Kentucky may have slipped out of the AP Top 25 after its overtime win at South Carolina, but ESPN’s Heather Dinich thinks the Wildcats would still get the benefit of the doubt from the College Football Playoff selection committee.
That’s the key split here: AP voters sent Kentucky packing despite the 35-34 win, while Dinich said her read on the committee would keep the Wildcats inside the top 25. In her rankings, which are based on how she believes the CFP committee would order teams rather than her own personal opinion, Kentucky landed at No. 17.
“I have Kentucky No. 17 in my top 25. @UKFootball is no. 5 in ESPN strength of record metric.
Two road wins vs SEC teams. I rank 25 teams based on what I think the CFP committee would do.
And KY would probably be in.”
The Wildcats’ resume clearly caught Dinich’s eye, especially with those two road wins against SEC opponents and the No. 5 spot in ESPN’s strength of record metric. So while the AP poll dropped Kentucky after Week 5, Dinich’s projection suggests the committee would look more favorably on what Will Stein’s team has done so far.
For now, the AP Top 25 remains the ranking that matters publicly, but that changes soon enough. The first CFP Top 25 of the season comes out on Nov. 3, and from there the playoff rankings will start to take over as the real measuring stick.
Kentucky won’t have to wait long for another chance to make a statement. In Week 6, the Wildcats return home to face No.
10 LSU on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET in Lexington.
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LSU's Young Tigers May Have Forced Bigger SEC Roles
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Geralds stood out with a sack and a touchdown in the same game, while Corey Barber Jr. gave the offense a lift with 7 catches for 83 yards and 2 touchdowns as LSU piled up 731 total yards. Performances like those do not guarantee anything in the SEC, but they can force coaches to think differently about how quickly freshmen are ready for bigger roles when the schedule tightens. [Read more 🡒]