Kentucky Football Cracks Top 25 of CBS Sports Preseason Poll

The Kentucky football team is on the verge of doing something that has not been done in 44 years: start the season ranked.

On August 15 the first edition of the 2022 AP Poll will be released. Kentucky has ended the season ranked in the Top 20 twice under Mark Stoops, but has not started a season in the AP Poll since Fran Curci roamed the sidelines in 1978. On Tuesday CBS Sports gave us a clearer picture of where we might see the Wildcats in that preseason poll.

Each year CBS Sports polls its many college football writers and analysts, asking each to rank every FBS football team, this year from 1 to 131. After finishing the 2021 season ranked 18th, Kentucky is No. 23 in the 2022 CBS 131. Don’t be surprised if AP Poll voters share a similar sentiment about Mark Stoops’ team.

Kentucky is one of six SEC schools in the CBS 131. You’ll find them one spot ahead of Tennessee. I’m sure they’re handling the news well in Knoxville.

Mark Stoops Tabbed as Top 15 Coach

Those aren’t the only CBS rankings you’ll find Kentucky in the Top 25. 247 Sports, a company owned by the folks at the Columbia Broadcasting System, recently revealed rankings for its Top 25 head football coaches. They’re a few months late to this kind of content, but we won’t hold against them. 247 Sports ranks Mark Stoops as the No. 13 head football coach in America. A small sample of what Brad Crawford had to say about the Cats’ head coach:

Possibly the most underrated coach in America, there’s a reason Stoops’ name was attached to the LSU vacancy in November, a few weeks prior to his Kentucky Wildcats winning their 10th game for the second time in four years — a feat that’s never been accomplished in Lexington prior to his arrival. He has always gotten the most out of his players and now, has strengthened Kentucky’s recruiting at a national level.

247 Sports

Kentucky football in the Top 25. You love to see it.