Kentucky Wildcats crack top 10 in new college football rankings

The Kentucky Wildcats are back in the top 10.

Following a 6-0 start, Kentucky checked in at No. 10 in the latest CBS Sports power rankings, while ESPN has the Cats at No. 9 while offering this assessment from SB Nation alum Bill Connelly.

“It is the cardinal rule of Kentucky football under Mark Stoops: If they can’t stop you from running the football, keep running the football,” Connelly wrote. “LSU couldn’t stop the run game, so the Wildcats rushed 45 times for 330 yards — 212 in the second half — and pulled away from the Tigers 42-21. Chris Rodriguez Jr. and Kavosiey Smoke accounted for 251 of those yards, as LSU just had no answer for UK’s physicality and general meanness. The Wildcats’ defense made four fourth-down stops and sacked LSU’s Max Johnson four times, and Kentucky is now 6-0 for the first time since 1950.”

As for the top 25 polls, Kentucky checked in at No. 11 in the new Coaches Poll, which you can see below.

Coaches Top 25 Poll for Week 7

1. Georgia Bulldogs
2. Iowa Hawkeyes
3. Oklahoma Sooners
4. Cincinnati Bearcats
5. Alabama Crimson Tide
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
7. Michigan Wolverines
8. Penn State Nittany Lions
9. Michigan State Spartans
10. Oregon Ducks
11. Kentucky Wildcats
12. Oklahoma State Sooners
13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
14. Ole Miss Rebels
15. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
16. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
17. Florida Gators
18. Texas A&M Aggies
19. Arkansas Razorbacks
20. BYU Cougars
21. NC State Wolfpack
22. Arizona State Sun Devils
23. SMU Mustangs
24. San Diego State Aztecs
25. Clemson Tigers

Schools Dropped Out: No. 19 Auburn; No. 23 Texas.

Others Receiving Votes: Auburn 98; Baylor 91; Texas 74; Pittsburgh 36; Texas-San Antonio 30; Mississippi State 18; Iowa State 18; Appalachian State 18; Boston College 11; Air Force 9; Tennessee 8; Liberty 8; Nevada 7; UL Lafayette 3; Houston 3; Fresno State 3; UCLA 1.

Another week, another win for the Kentucky Wildcats, who are 6-0 for the first time since 1950 after smashing LSU 42-21.

With the win, Kentucky now has a better record in the year 2021 than teams like Ohio State, Notre Dame, Clemson, and yes, Alabama.

After the Crimson Tide were shocked by a Texas A&M team that just lost at home to Mississippi State, there’s now a case to be made for Kentucky being ahead of Alabama — IN FOOTBALL — in the new top 25 polls and power rankings.

Again, it’s not that Alabama lost. It’s that they lost to a team that Kentucky and most of the SEC would have been favored against on a neutral field coming into Week 6.

Yes, College Station is a tough venue, but that was a really bad loss, so there is very much a case for Kentucky being ahead of Alabama in the polls for the first time since 2007 after ironically beating LSU for the first time since that very year.

So, where would you rank the Cats? And would you have them ahead of Bama? Let us know in the comments section!

And be sure to check back here later as the newest top 25 polls and power rankings are released!