Skip to main content
KSRKSR Plus
KSBoard
Kentucky
Join KSR+

Kentucky falls out of AP Poll Top 25 after crushing loss to Missouri

Zack Geogheganby: Zack Geoghegan10/15/23ZGeogheganKSR
kentucky-wildcats-linebacker-martez-thrower-enters-ncaa-transfer-portal
Photo by Dr. Michael Huang | Kentucky Sports Radio

After spending the last two weeks as a ranked program, Kentucky football is back to being on the outside looking in.

Following Saturday’s devastating 38-21 loss at home to the Missouri Tigers, Kentucky has fallen out of the Associated Press Top 25 national rankings. The Wildcats entered the weekend barely hanging on to a spot in the Top 25 at No. 24 overall, but they’ve since dropped out completely after back-to-back losses. Kentucky is currently receiving four points in the updated AP Poll, good enough for 32nd in the country.

Missouri did not move up in the AP Poll in spite of Saturday’s win, holding firm at No. 20. As for the rest of the SEC, Georgia is once again No. 1, followed by No. 11 Alabama, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 17 Tennessee, and No. 19 LSU. The in-state rival Louisville Cardinals dropped seven spots to No. 21 after losing to unranked Pittsburgh 38-21.

The Week 8 Coaches Poll was released an hour prior to the AP Poll. Kentucky was removed from that Top 25 as well, sliding down 13 spots from No. 23 to No. 36. You can view the entire Week 8 AP Poll below. Kentucky will face a bye this week before hosting Tennessee on Saturday, Oct. 28.

Associated Press Poll Week 8

  1. Georgia
  2. Michigan
  3. Ohio State
  4. Florida State
  5. Washington (+2)
  6. Oklahoma (-1)
  7. Penn State (-1)
  8. Texas (+1)
  9. Oregon (-1)
  10. North Carolina (+2)
  11. Alabama
  12. Oregon State (+3)
  13. Ole Miss
  14. Utah (+2)
  15. Notre Dame (+6)
  16. Duke (+1)
  17. Tennessee (+2)
  18. Southern California (-8)
  19. LSU (+3)
  20. Missouri
  21. Louisville (-7)
  22. Air Force
  23. Tulane
  24. Iowa
  25. UCLA (-7)

Others Receiving Votes: James Madison 70, Clemson 35, Florida 12, Washington St. 11, Fresno St. 6, Liberty 5, Kentucky 4, Wyoming 4, Kansas 2, West Virginia 1, Oklahoma St. 1, Miami 1.

ESPN’s updated rankings

Along with updated national rankings, Sunday also brought us a fresh look at ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI). Kentucky once again fell in the most recent FPI, dropping five spots to No. 43. As a result, the Wildcats season-long projections have been updated to reflect that change.

Kentucky currently has an 85.3 percent chance to reach the six-win threshold this season, which was up to 94 percent coming into the weekend. UK’s projected win-loss average has also dropped significantly, now sitting at 6.6-5.4 after reaching 7.3-5.7 this time last week. The Wildcats’ odds of winning the SEC East have all but disappeared too with a mere 0.1 percent chance to pull that off.

Interestingly enough, Kentucky actually rose in ESPN’s latest SP+ rankings, which is a “predictive and forward-facing” analytics model. The Wildcats moved up one spot to No. 28 in the updated SP+ rankings, one spot ahead of Louisville. According to the analytics, Kentucky has the nation’s 43rd-best offense, 18th-best defense, and 22nd-best special teams unit.

As for Missouri, the Tigers shot up 10 spots in the FPI to No. 27 and currently sit at No. 26 in the SP+ rankings. Kentucky’s next opponent, Tennessee, moved up one spot to No. 16 overall in the FPI while also checking in a No. 12 in the SP+. The Volunteers are listed as having a top-20 offense and defense in the country.

Discuss This Article

Comments have moved.

Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.

KSBoard

2025-08-03