College Football Top 25 Polls and Power Rankings Updated

The college football regular season is winding down with just one fell week left to be played.

After enduring a two-game losing streak the Kentucky Wildcats were able to rebound with a 34-23 win over Middle Tennessee. Coupled several top-25 teams going down, Kentucky is moving back up the top 25 polls.

The latest Coaches Poll has Kentucky checking in at No. 18, a three-spot rise from last week. The new AP Poll has the Wildcats rising up to No. 17, also a three-spot increase.

AP Top 25 Poll Week 12

1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Clemson Tigers
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
4. Michigan Wolverines
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Oklahoma Sooners
7. Washington State Cougars
8. Tie: LSU Tigers & UCF Knights
9. N/A
10. Ohio State Buckeyes
11. Texas Longhorns
12. West Virginia Mountaineers
13. Florida Gators
14. Utah State Aggies
15. Penn State Nittany Lions
16. Washington Huskies
17. Kentucky Wildcats
18. Utah Utes
19. Syracuse Orange
20. Northwestern Wildcats
21. Boise State Broncos
22. Mississippi St. Bulldogs
23. Army Black Knights
24. Pittsburgh Panthers
25. Iowa State Cyclones

Coaches Top 25 Poll Week 12

1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Clemson Tigers
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
4. Michigan Wolverines
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Oklahoma Sooners
7. Washington State Cougars
8. LSU Tigers
9. UCF Knights
10. Ohio State Buckeyes
11. Texas Longhorns
12. West Virginia Mountaineers
13. Florida Gators
14. Penn State Nittany Lions
15. Utah State Aggies
16. Washington Huskies
17. Utah Utes
18. Kentucky Wildcats
19. Syracuse Orange
20. Mississippi St. Bulldogs
21. Northwestern Wildcats
22. Boise State Broncos
23. Fresno State Bulldogs
24. Army Black Knights
25. Pittsburgh Panthers

The latest CBS Sports rankings have Kentucky at No. 19.

Voters shouldn’t penalize Kentucky too much for a close win against Middle Tennessee because the Blue Raiders are one of the better Conference USA teams. But it’s possible that the narrow victory opened the door for other three-loss teams to jump the Wildcats in the pecking order.

The Massey ratings have Kentucky at No. 17.

ESPN’s latest power rankings have the Wildcats sitting at No. 15.

The Blue Raiders seemed a timely cure for the Wildcats’ entrenched offensive woes. After failing to crack 17 points in the previous five games, Kentucky scored 17 in the first quarter en route to clinching its first eight-win season since 1984. But the point total is deceiving: MTSU outgained Kentucky 392-324; Benny Snell Jr. needed 26 carries to get 116 yards against the nation’s 67th-ranked run defense; and the Wildcats’ first touchdown came on a 66-yard interception return by Mike Edwards. Kentucky should have more than enough to defeat lowly in-state rival Louisville next week, but its offense isn’t reliable enough to make any game a certainty at this point.

Here’s a look at ESPN’s top 10:

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Michigan
5. UCF
6. Washington State
7. Georgia
8. Oklahoma
9. LSU
10. Ohio State

We’ll upload the AP Top 25 Poll when it’s released later.