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The Kentucky Wildcats opened the 2019 season with an impressive 38-24 over the Toledo Rockets.
In the win, Kentucky’s new-look secondary did not allow a touchdown pass, quarterback Terry Wilson threw for 246 yards, two touchdowns and did not turn the ball over, and linebacker Deandre Square totaled 11 tackles and grabbed an interception to earn a spot on Kirk Herbstreit’s top five players of the week list.
All of these great efforts, however, were not enough to land the Wildcats a spot in SB Nation’s weekly fan pulse top 25. Here’s a look at who the fans voted for instead:
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While it’s hard to argue Kentucky is better than a majority of the team’s on this list there are the programs listed that you can make the case don’t belong.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers struggled in their week one match-up with South Alabama at home and have not appeared in a bowl game since 2016. It took overtime for the Iowa State Cyclones to defeat FCS foe Northern Iowa in Ames. Could Kentucky beat Nebraska or Iowa State if given a chance? Possibly, and they sure did play better than those two teams last Saturday.
As for Kentucky fans they don’t quite believe their team is top 25 worthy either. Here’s a look at how the Big Blue Nation voted.
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Clemson Tigers
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Oklahoma Sooners
- LSU Tigers
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Auburn Tigers
- Michigan Wolverines
- Florida Gators
- Texas Longhorns
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Washington Huskies
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Utah Utes
- UCF Knights
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Oregon Ducks
- Michigan State Spartans
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- Syracuse Orange
- Stanford Cardinal
- Washington State Cougars
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Memphis Tigers
Surprisingly, Kentucky fans voted for Memphis over the Cats in the top 25. Memphis defeated Ole Miss in a 15-10 slugfest Saturday but would likely be an underdog vs. Kentucky given the opportunity.