. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys LSU Celebration Just Came With A Brutal Price
Kentuckys overtime escape against LSU had all the ingredients of a memorable fall Saturday, capped by a successful two-point conversion that sent the home crowd into a frenzy. The victory was the kind that usually lives on in program lore, and the scene afterward matched it, as thousands of students rushed the field in celebration.
The SEC, though, turned that moment into an expensive one for the Wildcats, levying a $500,000 fine for the access-to-competition-area violation. Under the leagues updated policy on field-storming incidents, the money will go to LSU, a reminder that even the biggest celebrations in the SEC can carry a harsh price tag. [Read more 🡒]