Kentucky actually went up in ESPN's updated FPI/SP+ rankings despite Ole Miss loss

Kentucky wide receiver Kendrick Law - Mont Dawson, Kentucky Sports Radio

The Big Blue Nation is down the morning after another SEC home loss, but a couple of advanced stats rankings actually moved the Wildcats up following Saturday’s performance.

On Sunday morning, ESPN released updated versions of its Football Power Index (FPI) and SP+ rankings. Kentucky rose in both of them, going up one spot in the FPI to No. 42 and five spots in the SP+ rankings to No. 43. Interestingly enough, No. 20 Ole Miss, which beat the Wildcats by a final score of 30-23 in Lexington, dropped in both. The Rebels fell four spots in the FPI to No. 8 and one spot in the SP+ rankings to No. 5.

Looking at the FPI, the numbers still project Kentucky to finish with a 5-7 record. The Wildcats have a 37 percent chance to reach the six-win threshold and, somehow, a 1.3 percent chance of making the College Football Playoff. As for the SP+ rankings, Kentucky grades out as having the nation’s 72nd-best offense, 27th-best defense, and 10th-best special teams unit.

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Those rankings might come as a shock to members of the Big Blue Nation. Granted, Kentucky kept it close against a ranked opponent and ended up covering the spread. The running backs looked promising once again and the overall defensive effort gave the Wildcats a chance to win. Both rankings still consider Ole Miss as a top 10 team in the country. But the quarterback play from Zach Calzada (and offensive play calling as a whole) was deservedly criticized and tackling in open space was a real issue at times for the Wildcat defense.

Kentucky is 1-1 after two games and will be favored to go 2-1 when Eastern Michigan comes to town next Saturday — that’s what most preseason predictions were calling for. But the advanced stats might be the only entity still optimistic about the Wildcats through two weeks.

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