Week 3 SEC Power Rankings are not kind to Kentucky football

by: Zack Geoghegan4 hours agoZGeogheganKSR

Aug 30, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops discusses a play with a referee during the first quarter against the Toledo Rockets at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

This won't come as a surprise to the Big Blue Nation, but folks aren't very high on the current state of the Kentucky football program.

The SEC Network crew released their Week 3 SEC Power Rankings on Wednesday morning, where the Wildcats checked in at 16th -- dead-last in the conference. All four panelists (Chris Doering, Alyssa Lang, Dari Nowkhah, and Benjamin Watson) ranked Kentucky at the very bottom of this week's power rankings, right below Florida (15th) and Arkansas (14th).

"The Wildcats are physical, no one disputes that," the SEC Network's Joe Menzer wrote. "They just haven't yet proven they have the playmakers to hang with the top dogs in the conference. Eastern Michigan comes to visit Lexington this week in a get-right game that won't do much to change this early-season perception no matter what happens."

These fresh rankings come a week after half the SEC Network experts had Kentucky at 15th and the other half at 16th. They were split between choosing UK or Mississippi State for the 16th slot. And while the Wildcats played a ranked Ole Miss team close to the tune of a 30-23 loss at home, Mississippi State pulled off a massive 24-20 win against then-No. 12 Arizona State over the weekend. The Bulldogs jumped to 13th in this week's rankings while Ole Miss actually dropped a spot from 8th to 9th.

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At least one prominent SEC media member has Kentucky outside of the dreaded 16th position -- even if it is just one spot higher. Michael Bratton (aka SEC Mike) dropped Florida, which was upset over the weekend at home by South Florida, to 16th in his Week 3 SEC Power Rankings, with the 'Cats checking in at 15th. Gator fans are not too happy with how the Billy Napier tenure is going in Gainesville, but it's not exactly all peaches and cream in Lexington, either.

Kentucky will use this Saturday's game against Eastern Michigan and the following bye week to try to make a run up these rankings. A stretch of six straight SEC opponents -- five of them currently ranked -- awaits the Wildcats.