Week 8 AP Poll moves Kentucky football up 3 spots to No. 19

Kentucky football is back in the Top 20.

Not long after the Week 8 AFCA Coaches Poll moved Kentucky football up four spots from No. 22 to No. 18 in the country, the Associated Press also gave the Wildcats a bump. The updated AP Poll now has UK at No. 19 overall, a three-spot leap from last week’s No. 22 ranking.

Kentucky (5-2; 2-2 SEC) is coming off a much-needed 27-17 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday night at Kroger Field. The Bulldogs fell eight spots as a result from No. 16 to No. 24.

With Tennessee’s 52-49 game-of-the-year-caliber victory over Alabama on Saturday, the Volunteers are now No. 3 in the country (a three-spot rise) while the Crimson Tide fell from No. 3 to No. 6. Georgia remains at No. 1 while the Ole Miss Rebels come in at No. 7 in the country after beating Auburn 48-34. UK at No. 19 and MSU at No. 24 round out the SEC’s ranked programs.

The Wildcats are now facing a bye week with a road showdown against No. 3 Tennessee scheduled for Oct. 29 in Knoxville.

Kentucky also saw a rise in ESPN’s updated Football Power Index, jumping five spots to No. 31. Notably, the Wildcats’ projected win-loss total received a nifty bump — the FPI had it set at 6.7-5.3 following last weekend’s loss to South Carolina, but now has it set at 7.4-4.6. Kentucky has a 98.9 percent chance to reach the six-win threshold, per the FPI, but just a 0.3 percent chance to win the SEC East.

Week 8 AP Poll Top 25

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Tennessee (+3)
4. Michigan (+1)
5. Clemson (-1)
6. Alabama (-3)
7. Ole Miss (+2)
8. TCU (+5)
9. UCLA (+2)
10. Oregon (+2)
11. Oklahoma State (-3)
12. Southern California (-5)
13. Wake Forest (+1)
14. Syracuse (+4)
15. Utah (+5)
16. Penn State (-6)
17. Kansas State
18. Illinois (+6)
19. Kentucky (+3)
20. Texas (+2)
21. Cincinnati
22. North Carolina
23. NC State (-8)
24. Mississippi State (-8)
25. Tulane

Others Receiving Votes

Purdue 95; LSU 87; UCF 13; South Carolina 13; Kansas 12; James Madison 6; Oregon State 6; Maryland 5; South Alabama 4; Liberty 2; Arkansas 1; Minnesota 1; Florida State 1