Kentucky On The Rise In ESPN's SEC Power Rankings

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="760"] Image Via USAToday.com[/caption] Week 1 of the 2014 season is in the record books and the SEC has already been shaken up a bit. South Carolina was shocked at home when their defense was exposed by Texas A&M's Kenny Hill. Vanderbilt let out a clunker against Temple at home in the rain. Georgia unleashed Todd Gurley on Clemson and rolled to a  45-21 victory. Kentucky looked sharp against some FCS competition. As such they are on the rise two spots in ESPN's power rankings, here's what the worldwide leader had to say about the Cats:

#12 Record: 1-0 overall, 0-0 conference Sure, the Wildcats looked good in the season opener, but how much can we really tell from a win against UT-Martin? Running back transfer Braylon Heard was better than advertised, rushing twice for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense pulled down two interceptions, one fewer than it had all of last season. Week 2 should provide a stiffer test for Kentucky.

Based on the Week 1 games Kentucky's schedule appears to have opened up. ESPN goes on to rank the Cats' SEC opponents: #5 LSU, #6 Mississippi State, #8 Missouri, #9 South Carolina, #10 Tennessee, #11 Florida, and #14 Vanderbilt. Oh, and some team ranked #1 in Georgia but let's not focus on that just yet. With a new look group in Blue and White it's not unfathomable that the team could start to make some moves in the conference hierarchy a little ahead of schedule. We will know a lot more about what to expect this season depending on how things go this Saturday. Just imagine if Kentucky is able to take down Ohio, eleventh ranked Florida, and fourteenth ranked Vandy to start the season? The hype train will be rolling out of control when South Carolina is coming to Lexington. Time to slow down, Cass. The season isn't built on week one performances and this weekend will tell us more about all of the teams in the SEC. MACtion comes to the South as the Cats take one a nice measuring stick in the form of Ohio. Missouri takes on MAC power Toledo and Florida will finally take the field against Eastern Michigan. Then Vandy will kick-off SEC action against #18 Ole Miss . If Kentucky has a chance to climb the East ladder we will have an idea after Saturday's games. Where would you rank the teams of the SEC after Week 1? [ESPN: SEC Power Rankings: Week 1]