Kentucky checks in outside of top-40 in ESPN's final preseason SP+ rankings

The Kentucky football program is looking to have a bounce-back season in 2025 after a collapse last season led to a 4-8 (1-7) finish. Mark Stoops and his staff have flipped the roster by adding 50 new players and hit the transfer portal hard to find new starters. The program has hit the reset button. Will it lead to more wins?

That will be tough.

On Thursday, ESPN’s Bill Connelly released his final update of the preseason for the SP+ Rankings. Kentucky is right where they ended last season. The Wildcats check in at No. 44 overall with the No. 76 offense and No. 27 defense. UK finished the 2024 season at No. 45 overall with the No. 89 offense and No. 28 defense. SP+ has the Cats at 5.1 projected wins and facing a top-10 schedule.

Kentucky’s three-year streak of consecutive top-30 SP+ finishes came to an end in 2024. UK posted top-25 finishes in 2018 (No. 25), 2021 (No. 23), and 2023 (No. 22) during the Stoops era. There was slippage last season and the program will try to prove that season was a one-off this fall.

Georgia (No. 3), Texas (No. 5), Ole Miss (No. 9), Tennessee (No. 12), Florida (No. 16), South Carolina (No. 17), Auburn (No. 22), and Louisville (No. 24) all rank ahead of Kentucky. That means the Cats will likely be betting underdogs in eight games. The other power conference game on the schedule occurs against Vanderbilt (No. 54). Week 1 opponent Toledo checks in at No. 71 overall.

Kentucky will need to exceed these preseason expectations to have a true bounce-back season. The computers are calling for the Cats to miss a bowl game in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2011-15.

SP+ Top 25

1. Ohio State
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Penn State
5. Texas
6. Notre Dame
7. Oregon
8. Michigan
9. Ole Miss
10. Clemson
11. LSU
12. Tennessee
13. Texas A&M
14. Miami
15. Oklahoma
16. Florida
17. South Carolina
18. Kansas State
19. SMU
20. Missouri
21. USC
22. Auburn
23. Indiana
24. Louisville
25. Iowa