Ranking the Remaining Kentucky Football Opponents

A quarter of the 2025 Kentucky football season is in the books. While it feels like there is still much to learn about this team, we have gathered enough intel on some of the Wildcats’ future opponents to reshuffle the deck. Here’s where each team stands, ranked from least to most difficult, as Kentucky prepares for the meat and potatoes of its schedule.

Tennessee Tech

Kentucky should blow out the FCS opponent in November. Next!

Florida

DJ Lagway just threw five picks in a football game. He was boom or bust as a freshman. Now he’s in a sophomore slump. Even if he shakes off the bad and shows more of the good, will the Florida Gators still be holding onto the rope in November? That defense looks the part, but as losses add up, morale will nose-dive. There’s a decent chance that Billy Napier doesn’t have a job by the time the Gators get to Kroger Field.

[Using SP+ power ratings, see the projected spreads for Kentucky’s remaining games against FBS opponents on KSR+.]

at Louisville

An early bye week gives us a smaller sample size to judge the Cardinals, but we still learned a few important lessons in their win over James Madison. The offensive line is not good. UofL may have one of the best running back combos in the country, but they can’t lean on them because of the inconsistent play in the trenches.

Louisville beat JMU with three explosive plays, an area of weakness for the Kentucky defense this year, but that’s a risky way of living. They also just learned that Stanquan Clark, the Cards’ best defensive player, will be out for the year. Aside from last year, this is a close series, and it certainly feels like it will once again be the case on Thanksgiving weekend.

at South Carolina

Dowell Loggains’ departure has gone even worse than expected. Turns out, Mike Shula isn’t a great play-caller. Who would’ve thunk it?

The Gamecocks have scored on scripted drives. After that, it’s a special teams show to produce points. South Carolina has not scored more than 17 offensive points in a game. They live and die with LaNorris Sellers, whose status is uncertain after suffering a head injury last week. Shane Beamer has Mark Stoops’ number, but if Kentucky has its act together, an upset victory at Williams-Brice Stadium isn’t a far-fetched idea.

at Vanderbilt

The Commodores got some serious early-season mojo. They refuse to beat themselves. By limiting possessions, opponents must play mistake-free football, or Diego Pavia will make you pay. It’s fun to hop on the Hype Train right now, but the schedule takes a turn in October.

— at Alabama
— LSU
— Missouri
— at Texas
— Auburn

Vanderbilt will have a bye week between the Auburn and Kentucky contests, but that stretch can be debilitating. How much will they have in the tank when Mark Stoops takes the Wildcats to the West End?

Texas

Is Arch Manning actually bad at football? Surely he can’t be this bad, right? Even if he does not transform into a world-beater, Texas is bringing a ton of talent to Kentucky in October.

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at Auburn

There’s a real chance this ages like milk. It feels like one of two things will happen after this weekend’s trip to Norman. Auburn will emerge victorious as a true threat to make it to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game, or the season will descend into madness.

Even if the latter happens, this will be a tough matchup for Kentucky. The secondary has been leaky, and Auburn’s wide receivers are explosive when Jackson Arnold gets them the ball. It’s also a venue where Kentucky just doesn’t win. It’s only happened once since the 60s.

Tennessee

Tennessee’s quarterback left them after spring practice. Josh Heupel essentially found a guy off the street and turned him into a Heisman contender. It’s Bush League.

Even though the Vols lost to Georgia in overtime, they looked like a team that can play with anyone. Joey Aguilar has command in the offense, Chris Brazzell has taken his game to another level, and their defense looked decent, even without their starting cornerbacks. It hurts to say, but Tennessee is really good, again.

at Georgia

This is a different kind of Georgia team. Kirby Smart won with suffocating defense and the best running backs in the sport. Now he’s doing it with a dual-threat quarterback and explosive wide receivers.

Styles make fights, and Kentucky has been able to get Georgia to play in the mud in recent years. Good luck trying that against this offense.