USA Today Gives Kentucky their Final Report Card

Kentucky football has been subject to disrespect from the national media, pretty much all my life. Even after a successful 10-3 season and a Citrus Bowl victory over Penn State, most, if not all, national media has Kentucky sitting out of their preseason "way too early" top-25. But, for once, the Cats got some national recognition this week courtesy of USA Today. Every year USA Today gives season grades to all 130 FBS teams ranging in the typical school grade scale (A+ through F). This year USA Today gave Kentucky an A for their remarkable season. Kentucky ranks among three of this season's playoff runner-ups, Flordia, Texas, and a few others as teams with an A. Only six other teams, including Clemson, finished with a higher grade. Each team's grade was determined by how each team performed this season while also considering what each team was predicted to do back in August. One could argue that Kentucky deserved an A+ considering their dreaded history and multiple preseason predictions had the Cats fighting for their lives to get bowl eligible, but at that point, you're just splitting hairs. An incredible season rewarded with a small gesture by USA Today. If you want to see how all 130 teams finished this college football semester, you can check it out here.