A week ago, Kentucky football snagged a win at South Carolina on a walk-off two point conversion in overtime and still managed to fall out of the Associated Press top 25.
On Sunday, Will Stein’s Wildcats became the first team in FBS history to win consecutive games by one point in overtime, this time with another walk-off two point conversion in a 35-34 win over LSU. That win was apparently enough to finally earn the respect of poll voters.
Kentucky was ranked 15th in Sunday’s poll, marking the program’s best ranking since it was ranked 13th on Oct. 3, 2022.
“In reality, when you zoom out and look at it, it doesn’t really matter what the voters or whoever puts us in a poll or a ranking or whatever,” quarterback Kenny Minchey said after the LSU win. “They’re probably going to move us up because we won tonight. That isn’t going to faze us. …. The fact that they dropped us or lowered us or whatever (after South Carolina), nobody batted an eye to it.
“We all knew the only thing that matters is going 1-0 this week.”
Kentucky was ranked 24th when it beat South Carolina but was passed in the poll by Missouri, which had been ranked 25th before a blowout of Florida, and Pittsburgh, which had been unranked but moved to 5-0 with a win over Virginia Tech. Since no team in the top 25 that week had lost to an unranked foe, Kentucky dropped to the top team in the “also receiving votes” category.
Pittsburgh’s stint in the top 25 was short -lived after a loss to North Carolina. Florida and Oregon also fell out of the poll after a losses in week six. LSU dropped from No. 10 to No. 22 after losing to Kentucky.
Kentucky’s 5-1 start has thrust the Wildcats into playoff contention in Stein’s first season, but the playoff committee will not release its first ranking until November. Until then, the AP poll is the best gauge of how the Wildcats stack up nationally.
A lengthening injury list will be a concern for a Kentucky team that entered the season with depth concerns in the second half of the season, but the schedule offers more chances for Stein’s team to cement its status as a playoff contender.
Kentucky has two more games against teams currently ranked in the top 25: at No. 14 Tennessee (Nov. 7) and at No. 13 Missouri (Nov. 21). UK plays at Oklahoma, which is coming off an upset of then-No.-1 Texas on Saturday. UK also has home games against Vanderbilt, Florida and Louisville remaining. Florida and Louisville have been ranked previously this season.
“People count us out,” Stein said after the LSU win. “I took a picture of College GameDay this morning. Everybody picked LSU. Keep doing that. I appreciate that. Gives us a lot of fuel and a lot of fire because everybody doubts us.
“This is a really tough group. It’s battled a lot – injuries, a lot of change that’s happened since we’ve gotten here – and so this is a really big moment for our players. Really big moment for our players. They’ve earned it. The way that they practice, the way that they prep, the way they just keep playing is really phenomenal. It’s unbelievable, to be honest.”
UK moved up eight spots from No. 25 to No. 17 in the coaches poll released Sunday. UK was last ranked that high in the coaches poll on Oct. 24, 2022.
This story was originally published October 11, 2026 at 2:07 PM.
Lexington Herald-Leader
Source: www.kentucky.com
