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If played this fall, the 2020 college football season will have a far different look than ever before.
No stadium in the country will be filled to its full capacity, teams’ marquee programs such as Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Southern Cal won’t be playing as the Big Ten and Pac-12 postponed their seasons and several big-name talents will opt not to take the field to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft.
For the Kentucky Wildcats, they will look to take advantage of a golden opportunity to finally prove to the nation their program is on the rise by posting a winning season in a 10-game season that will consist of only SEC opponents.
In CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm’s updated college football power rankings that consist of the 76 FBS programs that still plan to play this fall, UK checked in at No. 21 as they joined several of their SEC foes in the top 25.
Palm explained putting Kentucky in his top 25 by saying, “ A year where everyone’s schedule and routine is thrown out of whack shapes up perfectly for a Kentucky program that has perfected the art of finding ways to win in an unforeseen circumstances. Lynn Bowden may be gone, but the grittiness and willingness to evolve through quarterback attrition remains, all capable thanks to an under-appreciated commitment and level of success at the line of scrimmage. We’re not picking Kentucky to beat every opponent on its schedule, but it’ll take down a couple of good ones thanks to its ability to make adjustments on the fly.”
While Palm offered high praise for the Wildcats, he still listed the Louisville Cardinals, who UK has defeated by a combined score of 101-23 the last two seasons ahead of them at No. 19.
Here are where SEC programs rank on Palm’s updated list with those that UK will matchup with started:
2. Alabama Crimson Tide *
4. Georgia Bulldogs *
5. Florida Gators *
6. LSU Tigers
8. Auburn Tigers *
16. Tennessee Volunteers *
21. Kentucky Wildcats
30. Ole Miss Rebels *
32. Mississippi State Bulldogs *
34. Missouri Tigers *
41. South Carolina Gamecocks *
62. Vanderbilt Commodores *