Where Kentucky football stands in Athlon Sports’ latest preseason top 25

The excitement for the start of the 2022 college football season grows stronger by the day as we are less than 100 days from the season officially kicking off.

As September gets closer, more and more preseason top 25 polls are released, and we have the latest from Athlon Sports.

Not surprisingly, the Alabama Crimson Tide are projected as Athlon Sports’ national champions with Ohio State, Georgia, and Clemson rounding out the playoff spots.

With five offensive and five defensive starters returning, the Kentucky Wildcats came in at No. 21.

Athlon Sports listed WR Tayvion Robinson, OL Tashawn Manning, DL Darrion Henry-Young, DB Zion Childress, DB Keidron Smith, and DB Jordan Robinson as the key incoming transfers for the Cats.

“Mark Stoops has raised the bar for success in Lexington. The Wildcats have won 10 games in two out of the last four years, and Stoops needs just two victories to pass Bear Bryant as the winningest coach in school history. Despite some key losses on both sides of the ball, optimism runs high thanks to the return of quarterback Will Levis and a deep backfield anchored by Chris Rodriguez Jr. Levis accounted for 33 overall scores and threw for 2,812 yards last season. However, he’s working under a new play-caller (Rich Scangarello) after Liam Coen departed for the NFL.”

As the Wildcats will look to tally yet another 10-win season, or better, the key games they face throughout their schedule are at Florida, at Ole Miss, at Tennessee, Georgia, and Louisville.

As for the rest of the SEC, the other teams making the top 25 include Alabama (No. 1), Georgia (No. 3), Texas A&M (No. 5), Tennessee (No. 18), and Arkansas (No. 22).

Auburn, Florida, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and South Carolina were listed as the “The Next Tier” of teams heading in the 2022 season.

You can check out the entire top 25 rankings from Athlon Sports here.