The Kentucky Wildcats have not been getting a ton of love early on in the national rankings.
After a 2-0 start, including a win over a solid Missouri team, the team only accrued 13 votes in this week's AP Poll, putting them as a top-40 team in the country. On top of that, ESPN’s FPI has the Cats ranked 30th overall.
Then you get a few media outlets who are actually fairly high on UK including Pro Football Focus. With this weeks update now complete, PFF has bumped the Cats up, making them the 20th ranked team in the country.
@PFF_Anthony's top-25 teams in CFB
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 14, 2021
4. Oregon (+17)
5. Cincinnati (+1)
18. Michigan (+7)
20. Kentucky (+5)
Here is what Anthony Treash of PFF had to say about the Cats this week:
“While quarterback Will Levis made a couple of big-time throws in Kentucky’s touchdown victory over Mizzou, the Wildcats can thank their run game for the brunt of their offensive success. The offensive line did its part by giving the backfield 3.6 yards before contact per attempt. And the ball-carriers took advantage of the lanes by busting off 10 runs of 10-plus yards and producing a successful run on 54% of their attempts — the third-best rate by a team against a Power Five defense in Week 2. This new pro-style offense is humming a lot sooner than expected in Lexington.”
The national media has always been a little hesitant to get on the hype train with Kentucky. But with the new offense and the early success it has had, some eyes are starting to turn to see how good this year's squad is.
There are still a few things to shore up before we get to the heart of the SEC schedule in two weeks, but with the way things are trending, that matchup with Florida keeps getting bigger and bigger.